Most of you know that Ive sung on church worship teams for over 10 years now, and over that time God's brought me through a major attitude overhaul. If you've never been on a church worship team, it can sometimes be hard to understand the common prideful mentality that can plague the worship singers. Not every singer deals with it, but for the longest time, being on the worship team platform was a performance to me. A place to show off and do whatever I wanted to do. I saw my time on stage as an opportunity to 'share my talents' with the world, and totally forgot about the main part of worship- Jesus!
I remember so distinctly how God gently, but firmly broke my prideful spirit and had to bring me to the point of understanding that it isn't about me! Worship is one of the most beautiful things we get to do as Christians. Its not about singing a worship song, lifting our hands, or clapping in a service. Worship is a live style that brings glory to Jesus. Worship is saying "God, You are good and I am not- so I give You everything I am and offer up my life as a sacrifice". Worship truly is an act of submission to God, and beyond that, a celebration of His greatness and love. There is nothing sweeter then ministering to God and showing our love for Him together with the body of Christ. It's a tangible way to stop and say "I love you, Jesus!". What an incredible thing.
Being on a church worship team is an incredible privilege. Its being able to use the talent God has given you to glorify him in a public setting, and lead others to the throne room. Its a huge responsibility, and God had to bring me through some tough lessons to finally get to the point where I take my job as a worshiper seriously. Suddenly, when its all about Jesus and leading the body of Christ into extravagant worship, you're own agenda doesn't matter.
With that said, over the course of the last year, God has been changing my heart even more towards worship teams. Mainly, the background vocalists on worship teams. I feel such a passion to see singers rise up and not just be great singers, but to become the worshipers they were designed to be! The singers on a worship team are truly the first example of worship that the congregation sees. They set the tone for worship, and are instrumental in setting the tone for the entire service. In Psalms 68 :24-25 is says "Your procession, God, has come into view, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary. In front are the singers, after them the musicians. Praise God in the great congregation, praise the Lord in the assembly..." In the Old Testament, the singers and musicians would go out ahead of the army, singing praises to God- worship was that important to winning the battle! "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever!". As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated." 2 Chronicles 20:21-22.
Being on a worship team is so much more then just using our talents for God. We are the front line of defense. We have the privilege to usher the presence of God into the sanctuary and see God move in peoples lives. We can pave the way for an incredible move of God- just like in 2 Chronicles. As they sang praises, God defeated their enemies. How incredible is that? We as worshipers can set the stage for a move of God like never before!
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