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Tigress
Registered Member
Date Joined Feb 2003
Total Posts : 1252
| Posted 2/4/2004 6:34 AM (GMT -6) |   | There are two sides to this. First, some Christians might argue that worship leading is no different than administering the sacraments or preaching, so only Christians should be on the worship team to sing and/or play instruments. After all one worships with instruments as well as with the voice.
Other Christians might argue that it's good to let non-Christians have a chance to serve in some capacity within the church, so that they can see that we're treating them with love and trust, which helps to witness Christ's love and unconditional acceptance to them. I knew a guy who was not a Christian whom the ushers at WHC allowed to usher/collect the offerings during the services for a while, and he got saved later on. I asked the head usher at the time about this and he thought it was great to let a non-Christian serve in that capacity. It's sort of the same as that one account in David Wilkerson's book The Cross and the Switchblade about how in his church, they let some gang members collect the offerings and at first they were going to run off with the money, but then because of all the trust that Wilkerson's church showed them in giving them that responsibility, the gang's leader felt convicted to not do it. His gang followed suit and they all eventually go saved.
So, it's a tough call, I think. The question is more about the type of service we're allowing a non-Christian to participate in and not so much whether or not the person is saved. I don't have a problem with non-Christians being ushers or helping the church with, say, a food shelter or something like that. But, if worship leading is on the same level as preaching or administering the Communion or baptizing someone, etc., it might not be in line with the Spirit to allow non-Christians to serve in that capacity.
Tigress 
"Name a shrub after me. Preferably one that's prickly and difficult to eradicate."
-Captain Jack Aubrey
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" | | Back to Top | | |
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Tiggers
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 219
| Posted 2/4/2004 4:33 PM (GMT -6) | | Archibaldo asserts,
“Just curious what every one thought about people bringing in non-christians to fill in for an instrument to help out with worship at a church…?”
AND
Tigress asserts,
“if worship leading is on the same level as preaching or administering the Communion or baptizing someone, etc., it might not be in line with the Spirit to allow non-Christians to serve in that capacity.”
Tigger’s reply,
Ok, I’m not sure that playing an instrument is on the same level as preaching the good news, or giving communion, and baptizing someone. I would have to go along with same lines of thought as Laika and Selah on this one. To this end, I have hopes that through the beforehand prayers, while listening to the music she/he is playing, while listening to the sermon, or hearing what the communion is about, etc., may just have a few seeds planted within them, so that upon one day that seed might just sprout up, ya know? Now, I say this with some qualification, that is, if the original question was about being the worship LEADER (e.g., prayer, song, etc.) than my opinion would be very different, and in this case I would concur with Tigress!
Warmly in Christ,
Tiggers 
“The notion that God uses evils as a means to such higher goods is, … incompatible with the doctrine that he is omnipotent, and therefore does not need to use deplorable means to achieve his ends” (J.L. Mackie). | | Back to Top | | |
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selah
Registered Member
Date Joined Oct 2001
Total Posts : 1210
| Posted 2/5/2004 2:12 AM (GMT -6) | | quote:
Originally posted by Archibaldo
...It seems (in my mind, maybe not true) that even this part of service would be hindered if we were catering to the knowledge of a non-christian.
Hi Archibaldo,
I've been wondering what (specifically) it would look like for service to be hindered by our "catering to the knowledge of a non-christian"...
I know we aren't the first to wonder about this. Jesus was confronted by His followers in Mark 9 about "non-followers" doing things that only "followers" should be doing. I think Jesus' response to them is applicable for us today ("For he who is not against us is for us" 9:40) Perhaps this was Jesus' way of saying "hey, they are positioned toward good rather than evil - let's go with that" or something...
For me, it is helpful to remember my own journey to Christ. I went to church, but wasn't (legally) saved for a while before I walked the aisle and said the words. Since God is at work "wooing" everyone, I guess I can't imagine anything bad coming out of an experience of a non-believer helping others worship. This person, like all people, has a story too. She is on a journey AND luckily for ALL of us, God has a way of meeting her where she's at, rather than waiting for her to get it all together. Know what I mean?
love,
selah
"When we acknowledge that all of life is sacred and that each act is an act of choice and therefore sacred, then life is a sacred dance lived consciously each moment. When we live at this level, we participate in the creation of a better world."
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