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This is the last episode on the series MUSIC AND WORSHIP.
In my previous post Music and worship series - 2, I talked about the various scenarios where music is applicable and I also talked about worship and what it entails. I also mentioned music in worship - quite scarcely though.
However, today I will be talking about the need for understanding in depth how music and worship relates.
First, let’s talk about the vessels of worship.
By vessels I mean worship song leaders, prayer leaders, teachers etc. Just like I always say most times, you can’t give what you don’t have or own, it’s quite simple. Take for example, there was an impromptu test in a classroom that someone was not prepared for, he/she had no idea there would be any test, that person would not be able to write anything. You can’t give out knowledge you don’t possess.
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Same applies to worship and worship vessels. To be prepared to lead people in worship is not to start rehearsing your favorite songs, no. worship is beyond the songs we sing. To be prepared as a vessel of worship is simply to have a tangible and lasting relationship with our father in heaven. When opportunity meets preparation then excellent success is inevitable.
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Take worship as the opportunity and your relationship/fellowship/communion with God - your preparedness as a worship leader; a collision between these two would put you in that position of a worship leader with understanding. You are leading people in worship, so see this as leading people through a path just as Moses did with the children of Israel. Moses would have gotten confused and frustrated leading such a multitude but he was not because he always had directions from God and he always knew what to do and where to be at a particular time.
This is also applicable to worship leaders or as I call them; vessels of worship. Knowing what God is saying per time is particularly essential so your supposed worship and reverence to God don’t turn out to be a gospel entertainment if there is anything with such description.
Now, most times we as worship leaders (talking about singers in general now) tend to become so skillful that we forget that there is a word like balance in the dictionary. Most persons become so skillful and forget about the fact that the anointing is as important as the skill. Take it or leave it, if you are out to worship God, then worship God you must and this you should do in spirit and in truth. There are a lot of persons who are ENTERTAINED by your skill as a singer leading worship, but then there is no visible impact of your worship, no change, no conviction. Meanwhile, in that same environment, persons are struggling to find the path to worship which you as a worship leader who is a singer is supposed to show them.
It goes the other way around too, where some singers are so holy that they feel showcasing the skill is an abomination, “it disrupts the worship”, they say. They sing out of pitch, hit wrong notes, modulate and demodulate randomly unknowingly to them. This alone is enough to disrupt the worship.
You should know this; David had both the skill and the anointing. With his skill he made good music while his anointing drove away demons.
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We as music ministers especially, have to learn to strike a balance between the skill and the anointing. Even Proverbs 22:29 says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men”. Diligence here as relates with the topic of discussion, pertains to everything you do as a music minister, including the skill and the fellowship and communion with the father.
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Worship can and should be balanced starting from understanding what God wants you to do per time and also understanding when to run the riffs and climb the pitch and reduce or increase in volume.
Good worship as I would call it is described by me as the SIMPLEST WORSHIP WITH BEAUTY AND ANOINTING.
Basically, so far, I have been able to give my understanding on what I have come to discover worship to be and its relationship with music. I picked music because it is universal and everybody is drawn one way or another to it and it is also a major element of worship.
Of course, as I mentioned earlier, teaching is a form of worship, dancing is a form of worship and even silence, yes, silence is a form of worship.
I hope all worship leaders and ministers get to understand what worship is by the revelation of the Holy spirit and the role they should be playing as worship leaders. Mind you, everyone single child of God is a worshiper, because this is basically our lives. I only stressed on music ministers because of the level of importance in their role.
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