Music
At Glasgow, we have embraced an approach to worship which we call “ancient-future.” While striving to always remain connected to our Reformed heritage, so rich in its many expressions of worship, we also utilize multimedia and theatrical lighting.
To understand our theology of worship, please read the “Theology, Content and Style” section below written by our Minister of Worship, Chuck L. Betters.
Worship Team and Choir Opportunities
The worship team is comprised of dedicated instrumentalists and singers who exhibit godly character and attitude. Each Sunday morning worship service is an opportunity to encounter God. Worship team members are there to lead the congregation in praising God…ushering us into his presence. We are always looking for talented musicians and singers to join our worship team. If you would like to schedule an audition, please contact Chuck L. Betters, our Minister of Worship.
We have adult, teen and children’s choirs under the direction of Tracey Wallace.
The adult choir is open to anyone who likes to sing (no audition required) and is a great opportunity to forge life-long friendships while using your voice to glorify God. Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings.
The teen choir, the NGs (Next Generation) rehearses along with the adult choir on Thursday evenings but then breaks away to work on special pieces which they will offer at selected worship services.
“Theology, Content and Style”
At Glasgow Church, we seek to have an uncompromising, Bible-centered worship and preaching ministry, remaining unwaveringly true to the Word of God.
Our worship services are well planned but we strive to keep them fresh. We believe worship that is constantly predictable and routine soon becomes rote and heartless.
Worship consists of three parts: content, structure, and style. Content should be Christ-centered and tell the story of the gospel. Good content will confront sinners with their need for a savior. Good content encourages believers with the joys we have in this life, as we are reflections and disciples of Christ, and reminds us of the unspeakable joys that await us in the glorious age to come.
The second part, structure, refers to how a service is constructed. Historically, church services were constructed using a “four-fold” approach of entrance, Word, sacrament, and dismissal. This structure is still evident in many Catholic churches as well as mainline denominations, and, every now and then, in progressive evangelical churches like ours! The four-fold structure is rich, but it has become ritualistic and rote. On the other side of the worship structure spectrum is the song/preaching service which is normative among large churches in America. In fact, the structure is two-fold: music followed by preaching. No matter what, biblical reflection should inform our structural decisions and one could make a biblical case for a number of structural templates. Do we have time for prayer, do we have time to worship, and do we observe the sacraments? Is the Word central? At GRPC, we strive to vary the structure from week to week while staying within a biblical context.
Style is the third aspect of worship and should be indigenous to the local group of believers. The Apostle Paul used different styles to communicate the gospel, however, his content did not change.
At Glasgow Church, we “go to the mat” in defense of biblical content. Content is non-negotiable. (Men have been burned at the stake in defense of Trinitarian content.) Secondly, we reflect biblically and historically on structure. Many times, very little thought is put into the actual structure of a worship service when we have several blueprints for such throughout scripture. A.W. Tozer once said about the liturgical church, “at least their services are beautiful… ours are often ugly.” While GRPC is not a liturgical church, we can learn from the historic forms. Many times, people are unwilling to try new structural changes because of bad experiences from their past. This is unfortunate because the history of the church has produced many creative and biblical structural blue-prints for worship. Structure, however, remains crucial.
The one component of worship that should be the least important has been the centerpiece of many disagreements among believers: STYLE. Style is not content. Style is not even structure. Style is the color of paint on the walls – not the walls themselves. But it is usually style, and not structure or content where people disagree. At GRPC, we do not fight the “worship style” battles. Our focus is on designing services with biblical content and structures clothed in relevant and historic styles.
