An Update from Holy Ground
One of the most underrated moments of worship planning is the Call to Worship. To stand before a congregation and announce the powerful news that God is present and moving among us, and that He invites our full attention as we worship together; that is a holy task.
While I’ve done this for over a dozen years as a pastor in local churches, it is now my incredible privilege to declare these words standing at the front of Estes Chapel for our campus Chapel services every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
If you’re like me, Estes Chapel is the ultimate holy ground. It may be a small overstatement, but it’s possible that only the throne room of heaven is a seat closer to the presence of Christ when worshiping Him. Pastoring the community that worships in Estes each week has been a privilege and passion of mine for the last year and a half.
Like many of you, I worshiped with the Asbury Community during my years as a student, sitting and standing in awe during the wonderful preaching and music I had a chance to be part of each week. While I know I enjoyed my time at Asbury as a student, I’m sure I took for granted the world-class sermons and incredible worship I experienced as part of my steady diet of formation for holiness and ministry. I realize now that no small part of my formation for ministry happened in various pews and in prayer at the altar in Estes Chapel.
When I was invited to return as Dean of Chapel in the summer of 2014, I got to walk through the doors of Estes with a whole new perspective as one called to shepherd and pastor the community that had formed me so well. We now have three weekly worship services in Estes (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 11:00 ET). I joke that the task of worship planning at Asbury means “Sunday comes three days a week!”
On those three days I get to look out on the congregation in Estes from the exact opposite perspective – standing on the platform and overlooking a community engrossed in worship, preaching from the pulpit that so many greats have stood in over nearly 100 years here. I’ve always said those leading worship have the best seat in the house since we get to witness the faces of the congregation as they turn their hearts and faces eagerly toward Christ.
Since I know that the hearts our alumni have invested in this place, I wanted to share with you the pleasures that I see here each week. Students, faculty, and staff are fully engaged in the worship of Jesus Christ. Some days hands are outstretched and eyes closed in the presence of God. Other days our eyes are wide open as we sing “lustily” great Wesley hymns like And Can It Be. Prayers and praise are lifted in the many languages of the world that converges at Asbury, and students pour to the altar to leave burdens and receive confirmation of their new identity in Christ. For them this will someday be a place they remember and visit as their own holy ground, the place that God formed and shaped them to do great things for Him.
I’d love for you to join us in worship any time you’re near Wilmore. You can also listen to a live audio stream of worship on our website here http://asburyseminary.edu/students/chapel/live-streaming/ and hear or watch recordings of the world-class preaching in Estes here http://asburyseminary.edu/students/chapel/archive/ . I’m working on even more ways in the future you can participate in worship at Asbury and stay connected to the life you discovered as a student here. Know that your holy ground is here waiting whenever you visit virtually or in person, and that we pray for you, your families, and your ministries without ceasing.
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