Less of me, more of you

As a worship leader, some of my favorite moments being led by others have been when someone  stops doing what they’re “supposed” to be doing to just…worship. 

When the lead vocalist lowers their microphone, and maybe they stop singing altogether. The guitarist abandons their chords and the drummer sets down their sticks to raise their hands. The congregant sits or kneels at their pew or chair.

I think I like these moments because it’s a sort of literal manifestation of “less of me, more of you.” And, I like any time that someone goes out on a limb in pursuit of yielding to the Holy Spirit. 

I would even go so far as to say it's a statement to Satan and all his little workers when the worship leader is in a public facing position with lights and speakers and applause and says with their body “I am not the most important thing here. Worship will go on whether I continue in my role or not.” 

It’s an exercise in relying on…Not You. Of course, God uses us (and all things) to work together for good. I can picture a very pleased God when he watches his people all in their roles, harmoniously fulfilling their calling.

And yet, obedience can quickly turn to disobedience when we get good and comfortable and become deaf to a new day’s instruction. 

Which leads me into the single most important aspect of this impromptu-not-doing-what-you're-"supposed"-to-thing: without the Holy Spirit, it’s useless. Pointless. Self-serving. 

If you want to get more in tune with the Holy Spirit in worship services and in life, you’d better get comfortable with the mystical, with not knowing things. Because why did the Holy Spirit nudge me to sing that bridge one more time after the song ended? How did the entire band spontaneously know when to build and when to cut out at the exact same time? Why did that one song fall flat a few weeks ago, but seemed to spark revival in people’s hearts this Sunday? 

Why would a teenage boy stop playing drums to raise his hands in worship? 

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that a lot of these actions we sometimes are called to in worship make us uncomfortable. Some people (like my friend Bethany) are bold in worship—she shouts, she jumps and dances, she claps, she sobs. I wish more of us could be like that. I think more of us are like me, though. We’re hesitant, shy, timid in our demonstration of worship. Raising our hands, kneeling at the altar, and even singing for some people is uncomfortable at the least, and maybe even terrifying. 

So then, we have the option of choosing comfort and safety, or choosing obedience. This is not to say that going to the altar and raising your hands is the only path to obedience, of course (singing, though...the Bible tells us to do that a lot, so I’ll let you decide on that one). 

However, feeling a nudge from the Holy Spirit to do any of those things and still choosing comfort and safety—now that's disobedience. Sin. 

I’m not sure how you hear the Holy Spirit, but for me, there is typically a softer voice that feels more like a suggestion. I have never regretted listening, but have always regretted ignoring. And, in my experience, the more obedient I am, the easier it is to be more obedient. 

To be continued...

(remember when network TV used to do that?)