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Last night, I was at dinner with some other couples from our church. I was sitting across from a couple that has been in our church for about 5 years, and prior to coming, were both unsaved. The only church background at all that they had was in the Catholic church, so coming to our pentecostal church with contemporary, charismatic worship was a completely new experience to say the least! They began asking me some questions regarding worship that lead to their sharing a powerful story that really ministered to us, but also reminded us of a powerful truth about the role we play as worship leaders.
The lady that was sharing has talked to me before about worship and the experience of worship in our church services. However, she began to share about her experience when she first came to our church. She said that as she watched me, she could tell that I truly had a heart for worship. It was real. She could see that I had a connection with the God that I was worshiping and that my worship was not just something I did as a part of the Sunday service.
She said that one of the reasons she kept coming and decided to stay at our church was because of what she saw on the platform as she worshiped. She said it was evident that those of us leading worship had a connection with God and it made her desire that for herself. She wanted to experience that same thing... to develop a relationship with the God that she was worshiping... the God that she saw others clearly connecting with... the God that had moved in our lives to a point that it showed through on the outside.
It was a powerful moment and revelation. There was power in the word of her testimony as she shared her experience, but even more so for me knowing that I had the honor of being a part of her experience. Beyond that, what a powerful reminder of the role we all serve in as worship leaders! We are not just singing songs and playing music. We are not just filling a time slot in the Sunday service. We are not entertaining the congregation. We are leading them in a worship EXPERIENCE with the Almighty God!
What we do (or don't do) on the platform as we lead in worship has much more of an impact than we realize. Some worship leaders are so concerned with questions like "will they like this song?", "is it too loud?", "what time is it?", "how do I look right now in my fashionable glasses and skinny jeans?", etc... that they lose focus on the REAL purpose of what they're doing and how important it really is.
The question we should be asking ourselves as we lead is "what is my worship revealing?" Is it revealing ME, my abilities, my team... or is it revealing HIM? Our worship should be revealing Jesus... pointing people to HIM. We don't need the people to see us... but to see the God we are worshiping. We need to be worshiping with our whole hearts and in such a way that it causes the people to have a true desire to go there with us!
Next time you step onto your church platform to play, sing, leading in whichever way you do... think on this and what you are revealing as you lead the people of your church!