WORSHIP MINISTRY, WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL?

God Has Called Us
We have been given gifts by God that we are called to use for the benefit of the church.

1 Corinthians 14:26 “What then shall we say brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church."

Note the word everyone. This means you! Further, we are not there to benefit ourselves but to benefit the church and ultimately bring glory to God.
I Chronicles 15:16-22 – In this passage David tells the Levites to appoint singers and musicians. He appoints those who are “skillful” at it. The Levites were held to high standards in that time.

It’s More Than Just Music

2 Chronicles 5:11-14” The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." 
Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.”

In this passage God chose to use musicians to usher in the Spirit of God, filling the temple where God was to dwell! What an amazing scene this verse describes. I believe God continues to use his people to usher his presence in our midst today! Because of the new covenant God no longer is confined to the holy of holies, but he dwells in a new temple, our body! What a thought, that the glory of God would fill us with such power, like the priests, causes us to stop what we are doing and give our full attention to Him. This is what I believe God desires for the church, that we would come together and invite the glory of God into our midst. He wishes to usher in with so much power that we forget our "daily tasks" and give Him our full attention!

Worship team is not just about music or a performance, it is a ministry. Though we are standing in front on stage our attitudes and hearts should always be pointing towards God. We should be ready and available to be used in a powerful way!

You Are a Leader

What defines you as a leader? I believe, that if you have influence, you are a leader. Of course everyone’s role as a leader will look different, but this doesn’t discount the fact that we have influence. I view each member of a worship team as a leader.
As a member of the worship ministry we have a unique kind of influence. Of course everyone sees you, therefore we have a responsibility to strive to lead people toward God. How do we do that?

In order to be a leader we must be a good follower. Let me explain, if we are to lead people to God, we need to be following God. Otherwise, we are going to be leading people to something or someone else. It’s like the game, follow the leader you may have played when you were a kid.

Singers

Singers have a unique role on the worship team since they are on the “front lines”. They are in front of the band and they are in a very vulnerable position.

Psalm 68:24 “Your procession has come into view, O God, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary. In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the maidens playing tambourines.”

Judges 5:11-12 “The voice of the singers at the watering places. They recite the righteous acts of the LORD, the righteous acts of his warriors in Israel…”

The word “singers” in this passage is translated in the Hebrew as archers, singers were referred to as archers and warriors. These days the significant difference between secular and worship music is the lyrics. The lyrics in worship songs are meant to "declare the righteous acts of the LORD." They declare things like His character, His promises, and His truth!

There is a spiritual battle being fought as we worship God as a community. Worship has a significant role in spiritual warfare, but that topic is for another blog and for another time.

Be blessed and be encouraged as you follow Gods leading and calling on you and your ministry! May we come together as we strive to further the kingdom of God and bring heaven to earth!

A Work In ProGreSs...

"Often I am of two minds when I think about worshipping God. On the one hand, I think, "Why in the world would/should God be the least bit interested in my offering of worship? Seriousy!" On the other hand, His word tells me plainly and simply that He desires my worship. It is an act of obedience and an expression of what is in my heart. When Saul disobeyed Samuel, Samuel chided him by saying, "Obedience is better than sacrifice." I think I can handle that. I can let God be God and never mind the "Why?" and "How come?". What is in my heart, however, is still a work in progress."

-Roger Anderson
Lead Worshiper, Piano/Keys/Vocals