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Archives: March 2010
No more 'cut & paste'
By Ben Cantelon
We worship leaders love our methods. We have one for everything; methods for writing a great worship song, methods for putting together the perfect song list and even methods for how to work a crowd with the right dynamics so that we get them wanting more.
I don’t think this is necessarily wrong, but I do think that when we start to feel as though we have things all worked out, when we think there’s little left for us to learn, we find ourselves in real danger.
I did some digging and found some interesting thoughts. There’s a blog called ‘You Know You Are A Worship Leader When…’ and it lists a bunch of stereotypical things that seem to define us worship leaders.
For example, if you wear more product in your hair than your wife, then you’re probably a worship leader. If you drink coffee on stage, own every Nooma DVD and use words like ’post modern’, ‘relevant’ or ‘emergent’ non-stop then you’re in the club too.
I had a few additions. If you own at least three checked shirts, or every album by Coldplay and U2 (but only the ones from The Joshua Tree onwards), you’re a worship leader. And if you have thought how cool it would be to have a worship version of guitar hero, then, my friend, you surely are one of us!
Please don’t be offended, these are all things I’ve observed about myself, but coming up with the list got me thinking about how people perceive us. Are there habits that we fall into without knowing it? Do we get a little too hooked on getting the methods right? I guess this is the question I want to ask:
Who has God made YOU to be?
not
Who has God made you to be like?
We all have someone that we look up to, someone who has made a huge impact on us, someone who we’d like to be like. We need those people who will inspire us, who will encourage us and push us on in our walk with Christ as well as in our development as worship leaders and musicians. But let’s not put those people we admire up on a pedestal. Let’s not try and imitate those we look up to. Let’s not settle for cut and paste.
Albert Einstein said this: everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.
Go and read Psalm 139.
God made each and every one of us with a specific purpose and design; every one of us was fearfully and wonderfully made! Isn’t that amazing? The creator of the universe knit us together in our mothers whom, he put us together, he knows when we sit and when we rise, when we triumph and when we fail, he knows!
But even more than his omniscience, God made each and everyone of us for a purpose and for a reason.
Ronald Regan, the 40th president of America, said this: freedom is the recognition that no single person, no single authority or government has a monopoly on the truth, but that every individual life is infinitely precious, that every one of us put in this world has been put there for a reason and has something to offer.
I think this is particularly true for today. For us as worship leaders, musicians and singers, banjo players and all, we need to be true to who God has made us to be. We need to worry less about who we think we ought to be like and devote ourselves to how the glory of God divine – the Creator of all things – can find a little more life in us.
Let your true self come out of the songs you write, out of the song lists you put together, out of the instrument you play and most importantly, out of the life you live.
We don’t need more of the same thing, we need more of the new thing, more of the true thing. And the only way that will come about is if we are true to ourselves and true to who God has made us to be.
So be encouraged, hold your head up high because YOU are a part of God’s plan. And while your head’s held high, just make sure you’ve still got enough product up there.
About the author
Ben is a good friend of ours and up until last summer was part of the Soul Survivor team. He is now married to Alice and is part of the Worship Central team. This article is slightly adapted from the Worship Central site and used with Ben & Tims permission.
Worship Central is...
... A school of worship set up by Tim Hughes. Before heading off on a series of world dates, the Worship Central team have a event in London on the 12-13 March including some fantastic speakers and musicians. Get along to the event is you can make it!
Head to the Worship Central site for more info...
Soul Survivor is a Christian charity that puts on events for young people. Our registered charity no. is 1080720. We are also a company limited by guarantee in England & Wales. Our company registered number is 03991111, which is nice. Thanks for caring.
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