VIRB

We've done this through doing the most up to date worship and secular songs, having video clips, drama's etc, we strive on making the atmosphere "the best it can be for the seeker" or the one who's "Shopping for God." Then I ask myself why is all this effort being put into this worship time or service to make sure that we get everyone's approval, and making sure that the majority of people (consumers) are attracted to what we are trying to create through excellence in hitting all the right notes and having all the sleek transitions, etc? Is it so people can get saved? I would say most of the time that is the goal but honestly through out the gospels I really don't see Jesus spiritually entertaining people to get them to believe he was the Messiah and to follow Him. Please hear my heart, as an artist, I value creativity and embedding that within a service but not at the expense of the Holy Spirit. I am realizing the more I lead worship it's less about a sing-a-long and more about a journey. It's not about us performing to the crowd to gain approval but more about us being transformed in the presence of God through us exposing our hearts and raising Him up, It should get "MESSY" is what I'm saying IF it's not about performance! Have you ever thought about what worship has turned into in most of our churches today. It's about a group of people informing God about who He already knows He is. This is part of worship, the proclaiming of who God is, but I believe this is secondary to us being transformed as the church in His presence and for the "Great Exchange" to take place when we encounter Him (Matt. 11 :: come to me all who are weary and I will give you Rest) So you give me your stuff and I'll give you mine. This is the beautiful LOVE of the the Lord and He want's to do this every moment of everyday! I am realizing as a worship leader if I want to be on mission to change the culture of the church and for us to really understand our identity as the church under the canopy of God's love, then my focus of hitting all the right notes is secondary to cultivating and intimate journey with the Father. This shouldn't be exclusive for me but also for the worship community (my band) that is around me. Here is a great question, when was the last time you asked the fellow musicians that slap the gravy of what you do every Sunday morning how their relationship's with the Lord are? The platform I step on Sunday morning is not a place for a sing-a-long, it's the forefront of Spiritual warfare, so I long for the guys up there with me to understand the vitality of sitting at the Lord's feet through out the week. This is the only way the real journey can begin in our worship of the Creator. I want to give a shout out to my band, I believe they're some of the most talented musicians a worship leader could ever ask for but more importantly they love the Lord and can't get over how much He love's them. This makes my heart smile. So is our "Best offering" hitting all the right notes and performing really well? (Please understand that being musically prepared is a good thing, a thing that is necessary but I would say secondary.) It's something far deeper than that in understanding that what we do with our hands and feet for the Kingdom will not last unless it's birthed out of intimacy with the Holy Spirit. My friends, the lamp is not as important as that which makes it burn.