Get Real

This week I'm leading VBS Junior Highers through worship and it's been a blast so far. The students are with it and they seem like they really want to get in and have fun praising God. It's definitely nice to see them singing and being a part of the worship.

As a worship leader, I encounter experiences every week that are different and I want to be sensitive to those situations. Sometimes the place is rocking and the kids are engaged, just like today; other times, it's like people are waiting for something to happen and not with it, sitting on the sidelines of worship, despite standing right in the middle of the room. I know I've been there myself, as well, where instead of seeking God I'm waiting for a signal; some sort of event, cue, prayer, scripture...something, anything to magically help me to engage with God. I know there's a reason for it; often it's ourselves.

It seems like with all our hearts, we want to live that abundant life and experience that abundant worship, but we wait for others to take that first step. We're afraid of the people around us thinking we're bizarre if we really feel desperate and demonstrate that desperation to God. And the person who does end up stepping out either senses that others will not do the same and feel like a fool, or others will look to them for leadership and responsibility in worship they didn't sign up for. So everyone kind of looks around the room and wonders why the band is so loud as they perform the songs that are intended for everyone's worship.

Let's all think for a minute - we're in a church; a place where people generally come because they know they can't do life alone - a place where the broken can find restoration, where the wounded can find healing, and where the sinner can find salvation. ...and yet, we're weird if we think we really need God THAT badly to outwardly admit it and demonstrate through our actions our need for God and His leading in our lives. Our culture fights against any notions of dependency and submission; both of which are necessities for Christian faith to exist. If church should be different - and it should - we need to create, develop, and be the change; a change that says it's okay to acknowledge our brokenness, it's okay to be desperate for God's presence, and it's okay to let God set us free in worship.

I'm not saying you need to do any outside of what feels comfortable but we need to be willing to accept people within our church whether they're raising their hands, jumping up and down, or even deciding to sit in their chair or pew because they don't get "this Christian thing." It starts with us.