Recently, I was asked a question by a fellow worship leader that really made me think. He essentially said, “How do you get up every Sunday morning and lead with consistency, joy and sensitivity?” I immediately responded with “I don’t.” But he was asking a quality question for all who lead worship and even for those who attend worship every week. How do we come to worship with everything we have? How do we come to the service of worship of our Lord fully present, with all of our emotions, intellect and strength? I answered the question this way.

One of my favorite worship related verses is Hebrews 11:6. It says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” I have become convinced over 25 years of worship leading that the fundamental essence of worship has to do with faith. The songs we sing are a declaration of faith. The Scriptures we read together encourage the promises of our faith. The very fact that we gather as a corporate body is an act of faith that pleases God. We believe that God exists; that He hears us; and that He rewards our seeking with his presence, peace and strength.

As a charismatic believer who embraces the expression of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our corporate gatherings of worship, I do not believe in an experience of worship driven by our feelings. As a leader of worship I have had my share of “difficult” worship services. I always find that if there is faith in the room, then no matter how poor the music, how difficult the leading, or how challenging the environment, people come and tell me how God spoke to them. Faith is the indispensible element of every individual’s worship. It is the foundation of every gathering of believers and the essential truth of every song and prayer.

You see, I do not come to worship based on my flimsy feelings or my radical experiences, but rather by the firm faith and deep conviction of my relationship with God. I believe in a holy, loving Creator-God and I have an abiding conviction concerning his worth. I trust in the love the Father through his dear Son, Jesus Christ. I come to him with confidence and boldness because of the blood of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in me. I do not require goose-bumps or mountain tops to engage in worship. In fact, some of my most profound worship experiences have come through great sorrow in deep emotional valleys.

I come to worship every week because of confidence. I try to bring my best every week, every day and even every moment because I have faith that God is for me, with me and in me. I honor Him with my songs, my prayers and my loving acts towards others because I believe he is holy, loving and worthy of all my worship and He rewards me as I earnestly seek him!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 11:33 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.