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3services? Do church members understand that worship should be a lifestyle thatpermeates the whole body and not just a service on Sunday?Both ofthese encounters led me to a desire to study this issue in more depth. TheChristian Churches have a strong history ofplanting new churches throughout the world.Believing that the study ofworship in the context ofthese churches has been negligible, Iperused all ofthe books in the OCC library that dealt primarily with new church planting.Only one ofthese books gave attention to the importance ofbiblically grounded worship.Most ofthe others, ifworship was mentioned at all, discussed the cosmetics of Sundaymorning, such as adequate parking, ushering, and sound and light systems. I felt thatexamining this issue would provide a much needed investigation ofthe relationshipbetween worship and church planting. Furthermore, it would strengthen my ownunderstanding ofit and prepare me to teach others. Since I have chosen this topic, most ofthe church planters I have contacted have concurred with the need for the study and lookforward to reviewing its outcome.In January 2003, I joined the faculty ofLincoln Christian Seminary (hereafterLCS) to develop a new Master ofArts with a specialization in worship. The seminary isone ofonly three seminaries affiliated with the independent Christian Churches. Allchurches in this movement are autonomous, with no national governing board. Therefore,the colleges and seminaries are highly regarded and maintain a considerable amount ofauthority among supporting churches. LCS is the first ofour seminaries to offer agraduate degree specifically designed to train church leaders in the discipline ofworship.LCS is made up of students from a variety ofbackgrounds. They represent adozen countries, two-dozen faith groups, and scores ofcolleges and universities. The