Rebooting Worship Blog

Here’s another great guest post from Lisa Taylor. I’m thankful for her story and perception of worship as a worship leader. I also love what she and her husband are doing now. 

Lisa Taylor has been involved in worship teams – leading and background vocals – for nearly 30 years.  She and her husband are currently building a ministry to burned out pastors and their spouses and hope to have a retreat facility completed in the near future.  You can read more about it at www.barnabashouseok.com, www.facebook.com/barnabashouseok, or follow them on Twitter @barnabashouseok.

 

I awoke to see my dashboard rushing toward me strangely bathed in green light.  Then pain – lots of it, for a long time.  Multiple broken ribs and thumb, sprained foot, lacerated liver, bruised spleen, critically low phosphorus and potassium.  In the midst of that no one noticed the concussion.

It took a few months for the noticeable injuries to heal, but the lingering migraines and violent nausea left me incapacitated for much longer.  In all that time I was unable to do one of the things I was created for – singing.  You see, singing requires deep breathing, which causes ribs to move.  Not a good idea.  For me, singing is the core of worship, and I couldn’t sit through a church service for a long time, much less stand on the stage.  This seriously hampered my worship.  Although I could tell myself that worship was more than music, the two were inextricably linked.  What did flourish in me was a critical spirit.

I think musicians are naturally self-critical.  By the time we reach adulthood we have been trained, graded, critiqued (in writing!), scored, auditioned, rejected, classified, segregated, and ranked.  We arrive on the worship stage with pretty strong feelings of the “right” and “wrong” way of doing things and where we stand on the talent scale.  So at its best, those that lead worship struggle to enter in themselves.  It is a constant balancing act of bringing our best gifts to the Lord and not letting it turn into a performance for an audience.  At its most toxic state it turns into an outward criticism.  We compare, compete, and project onto others the blame for our lack.  This isn’t exclusive to musicians, but from this side of the stage it seems to be much stronger.

Or maybe it’s just me.  When I catch myself (or let’s face it, when my kids tell me I am) being more critical than usual, that’s a pretty good sign I’ve got something else going on.  It’s time to step back and own something that’s happening inside.  Shut myself in with God and be honest.  I’m really good at lying to myself, denying, creating a diversion. Anything to avoid facing the ugly on the inside. I then become ugly on the outside.

Over a year and a half later, I still battle migraines, nausea, and add to that short-term memory loss and post-concussion ADD.  When I am onstage I have to hang on to a microphone stand because sometimes I forget, am caught up in worship, and close my eyes.  WHOA, spinny-head!  Not a good idea.  I have to have my words in front of me for songs I’ve sung for years.  I don’t know how long this will last, no one does.  But I have had some revelations about worship and myself.  I can’t say that I will never criticize others, myself, or lose sight of what worship really is.  I will say I’ve had to let go of a lot of things since the crash.  And that’s no accident.

I’ve decided to take a couple weeks off from blogging in an effort to rest and heal. I’ve had some wonderful people offer to guest post for me. This one comes from Pilar Arsenec.

Pilar Arsenec is a legal secretary by day and a writer by night. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, writing, singing and cooking. You can find her at her blog, Ordinary Servant. 

I must admit, I’m into music.

I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember.  Music was the drug of choice.

I continue to connect in a deep way with music. I can’t imagine this world without it.

Music is the language of the universe. It transcends barriers and is understood by every nation, tribe and tongue.

Music does not discriminate and neither does worship.

Lately, I’ve been learning that music and worship don’t necessarily go hand in hand.

I’m the type of worshipper who craves the “right” music. During my quiet times, you will find me going through my ITouch looking for the “perfect” song to help me enter in.

I find myself caught trying to recreate what I’ve experienced before, but to no avail.

I walk around my apartment trying to muster up the ‘feeling’ of worship.  But, nothing happens.

However, the flip side to this is, I can be walking down the street when suddenly, out of nowhere, I get this overwhelming urge to worship.

How is this possible with no ITouch, band or choir; just me and a noisy, crowded sidewalk during rush hour?

The reason is He’s trying to have me understand that I don’t need the perfect song, music or anything to worship Him.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 4:24

He doesn’t need whistles or bells.

He only wants an open and willing heart.

He longs to meet us where we are at.

There’s no special invitation or location needed.

He doesn’t care about rote or ritual either.

He only wants us to come as we are.

It’s that easy.

Worship is that simple.

 

This is a guest post by Jim Woods. He is a writer, dreamer, coach and chocolate chip cookie addict. You can read more of his posts at his blog here or find him on Twitter. I highly recommend checking out his writing!

If you’d be interested in writing a guest post, I would love to share your story. Please keep submissions under 500 words, and make sure it is related to worship, musical or otherwise. Send me your submission via the contact page.

 

For many, worship is Christian music and there is no difference between the two. It’s like the terms “tissue” and “Kleenex.” Call it whatever you’d like — but I must admit I’m not a fan of the majority of Christian music. I am quick to tune out anything that feels fake or preconceived. Most of Christian music feels that way to me.

I don’t like a lot of Christian music. Can I still worship?

Sometimes I’ll get more out of a U2 song than a 40-minute long sermon. I might bask in God’s glory while listening to a song that 99% of the planet might not even consider a worship song.

But what about those times that you are just not feeling music as a form of worship? Sometimes, my body fights me. The music isn’t landing on my ears. I hear the notes, but nothing sticks.

My heart is not engaged.

About a year ago, someone made a painting during the message at church. I thought it a little odd at first as my brain initially told me, “That’s not worship.” By the end of the sermon, the artist had a beautiful painting completely inspired by the message. I now realize my initial response was completely wrong.

True worship is giving glory back to our Creator.

Worship is using our talents and abilities, whatever they are.

If you are a painter, you paint.

If you are a singer, you sing.

If you are an accountant, you crunch numbers.

If you are a writer, you write.

With this thought in mind, I started coming to church with pen and paper in hand. I take notes from the message, but also let God guide me where He wants me to go as a writer.

Some might not view writing as worship. And that’s alright. Worship is not about what others think; it is about God.

Worship is using what God has given us for HIS glory, not ours.

I challenge you to rethink how you view worship.

 

How can you use the gifts you’ve been given for God’s glory?