As I was working on an outline for what it would look like and entail to start up and develop and musical worship team, I came across and added something that one of my friends shared with me about a year ago. Now, I want to share it with you.
“True worship is both simple and profound- you'll never stop learning, but you don't have to feel inadequate. I find it comforting that He WILL be worshiped... whether we take the time to do it or not. However, He can use any one of us to lead another to His throne, whether we feel like He can or not. That's what it boils down to- God is where it's at. His Spirit leads the worship because of His righteous jealousy to receive all glory, and He's simply inviting us to join Him in that worship. He is the center, the source, the facilitator, and the focus of all of the cries of Creation. Our part... well... His grace is a gentle reminder to us for singing a harmony we sang long ago and couldn't remember on our own.
Someone said that music is a window to the soul, and I think that's true, whether we're talented or not. God uses musical talent, for sure, but as said above, He WILL be worshiped no matter what. When Scripture talks about making a "joyful noise", I believe it's a state of the heart, not necessarily a pleasing sound. When leading worship, be sure to give yourself a lot of grace... remember that the worship- true worship- isn't dependent on YOU, but on HIM. If you make a mistake, play a wrong chord, sing a wrong lyric, even crash and burn on a song, be sure to forgive yourself. Move on, bask in His presence, and continue to invite others to do the same. This might be hard to understand, but from my perspective, if you have a pure motive of leading others to honor Him, you can do no wrong. Embarrassment has as small a place in leading musical worship as does pride or showmanship. If you think about it, they're rooted in the same thing. Why do we show off when leading worship? Because we've lost perspective- our pride tells us we need to look/sound good, but God tells us we need to focus on His glory. Why do we get embarrassed when we make a mistake while leading worship? Same reason. That is not at all to say that we shouldn't pursue excellence in musical worship- that in itself is an act of worship, and I know you're already doing it. :) Just be sure to forgive your own "mistakes", and keep the main thing the main thing.”
One thing I have learned is that part of growing into new positions, is allowing the new position to grow into me. Specifically, speaking of musical worship, it is inevitable to come across people in the church that like things their own way -- it happens in most churches in America. With that, it is important to gently nudge them in a different direction. I think the main thing is to love people. The ones that are the most set in their "worship ways" are the ones that are the most worried that they aren't valued, and that their years of experience are just just going to be cast aside. It is always important, and will continue to be important to reassure people that they are valuable, that their ministry matters, and that they're "good enough" to help lead.
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