From September of 2016 to June of 2017, I earnestly sought for God to reveal the true meaning of worship. Let me first establish that, “There is a worship that expresses the heart, and worship that involves the mind, and a worship that involves the body. There is a worship that is giving praise upward, a worship that is receiving instructions from above, and a worship that carries out instruction in the world around us.” (1) As part of a worship team in some capacity since about 2001, I’m narrowing the talk today to about the worship achieved on the sanctuary platform. Priscilla Shire in her book One in a Million posed for her readers to “Describe a situation in which you thought you were ready to handle something you now realize you weren’t.” (p40) From which I gleaned the wisdom on that very same page of, “We must synchronize our primary purposes with God’s… we can neither accomplish abundant life with God nor overcome the Enemy’s advances without the Lord’s help.” We must “lay aside our determination to do life our way and follow Him.”
Although it is not directly written in Scripture that Satan was the worship leader in heaven, it’s not that far-fetched to realize that of all ministries, worship seems to be at the top of his hit list. In fact, a pastor once told me that of all the areas in ministry of a church, a majority of pastors will say they consider the worship team to be the most challenging. I would assert the reason to be mostly because musicians are so extremely passionate, and oftentimes that energy has not yet been properly focused – or at best, matured. The multiplication of several extremely passionate, improperly focused, immature people can be, well… uncomfortable and unproductive to say the least. One of my Bible’s topical notes on emotions mentions that expressing what is within determines attitude and behavior, and expresses outwardly our innermost beliefs. For example, if we truly believe God’s sovereignty and ultimate control, we exchange fear and worry for peace and contentment. It goes on to say, “You not only do yourself damage and limit your potential in Christ when you deny or suppress your emotions, you reduce your understanding of who God is.” The goal is to realize emotion – that passionate, heartfelt desire – is part of the energy that bonds believers to God and to each other in a rich, meaningful way.
The next place my study took me to was longsuffering – a Fruit of the Spirit. Longsuffering is an optimistic waiting… patience… endurance, steadfastness, and forbearance. An active response to opposition, not a passive resignation to the inevitable. Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-14 was hope that the people would possess patience AND joy. The root of the word longsuffering means to “put fury far off while suffering wrong or injustice.” Why do I relate suffering or injustice with being on a worship team? Well, because immature passion can lead to (dare I say) becoming “butt-hurt” and a feeling of unfairness or injustice. The truth being that it’s probably not real, most certainly does not make friends or influence people, nor does it advance the Kingdom.
On the flip side of that, such a zealous group of people requires not just authoritarians, but strong leadership. One of the core leaders in my church once shared this 12 minute video with me by Simon Sinek on leadership and why good leaders make you feel safe… (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmyZMtPVodo) Very powerful, especially if you apply it to ministry. How about creating the right environment not only within a particular ministry, but within the entire church? Imagine… in such a terrifying world, developing a place we could be made to feel safe. A place where we attempt to win the lost souls of people. We all have the capacity to lead in this instance. The question is whether we choose to exercise it. SERVICE is the key.
While lack of good leadership can result in a somewhat misguided team, so can unrealistic expectations on the part of the team members. One of the ways I’ve battled against developing unrealistic expectations is giving attention to my own identity in Christ. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 140: 23-24) It’s been noted time and time again that the only person people have the power to change is themselves. But it’s a process, isn’t it? “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” (Proverbs 16:3)
Bottom line, people are messy and it takes time to trust and build relationships in order to serve one another. St. Rose of Lima, who became known for both her life of severe asceticism (severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence) and her care of the needy, was quoted as saying, “Without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase.” Philippians 2:3-4 states, “When haughtiness and conceit are present, cooperation disappears.” If not vigilant, the potential blessing of ministry could even be taken away. An illustration of this from Exodus is Miriam, a gifted woman, who left a caution for every female leader. “God alone gives and removes both talent and importance. Miriam incurred God’s displeasure when she allowed herself to challenge the authority God had given Moses. She allowed jealousy and spitefulness to rob her of fulfillment in her later years.” (2) On a personal note, I had my microphone taken away at one time because I was not focusing on the true gift God had given me – playing the bass. Really, the goal is to strive to be of one accord… one mind; not equal with God; humbled. (Philippians 2:1-11)
In the same time frame I sought the Lord on this topic my husband was, and still is, seeking to improve his recording skills through various instructional videos. On one such occasion I joined him as he watched a video of Doug Gould (3). He used Romans 10:17 as preparation for the heart before he began, explaining that “if you don’t hear the Word with clarity and intelligibility, nobody’s heart gets changed; nobody’s life is transformed.” He went on to explain that worship is the critical gatekeeper of the conduit that allows the Word of God to enter the hearts, minds, and souls of the people. Elisabeth Elliot (4) was quoted as saying, “Worship is not an experience. Worship is an act, and this takes discipline.” Doug admonished his audience regarding worship, “If you don’t take it that seriously. DON’T… DO… IT.”
Until next time… ❤️
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(1) https://www.gci.org/God/worship
(2) Taken from a portrait of Miriam in my Bible
(3) Doug Gould is a veteran of the Pro Audio and Music Technology Industry for nearly 30 years, serving in management roles, worship leader, musician and tech at various churches.
(4) Elisabeth Elliot was a Christian author and speaker whose first husband, Jim Elliot, was killed in 1956 while attempting to make missionary contact with the Auca of eastern Ecuador – after which Elisabeth made her forgiveness known to her husband’s murderers and continued her work with the Quechua for two more years
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