Have
you ever found yourself late, pressing hard to get home from a long day at
work only to become frustrated about the dinner situation, too tired to
cook—or simply just a lack of time?
After some intense discussion, perhaps, you may decide as a family
to drive though one of the many fast-food restaurants offered to us, so
that you can eat in the car, in order to be on time to a soccer game, to a
film, or even to a church meeting.
“I’d
like a number three, go big, with a diet coke,” you may say as you rush
in your purse or wallet to get the proper amount of change.
Confused, you may have misunderstood the voice from the grumbled
speaker--if you even waited before driving your car to the first window.
In this day and age we have drive through meals, lattés, photos,
doughnuts, ATMs, and even weddings. As
I ponder this modern phenomena of drive through living I wonder if we
apply this same now-now-now mentality to our religion. Has our religion
now been put on the same time table that our fast-paced, over worked, over
stressed, over burdened lives have? Do we drive through God’s window and
say, “Good morning, Lord. I’d
like a blessing please, today, in large proportions.”
Do we understand what we are asking or even wait in stillness, to
hear the response?
Clichés
like “if you’re too busy for God, you’re too busy,” and acronyms
like B.U.S.Y. (Being Under Satan’s Yoke) have lost their original impact
and meaning in the reality of our daily lives.
We may consider for a moment the truth in the statement:
that we are too busy for God, yet make little or not attempts to
reconcile the two. What’s
more, I fear that this same time-constrained mentality has crept into the
practical functioning of the modern church.
Do we believe that it is now necessary to schedule church around busy
people’s lives? Our
are we, as ministry leaders, too busy with ministry to be effective when
we serve? Too
often I’ve experienced worship services timed to a clock.
Okay, a church may decide: 18
minutes of worship, 2 minutes of announcements, 40 minutes of speaking,
and, if we have time, we might schedule in prayer, but we’ll dismiss the
congregation at that time anyway. Jesus
said that His house shall be called a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13).
Has
the body of Christ become too busy for Christ? Jesus said that the
hypocrites honor Him with their lips but their hearts are far away
(Matthew 15:7-9), and that the Father is seeking those who worship in
spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Is there any meaning to the songs we
sing? Are these lyrics our
reality? I quote “I Will
Wake in the Morning” by Chris Falson, a song I use often in my worship
sets, because lately it has personally convicted me.
Do I really seek Him? Do
I really wait for Him to fill my temple with His glory? Do I lay prostrate at His feet?
Do I take the time out of my schedule to worship Him, not just at
church, but in my personal, devotional life?
I
find that as a worship leader, I seem to be confronted with these time
issues and I have questioned this concept over the last couple of years.
As I seek the Lord and pray about this subject, I have become more
and more convicted. My conviction is this:
I find my self praying to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, our
Savior and Redeemer, asking Him to move in power and in the Spirit in an
efficient way because of our lack of time.
“Lord, can you show up in power fast this time?”
It almost seems arrogant—disturbing?
So
then I ask myself, what is the job of the worship leader?
If it is simply to play music, to entertain the congregation, then
time really isn’t a factor. But,
if it is to do much more than that, then how can I logistically,
practically, and effectively lead the congregation into worship given the
time constraints? These are
the types of questions I ask the Lord; questions which puzzle and even
plague me. The more I lead, or should I say, facilitate worship, the
more I believe that worship is truly about spending time with the Lord.
As I read the scripture and sit still in the Lord’s presence, I
realize that worship is an integral part of abiding in the Lord, in the
health and vitality of our relationship with Christ.
As I worship I am healed--I am set free--I receive joy--I receive
peace. Those things are found
where our Mighty God dwells. Scripture
tells us to be still and know He is God (Psalm 46:10).
What then is the job of the worship leader?
I believe it is to usher in the presence of the Lord so that hearts
can ultimately receive healing.
Often
I have been taught about worship simply by being a worshipper. God has given me visions even while others were leading
worship—tenderly showing and teaching me what He wants me to do. I remember a time after being in worship lead by Chris
Falson;
after he had laid hands on me and prayed that the Lord would give me visions, God indeed gave me
a vision: when Chris leads
worship, a blanket of peace drops down on the congregation—the presence
of the Lord brings peace. Another
time while visiting a church in Carlsbad, in the Lord’s presence, I had
another vision—I saw and heard chains falling to the ground; the more
the people praised the Lord, the more the chains fell and the louder the
sound became. People were being set free during worship. “Song of
Freedom” is a poem I wrote to describe that vision.
Song
of Solomon 2:3 declares, “Like an apple tree among the trees of the
woods, So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great
delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste.” Have you ever pondered what Solomon
meant in this passage. Do
we delight to sit and enjoy the shade the Lord brings us? Do we long to be in His presence?
Do we enjoy His fruit and is it sweet to our taste?
When
I lead worship with children I would ask them this question: if we come once a week and worship the Lord for just one half hour,
how much time would that be in a year? What is amazing is their responses; the children thought months,
weeks, even days, but it is really only 26 hours—just over one day.
One day in 365. Is the
church readily accepting this time-constrained mentality of the world, or
are we prepared to become separate and distinct from the world? Are we willing to give back to the Lord just a little of the time
He gave us when he created us first, and recreated us in our new birth?
What
do we give to the Lord? The
24 elders and the 4 living creatures never cease from praising the Lord.
Revelation 4 and 5 describe how they are always before the throne,
day and night, praising the Lord because he has redeemed us—man—to
Himself. This is what has
really struck me: from
eternity past to eternity future, these 28 beings never cease to praise
God, not for what He has done for them, but for what He has done for us.
Wow! What would God
speak to us if we began seeking Him, dwelling in His presence, and singing
His praise?
And
so I return to the allegory. Our
first option is a gourmet dinner. The
Lord has prepared a banqueting table for us, even in the midst of our
enemies. There are multiple
courses, candlelight perhaps, soft music and ambiance. We are free to come and dine – to sup with the Lord as He is
knocking on our door to let him in for this purpose. Will we dine with the Lord, linger in His presence, surrounded by
His glory, receiving His healing, sharing with others? Or will we drive through and stuff a hamburger in our mouth yet
another time.
