[otc-wt-admin] Mission statement

Thanks so much to Craig for locating this mission statement.  I think that this 
captures the primary focus of what we do wonderfully.  

 

I’m a little surprised by the term ‘minister’, though.  Craig, can you share 
more about what it means to “minister to … the Lord”?

 

What does everybody else think?  Is it missing anything?  Is it all clear to 
everybody?  Is this a statement that we can all get behind and support?

 

Mike

 

 

The Music Ministry 
exists to 
minister to, and magnify the Lord 

by leading the congregation

in song and prayer 
as God works in our hearts,

bringing us closer 

to Messiah-like maturity.

 

From: Barbara Ingalls <mailto:ingalls.barbara@xxxxxxxxx>  

Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 5:27 PM

To: otc-wt-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 

Subject: [otc-wt-admin] Re: OTC Musical Repertoire

 

Why not write to Thomas.  Perhaps he remembers it, or saved it somewhere as a 
basis for something he might be doing now…

 

From: otc-wt-admin-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:otc-wt-admin-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of abideingod@xxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 4:02 PM
To: otc-wt-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [otc-wt-admin] Re: OTC Musical Repertoire

 

Thanks, Mike, for your passion for God honoring worship and the way you express 
your heart in this area!

I know there was an OTC worship team mission statement when Thomas Boehm was 
serving on the team, but I can't find my written copy.  Does anyone from back 
then have their copy?????  With that being from awhile back, I don't know if it 
still applies.

Thanks Mike for this great idea to locate one if we have it!

Nancy

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Hammond <mctmike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: otc-wt-admin <otc-wt-admin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tue, Jan 24, 2012 3:51 pm
Subject: [otc-wt-admin] Re: OTC Musical Repertoire

Cheryl said:

 

We are a congregation, not a mission.  We have a mission statement but we are 
first and foremost a congregation of believers .....God does the saving.  Our 
mission is not only to Jewish people, but to who God puts in our path.  As 
Craig said, we provide a home ofr Jewish believers who want to maintain their 
Jewishness and for Gentiles............etc. etc. etc.

 

I agree that we are a congregation first and foremost, but I think we’ve had 
some significant confusion in some of our meetings about exactly what the OTC 
worship team is actually trying to accomplish for that congregation, and for 
the Body overall.  That confusion carries over into tricky questions of how 
many of which types of songs we should be singing on Saturdays.  Personally, I 
think that identifying organizational goals is important to avoiding confusion, 
and that for everyone’s benefit, those goals should be captured in a succinct 
mission statement.  Think of the role the U.S. Constitution plays in 
governmental affairs.  Individuals will argue that government should or should 
not do certain things because the Constitution demands or forbids them.  If I 
ask my Congressman to put forward a law that says prisoners must listen to 
three hours of smooth jazz music each day, he might respond by saying that the 
Constitution does not permit Cruel and Unusual Punishment.  If my Congressman 
tries to pass a law abolishing the military, I should respond that the 
Constitution requires the government to Provide for the Common Defense.  A 
mission creates a sense of focus, and makes it easier to identify what advances 
or frustrates the goals of that organization.

 

Our web site makes it clear that we deliberately have chosen a Jewish-focused 
worship style (and I praise God for that!) but my point is that this approach 
doesn’t flow directly from the stated mission of Olive Tree – making disciples 
of Jews and Gentiles to glorify God.  Inasmuch as it IS our approach, and 
should STAY our approach, it seems to me we should have some formal treatment 
of that idea.  In short, we should be able to say, “We worship with a Jewish 
sensibility because it’s our primary mission to evangelize the Jewish people”, 
instead of saying “We worship with a Jewish sensibility because our website 
says so.”  It’s a subtle difference, but an important one.  The website content 
may change based on the emphasis of whoever updates the website.  The mission 
of the OTC worship team should be something that doesn’t change unless the 
Spirit impresses on the team that we need to change the way we are doing 
worship.

 

Note that that’s not to say that we’re doing anything wrong by making the 
Jewish community the focus of our missions efforts, and our worship efforts.  
What I’m missing, intellectually, is some formal statement of the worship 
team’s principles.  Let me throw this question out there – is there a formal 
OTC Worship Team mission statement?  Something that defines why we do what we 
do?  The text on the website, and Craig’s commentary in this forum would both 
provide great source material for such a document, if it doesn’t already exist.

 

Mike

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