I had the privilege of attending a LeadWorship workshop this weekend at Lincoln Berean Church (along with Tammy, Joy, and Paula). It was great! Well-known Christian artist and songwriter, Paul Baloche led it. He has written songs such as "Open the Eyes of My Heart", "Hosanna", "Your Name", "Today Is The Day", and "Above All". Here is a link to some of his video songs. Click here
You never know when you attend something like this. Will they try to teach you "how to do it right" or will they kinda show off and make you feel inadequate 'cause your church isn't able to pull off what they are doing? I'm happy to say there was NONE of that. Paul has such a humble, spirit-led, biblical approach to leading the church in worship. He referenced 1 Chronicles 16:4 which says, "David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the LORD by asking for his blessings and giving thanks and praise to the LORD, the God of Israel". The rest of the chapter is a song of praise that was sung to the Lord.
Paul said that leading worship needs to flow from our relationship with Christ. It is first "ministering to the Lord" before you can minister to others. What he means is that we can't lead others into something we aren't practicing ourselves. Worship at its best is when we do publicly what we've been doing privately. I attended a workshop called, "The Journey of the Song". This was about songwriting and the motivations you might have. If you only want to write in order to get your song published and recorded, probably not going to happen - but instead write a song to help keep your heart connected to God. Also write songs for your local congregation. This is a great way for the community to draw closer together as they are drawn closer to God.
I have to tell you, something within me is definitely stirring. Music is such a powerful way to worship and "minister to the Lord".
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