I have often said, "I am not at all comfortable in a performing role, but am completely comfortable and at peace in a worship leading role as a minister and musician." I am not comfortable with it being about me. It is about Him. I was reminded of that today in worship led by our guest musician, Keron Jackson. Keron has been gifted by God with a phenomenal voice and yet kept saying to me, as we rehearsed for the services and led the services, that it was not about him, but about Jesus and what He had done in his life. What a passionate and compassionate heart this guy shared behind the scenes as we prepared to worship with the church. It wasn't just about his song, but about his story - which begins and ends with Jesus.
This should always be true of any of us who lead the church in worship: the instrumentalists, the choir, the preachers, whoever we are in the leading, it must always profoundly, yet simply, be about Him!
One has said, "Worship is all that we are, responding to all that God has revealed Himself to be, initiated and empowered by His Holy Spirit." When we lead worship as worship leaders, we simply are "responding" to Him and it's all about Him! In our culture there is sometimes a tendency to fall in love with the man-contrived DELIVERY SYSTEM, rather than the TRUTH.
Our role is never to impress, but to inspire and ignite people's hearts to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4). Whether we are part of a worship leading choir or a worship leader we are to enable folks into His presence or usher folks in. Our job is not to worship TO or FOR the congregation, but WITH the congregation. Bottom line is . . . give me Jesus! mjm