This week, I pull out one of my earliest-written congregational songs. I wrote “Adopted” when I was working for Smarte Carte at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport during the winter break of ’96 (I was a junior at Belmont University at the time). As I was pulling carts around from place to place, the rhythm of my feet got my mind rolling on a tune and some lyrics, and I just kept singing it all day long so I wouldn’t forget it. I introduced it when I led worship for Centrifuge in Panama City during the summer of ’97, and the producers of the Centrifuge CD that came out the following year included it on an album they released the following summer (produced by my good buddy, Dave Hunt). A few months before that, a worship leader named Daniel Hoover decided to record it on his album, making it my first actual “cut.” Then, during the summer of 1998, a friend of mine traveled with Mercy Me and introduced the song to them. They played it all summer and put it on their “Traces of Rain, Vol. II” album, which, if you hit that link, you’ll see you can only get used for $60 a pop! Makes me want to sell mine! This was obviously before they were heard nationwide with “I Can Only Imagine.”
So, I’m thankful that God took this song all over the place. I played it for the first time in years to make this video, and I still really like it. It’s based on Galatians 4:3-7 where Paul is describing the process by which we were taken from being slaves of the principles of the world to being sons and heirs of God.
Hallelujah! God has spoken, and I know this changes everything / “Hallelujah! Praise Him only,” sing the slaves adopted by the King / Glory be to my Father who reigns, for I met Him and cannot be the same / When in bondage to Jesus I came, He took my place and He changed my name / Hallelujah (women echo) / God has spoken (women echo) / Hallelujah (women echo) / Chains are broken
So, I’ve repented of my pride in dealing with how I feel before God, so I step up on stage with the understanding that it’s only by grace that I am ready. But very soon after the set begins, the next temptation arises. I notice someone in the third row still talking to their friend about something obviously having nothing to do with Jesus. I spot a yawn in the left-back of the room. And another near the middle. During the song that I surely thought would cause people to fully engage and sing at the top of their lungs, it seems like the whole congregation is barely moving their mouths with blank stares on their faces.
I feel a surge in my chest. What’s wrong? I think to myself, “Maybe I just need to sing a little more from my heart.” So I close my eyes and try to sing the words with more meaning. ”Maybe I’m closing my eyes too much.” So I open my eyes and look around, trying to make eye contact as I sing. ”Maybe the sound is off today.” So I imagine a conversation I’ll try to have with a trusted techie friend after the service about how it sounded….you get the picture.
All of these thoughts have one thing in common: they are based on fear. I fear that I might receive criticism after the service. I’m afraid that if worship is not “effective” enough, I might lose my reputation as a good worship leader with the congregation. I anxiously think about whether my team will stop respecting my leadership if the arrangements aren’t good enough to evoke people to praise well.
What do I do with these thoughts? Repent? Well, yes – definitely. And to help me turn away from fear and toward grace, there are some specific truths I can go to in this situation. Here are some clarifying questions I can ask myself when my mind starts meandering this way:
Q: Who is responsible for worship? Is it me?
A: WOW, that’s a lot of pressure. And I just described how it feels above. This follows along the same lines as last week’s post. What if I was responsible for other people worshiping God? I sure would feel terrible if I could tell people weren’t worshiping. On the flipside, I’d feel awfully proud if I could tell they were. Neither of these is a good place to be. And believe me as someone who’s experienced both extremes – you don’t want to ride that roller coaster.
Q: If I’m not responsible for their worship, are they?
A: Yes, in a way. People are responsible for doing the same thing I talked about last week. It is their responsibility to come before the Lord. Not with a list of good things they’ve done to deserve to be in His presence, and not with a despairing heart (though both of these attitudes can certainly be changed within the context of a worship service), but with the understanding that they are a part of this singing congregation only because of the gracious blood of Christ Jesus that was shed for their sins. But I would go so far as to say that the true answer is beyond even the individuals in the congregation.
Q: If it’s not the people’s responsibility, then whose is it?
A: The Holy Spirit’s. I believe that we all need God to open our eyes to His holiness, His beauty, His love, and His forgiveness for us to respond with the kind of worship we were created to offer (Psalm 146:8, Psalm 119:18-19, Philippians 2:12-13). Without God’s work to awaken us, we would all just be trying really hard to make something happen for ourselves, and that would undoubtedly end in some pretty fleshly results. God is the one who does the work of regenerating our hearts when we believe in Christ, and He is the one who continues to make us more like Christ every day. Our only job is to yield to His work.
Q: So, as a worship leader, what is my part?
A: 1) Pray for your congregation. Pray that God will graciously work in their minds and hearts to reveal Himself to them. Pray that they will respond in faith and be changed as they sing, listen, and pray. 2) Do everything you can to not be a distraction. Possible distractions could be:
- not practicing enough, so the congregation is awkwardly waiting for the next mistake
- performing, or trying to do something musically to impress people
- saying too much between songs (or in the middle of songs)
- dressing inappropriately
All of these are things to avoid so that people are not tempted to focus on you or anyone else on stage, and so that they are able to sing wholeheartedly if they want to without being worried about distractions. The inverse of these things are what I would urge any leader to work toward (practicing enough without wearing out your volunteers, working out excellent arrangements that support singing, being sure of what you will say if you decide to say something, dressing appropriately).
God gives us the gifts that we have so that we can “administer grace” to others (I Peter 4:10-11). He loves to use us to pour out his grace to his people. So we can rest assured that it is his responsibility to draw praise from those he has redeemed. Our job is to simply be the vessel. And that fact is a far better motivator for us to lead well than any other.