Journey to Ministry

As a worship leader many things are going through your mind. You worry about the music, how does it sound, is it to fast to slow are the words going up on the screen to slow are the monitors set just right. After hearing my self say all of this it sounds like a man in the business world worried about everything. We make it feel like everything has to be perfect and great the sound and the music. I love what Dan said “Great music can cover over a hollow heart to some degree-but only to a degree.”

I have been there done that. I wanted everything to be so great and perfect I had forgotten what it was all about or put it in other words who was it about. It was not about me it is all about God. Where was my heart? It was wrapped around the world and not around Christ. When your heart is not in the right place it can fall into the world. The big word that I am looking for is pride.

It”s funny when your heart is right everything else falls into place. During practice everything may be all out of sink and nothing sounds right. But come Sunday morning everything falls into place because your heart is where it should be turned completely over to Him. Deny yourself each day pickup up your cross and follow Him. Remember when your heart is out of sink like a practice and nothing seems to go right God can take your heart and mold it and shape it to be a heart of worship. A response to Him because He first loved you.

As a worship leader you have to be able to worship before you can lead others. When you can learn that God can lead His people to worship through you. Remember its not about you it is all about God.

    When I was young and growing up in a small church I always liked to watch the song leader. That was what we called them growing up. As I grew older I learned that they were called worship leaders or worship pastors. I still thought they just led music and that was it but I was wrong. Being a worship leader comes with a great responsibility.

Worship leaders are bridge builders. They meet people where they are now and help them get across to where they need to be. We build these bridges with the artful forms of music that tells the story of Christ. Remember God has brought these people from all forms of life.

Worship leader must nurture the flock that God has brought to you. You must care for them deeply and help them get to a new place. Your heart must be full of passion and have the desire to build the body of Christ.As a worship leader you must also be a teacher.

You must teach them through the songs that you select. That is why it is important to plan. Plan ahead the best that you can. The most important thing is to be on your face each day praying for the body of Christ.

  Worship is a matter of the heart an expression of love given to God because He first loved us. Worship needs to be a visible testimony of a relationship with the Father that is so intimate that the passion eclipses everything else in life. Worship is the product of seeking an interaction with the Heavenly Father that is real, vibrant, and dynamic.

    The Biblical definition of worship is found in Romans 12:1, “Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service”.  Being a worship leader we should model that verse in every aspect of our lives. We should live God centered lives. The calling that God has given us is a sacred responsibility. Remember we are taking people to meet with God.

  We must always remember that God has given us this responsibility to bring glory and honor to Him and not ourselves. That is why it is very important to always guard our hearts and never turn it into something for yourself. 

A worship leader has a level of intimacy with the Father that will show when he is leading worship. He should seek these characteristics and model them with the expectations that those he leads will follow, a heart for the lost and needy, loving spirit, selflessness, thankfulness, humbleness, gentleness, and patience. They must also be consistent in what they do and be able to equip others. Worship leaders are pastoral, proficient, understand authority, and are passionate with what they do.

Sometimes I think we forget what worship is all about. Wright said in his book that worship means to literally, acknowledging the worth of something or someone. It means recognizing and saying that something or someone is worthy of praise. It means celebrating the worth of someone or something far superior to oneself.

Does the words loyalty, allegiance, and surrender mean anything today? Have you tried to talk to the younger generation today about this? Its not just the younger generation its also the older generation. These words and acts such as singing, reading the scriptures are all espressions of worship. I feel like in todays world we have forgotton what worship is.

I love to listen to the song “Heart of Worship”. There is one line that says, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, it’s all about you, it’s all about you, Jesus”. We need to come back to the heart of worship. The heart of worship is Jesus.

Our hearts need to be recaptured by the story. The Creater King, a Relational Savior, who penetraded into the darkest tombs of humanity and emerged the life victor. It is the story that invites us, moves us and draws into relationship with a God who is unseen.

Why do we worship God? 1 John 4:19 says “We love Him because He first loved us”. Worship is a primary response to the already, and all consuming, love of God. When our life is a response to the love of God, then we become the worshipers whom the Father is pursuing.

There are ways to responed to the love of  God in worship. Worship can be a creative act. As humans we are to be sub-creators. Create something from something. Worship can be a Royal Act. As humans we are image bearers. We are Gods chosen people. (1Peter 2:9) Our life needs to be a reflection Christ 

Worship is a Relational Act. As humans we are to be a community builders. We are to go out and build communities for Christ. Worship is a Narrative Act. As humans we are called storytellers. Worship is the act of going out and telling the kingdom story in ways that will strike the heart, secure the memory in the mind, cause passionate action from the soul. Everything we do with our life should be a act of worship.

When are we coming back to the heart of worship?

I have always loved going to church camps during the summer with our youth groups. I have always gotten up before anyone else and gone outside to have my quite time with God. Just as the sun is coming up I love to look at the nature and it reminds me how awesome our God is. The reflection that I see from the nature is the reflection of Christ. 

This brings me to the question “What is the nature of human being?”. In Genesis 1:26 God said,”Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness” as human beings are we reflecting the image of Christ. Do people see Christ when they look at us. What is that suppose to look like? That brings me to this question,”What is the nature of  Christ?”.

The four characteristics of Christ are 1) God as Creator (the God who creates) 2)God as King (the God who reigns) 3) God as Trinity (the God who relates) 4) God as Savior (the God who acts). As you look at these four Characteristics how can we apply these to our daily living and our whorship creativity and this brings us to the nature of human being.

God is the creater as humans we need to be the subcreaters.  Work with what we have and make something out of something.  We need to use what God has given us and create something. God is the King we need to be the imagebearers of Christ. Everything we do should be the reflection of the image of Christ. God as Trinity as humans we need to be community builders. We are ideally wired to be the ones who re-gather the scattered human family under the banner of God’s good leadership and the fullness of unconditional love. God as Savior as humans we need to be the salvation storytellers. Each day God brings someone into our path that needs to hear the story.

When we all start showing these characteristics each day of our life the world will be a better place.

As I finished reading this morning I wondered how many people really know who God is and what is God like.  On Sunday morning during worship time I look at people and some of them seem to be in a coma.  I see no joy or excitment.  How can you be like that if know who God is and what is he like.

To know Who God is and what is he like step outside and take a walk. As you walk look around and you will see God.  God took nothing and made something.  I think so many people today are so busy they do not take the time to look. I think that is so sad. They are missing out on the beautiful creation that God made.  I walk every morning and I see something differant every time.

God is the creator of heaven and earth, He is also the King over heaven and earth.  Psalm 103:9 says God has set His thone in heaven;He rules over us all.  He’s the King.  The question is have we allowed God to reign over us or have we allowed other things be our god and reign over us? As christans are we allowing the world to see God reign over us.

I have covered two of the characteristcs of God now I want to cover the third one God as trinity.  The God that we worship is a Trinitarian God. We know no other God then the one revealed in Jesus Christ,  Father,  Son,  and Holy Spirit.  In the article Leading Trinitarian Worship John Calvin said it best, “Unless we think of God as Trinitarian we have no knowledge of God at all,only the word “God ” flutters through our brain naked,and void of meaning.  The truth about the Trinity is priceless and incomparable. It is the teaching about Gods life and our life with Him that explores worship,  relationships,  and community.  It is like a eternal dance.

The final characteristic I want to talk about is God as Savior.  John 3:16-17 sayes For God so loved the world so much that he gave his only son,  so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life 17)God sent his son into the world not to judge the world,  but to save the world .  God sent his son to die on a cross.  A son named Jesus who knew no sin, but took all the sins of the world upon his shoulders and hung on that cross so we would be set free from our sins. God will meet all of our needs.  He knows what is best for us.  He is our Savior.

Finishing the first assignment of the Essentials in Worship Theology it made me realize what theology is and why it is so important.  It is the study of God,  who he is and what he has done for us.  Why He should be the most important part of your life.  That is where worship comes into the picture. Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I urge you brethren,  by the mercies of God,  to present your bodies a living holy sacrifice,  acceptable to God,  which is your is your spiritual service of worship.  And o not be conformed to this world,  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,  so that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  Here is a quote that Dan Wilt said about worship; Worship is a living act that encompasses all of our lives offered to Jesus in complete and utter surrender.  Wether we are singing songs at church on Sunday mornings,  going to work,  every act of life has the potential to be a offering of worship. To be able to worship God you have to know who He is and what he has done for you.  That is why it is very important to study Gods word,  renewing your mind each day.  Become a student of Gods word.  I would like to close with a quote from the early church father,  Iranaeus of Lyons,  “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.”   

I woke up this morning, got my cup of coffee and sat down to spend my quiet time with God.  But there was something different this morning, I had such a peace.  A peace like I have never felt before.  It made me realize that I am on the right path.

  I have been an athletic trainer for 17 years, my last 6 years in Mineral Wells, TX.  Five years ago I answered the call to ministry.  I knew God was calling me but I did not know what He had in store.  I have had many opportunities to grow in my walk with the Lord and had many great mentors to challenge me along the way.  I do look at my job, being an athletic trainer as a wonderful ministry in being an example and helping kids heal more than just physical health.  But in my heart,  I know God is calling me deeper. 

One Sunday, our pastor spoke to us about spiritual markers.  Serving on many leadership teams, teaching youth and adults to grow in Christ and being challenged to go beyond myself with the talents God has given me have been just a few of the markers that have come my way.   The last couple of years God has given me an even deeper passion for worship.   I have been part of our praise band and have had several opportunities to lead our church in worship.   I had the opportunity to go to an Innovative Praise conference last summer that helped me grow in the area of muscianship. 

This brings me to today, almost 50 years old, starting this new chapter in my life.  I wondered why God didn’t bring me here earlier in my life, but as I look back He had been,  I was just too blind to see.  God has been preparing me for a long time for this journey.  He is still working on me to shape me to be more like Him.  Through this program I will be stretched farther than I have ever been.  My desire is to dig deeper into God’s Word and be ready for whatever He has for me.  I am excited and can’t wait to get started.  God equips the ones He calls, pray hard!