Musician Bruce Ellis speaks to the fundamental habit of sacrifice necessary for every musician.
The alarm clock erupts, violently beckoning you from your deep flannel slumber. You stumble to the bathroom where upon gazing into the mirror, the image sharpens and there you are. Upon first glance, the person looks like you. The morning breath is unmistakably yours, but still, there is something different about your image. Then, you remember: today is your first Sunday morning playing on the worship team! That would explain the faint halo lingering above your less than attractive hairdo.
This is it. You’ve been toiling over your Start for weeks, changed your strings daily and even purchased a snappy new strap reminiscent of that worn by the king himself (Elvis, that is). As your mind begins to race in anticipation of the big moment, you begin to imagine that first down beat. Maybe it’ll just explode out of an aggressive count-in. Then again, this is a Vineyard church so you’ll probably just ease your way in with a chugging 16th groove. Either way, today is the day when all of life’s mysteries surely find resolve. After all, you have arrived.
Suddenly, the alarm clock rings -- what, again? It figures. Just another mindless guitar hero dream. Unfortunately, for many of us, these musings can be all too real. Whom of us hasn’t found ourselves caught in the ageless and ever-so-painful battle of self- promotion? Whether we’ve been leading worship for 20 years or we’re approaching our first service as a worship team member, the scriptures provide clear instruction as for how we need to posture ourselves.
The Posture of Sacrifice
Romans 12: 1-3 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is; his good and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."
Whether we like it or not, the moment we strap on our guitar, sit on a drum stool, reach for the keyboard or step up to a microphone we enter an a different sphere of this age-old battleground. In many ways, it’s almost as if a target appears on our back. While this may seem extreme, we need to consider the context of our situation. Let set aside the whole discussion of Lucifer’s prideful fall from a place of music ministry before the Lord and deal with some of the residue we’re left with today.
Living and the Limelight
It’s been called the "rock and roll paradigm", the "limelight", the "great white way" and it basically involves any situation where platform is given or attained. Unredeemed, our perverted human nature is magnetically drawn to platform, visibility and all that would draw attention to none other than...us. With the exception of bankers and father-in-laws, our culture seems determined to exalt actors, athletes and musicians -- yes, even worship musicians. From the beginning, we were created to worship and one way or another, we will find or create something to worship. As worship leaders and team members we need to be fully aware of this tension and rightly position our hearts as not to "conform any longer to the pattern of this world". Remember that we, as artistic people, complete with our notorious egos, passions and attitudes, are in no way exempt from living Godly lives. As worshippers we need to fully embrace Paul exhortation to become "living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God."
There are at least five key areas where we can be "transformed by the renewing of (our) minds" and effectively assume a sacrificial stance in our musical service before the Lord.
1. As a Facilitator
When we assemble as a worship band, we have a clear mandate to be facilitators of the corporate worship experience. The term facilitate itself implies assisting, helping and basically making the way easy. For one to be a true facilitator, it follows that our preoccupation is not to be so much on what we prefer or what we like, but rather on that which most effectively serves the mandate - assisting the congregation in their worship. Without getting too specific, this would involve decisions and behavior relating to issues such as song selection, accessibility of melodies, volumes, busyness of playing and instrumental indulgences to mention but a few. While demographics and context clearly determine what is appropriate, a general rule would suggest that anything that distracts, or draws people’s attention away from focusing on the Lord should be seriously scrutinized. If this sounds limiting or confining for us artist types, it may just be. You see, as facilitators, our goal should be to sacrificially lead others in a manner that focuses all glory to God. Sounds a bit like life, doesn’t it?
2. As a Musician
With the extreme diversity of musical backgrounds and skill levels that exist on most worship teams it is critical that we understand our sacrificial stance both musically and relationally. While arrangement approaches and philosophies are beyond the scope of this article, the principles are worth noting.
Any musical context requires players to adopt a keen commitment to listening. In a worship session we are listening to the subtle directives of the worship leader and are ready to turn on a dime. We listen to other players and make contributions that will support their efforts. At the same time, we need to be listening to the Spirit as He instructs us to effectively and prophetically play and sing out the heart of the Father.
Often, the more experienced the player, the less apt they are to play "all the time" and fulfill their need to be heard. For the seasoned musician this has usually has less to do with righteousness and everything to do the fact that they know what it takes to execute a effective piece of music. They instinctively understand the principle of playing less to create more. From a musical standpoint, our contributions are to be made with the intent of complimenting the complete musical expression not being the complete expression.
I love the example of quality jazz and country players who take turns promoting each other’s gifting. Throughout the course of a song they confidently encourage their band mates to play forth while they themselves assume a more supporting role. There is something highly principled in the notion of preferring others. Sounds like life, doesn’t it?
3. As a Team Member
As God would have it, our service before the Lord is wonderfully intertwined with our relationships with one another. Because our musical expressions are so often a reflection of our hearts, I am personally of the opinion that as we play and sing before one another, we place ourselves in a very vulnerable place. From the extremely arrogant to the painfully timid person, we must continually be sensitive to the deep and often ugly work God is doing in our band mates and in us. As we share this intimate part of our lives, a self-serving stance will surely run contrary to God’s intent.
Preferring others is a non-negotiable kingdom principle and I’ve already mentioned some musical tactics in this arena. Fortunately, in the Vineyard, there is a model that endorses the notion of replacing yourself. In wholeness, it’s almost paradoxical how the more passionate we become about using our gift, the less tightly we hold on to it. Worship leaders and players alike can look for ways to promote and nurture what God has given others.
4. As a Servant
The whole concept of worship implies a servant’s heart, yielded and submitted to the Master. Let’s assume for a moment that our pastor has some understanding of God’s heart for the church and that ideally this vision has been imparted to the worship leader. While we may have our own opinion of what God is up to at any given time (who me?), we need to embrace the path that our leaders have charted for us. This sounds easy enough, but it takes mature men and women to submit with a pure heart for the long term.
As a worship leader we can start by serving the pastor, his life, and his vision. We can facilitate much of what God has placed in our pastors by remaining soft and teachable. The old cliché suggesting that, "getting there is half the fun" may be somewhat of an understatement. Surely the process of nurturing a healthy worship leader/pastor relationship is critical to the on-going life of the church and its corporate worship expression. Taking simple initiatives such as welcoming pastoral input with respect to song selection and personnel issues builds incredible relational trust and equity.
As team members we need to serve our worship leaders and our pastor, their lives and their visions. There are many creative ways to serve your worship leader. With permission, tune their guitar, offer to handle photocopying duties, practice without being asked to do so and remember occasional babysitting holds a lot of weight. Given that they are fully human, most worship leaders and pastors I know need to be encouraged and affirmed as they step out in their gifting. The key here again is to facilitate and clear the path as it were for the task at hand.
5. As a Messenger
While this may be a stretch for some, I believe that we have a responsibility to be faithful to the song and songs being played. Let me explain. As a songwriter, I am encouraged and comforted by the understanding that God prophetically speaks to his children through the creative process. After-all, God knows our hearts, our dreams and passions long before we do. Whether the forum be visual arts, literature, dance, poetry or music, we have a Father who is not only interested in these expressions but is actively involved in them.
Through the obedience of the songwriter, He provides for His church, vehicles of musical worship that reflect His heart. God blesses us with that which blesses Him. In many ways, the songwriting process is not unlike the mystery of prophetic singing and playing - God speaking to His children who in turn, respond through song. It would follow then that we do indeed need to carefully consider the song(s) at hand.
This is why effective and obedient song selection is so important. God is alive in our worship. With a preoccupation on the Father’s heart and purposes for the song, we are again called to lay aside our own biases for a higher mandate. While this in no way means that we shouldn’t experiment with arrangements and approaches, it does suggest that we possess a sacrificial attitude with our ears finely tuned to the Father’s voice.
A Lot Like Life
Presenting our bodies as "living sacrifices". What a privilege it is for us to participate in the advancement of the kingdom, leading God’s people and selflessly facilitating encounters with the Holy One.
Article extracted from insideworship.com
