Keith Green says it well.
“The only music minister to whom the Lord will say, ‘Well done, thy good and faithful servant,’ is the one whose life proves what their lyrics are saying, and to whom music is the least important part of their life.”
We made an intentional decision in exchange about three years ago. We would maintain our weekly gathering (worship service) with excellence and creativity without making it the focus of everything we do. What did that practically mean? We were dying to get into full-on crazy media, go nuts with drama, have the latest in creative development, hire a creative director, do all the stuff to make the weekly experience a big, big deal. We said no. We desired to make God famous, not ourselves, and not our gathering.
Even though we are a large church, we have limited resources, limited staff and volunteers. When we had to choose between making our weekly worship gathering better or making our weekly worship better, we did not choose to hype up the in-house stuff. We invested our time and energy in other areas.
The result? Several hundred crashes, unity like mad, people serving beyond themselves, people giving money to friends like it is candy, people tithing, over 100 baptisms, Life Journaling, and a hundred other things. We said no to dressing up the show and yes to the mission of Christ.
And something wonderful is happening. The weekly gatherings are better than ever. Way better. If you looked at our gathering line-up on paper you would say it is very simple. Teaching and worship. Maybe a video clip. Why are things so good? Because as people get on the mission of Christ, the kingdom becomes unlocked and all hell starts breaking loose. Some people still walk out saying “That was a great service.” More and more people are saying “God is really speaking things to me, and here is what I am doing.” It is such a beautiful place to be. If you are in the area on a Sunday at 6PM, drop in and say hi.
Thanks Keith, for the wonderful reminder of what it really is all about.
Read Shawn’s thoughts on Keith’s post here.
[tags]Keith-green, music, worship, exchange, church, Maryland-community-church, guitar[/tags]