Description

---

After forty years in ministry, even before retirement, the feeling of not having the Holy Spirit in worship was present. I found myself struggling to find a place of worship where I can feel the movement of the Holy Spirit. After visiting many churches (different denominations), in many states, and observing many styles of worship, the one thing that was missing was the movement and the drawing of the Holy Spirit. Churches are not grow-ing spiritually or numerically despite trying different preaching styles, mu-sic styles, and many kinds of activities. This brought me too many hours in prayer and research. My desire is that this book will serve as a thought-ful and self-evaluation of how we worship. It is not my intention to criticize individual preachers or leaders but to create a venue to examine how we worship. We will look at Gods word and examine worship in the Old Testament, New Testament and different time periods. We will explore how culture has effected how we worship. We will examine our relationship with God to see how we worship today. There are many questions in the book which will help to examine our relationship with God. This would be great study book for groups. Some information to let you know about the author and my journey, the events which led me to my understanding of the relationship God wants to have with me. I was born on a small farm in North Carolina in 1939. Yes that makes me eighty-one. I told God I was too old to start writing but he would not accept that excuse. I graduated from Central High School with eighteen other students. In high school at age sixteen God called me to be a Christian. At seventeen God called me to the ministry, However, I ran for 13 years. I attended electronics school, worked for Piedmont Airlines as a steward. Joined the U S Air Force in which I spent four years. I then worked as a plumber, drilled water wells, went to Kansas and built airplanes, sold insurance, tried insurance claim adjuster, and janitor. As you can tell I was not contented. In October 1969 I surrendered to God and His call to ministry. I attended Oklahoma Baptist University, graduatinng with a BA in Theology and minor in Church History. I then moved to Kansas City Missouri to attend Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In May 1981 I graduated with a Masters of Divinity. During this period I worked at the airport, painted houses, salesman at JC Penneys, supply preacher, interim pastor and pastered. My second pastorate was a rural church started by Jessie James's grandfather. In addition, I pastored an intercity church for twelve years. I have served churches in rural setting, urban, small and large, worked with the seminary as a field supervisor training students to serve in various capacities of ministry. Throughout my life I have learned that relying on God and His word will always bring you through life.