- It is no testimony to the world when a band is out of sync, out of tune and out of touch with the congregation
- The worship team can be the thermostat for the rest of the service
On the other hand:
- Not everyone engages in worship by singing or playing music
- if we focus too much on 'looking' engaged, it can build a sort of fakeness, a spiritual facade that is actually more dangerous than honesty about how one is feeling
- God has all the perfect music in heaven He could want, and yet He prefers our worship
- God is more pleased with a sincere worshipper who is out of tune than a slick performer who does not engage their hearts with Him
If God wanted perfect performance, He already has plenty of it in Heaven and yet, He comes down into our little gatherings, sits with you in your car as you sing to Him and treasures those moments far more than the heavenly music around His throne. I have heard of cracked, off-tune voices that bring down the glory of God. Why? It is because He loves the music of our hearts when we engage in spending quality time in His presence: He responds to our hearts cry,a the music we make deep within our souls as we turn our eyes on Him and behold His majesty and goodness in awe.
The way we worship may not be through music. It could be, for example, through prayer, acts of service or gratitude. We should practice worshipping God in all these ways throughout our lives precisely because worship is not a pose or activity - it is a sincere offering of acknowledgement and adoration through a personal connection with God in whatever form that might take. All these acts of worship produce a beautiful harmony of music that is sweet to the ears of God.
This leads to a question that God challenged me with, and that I now challenge you with: could you enjoy your time of worship with great music in a big Church as equally as when you are in a small group of people who all sing off-key? If our answer is 'maybe not!', it means we have not tuned our hearts to the key of heaven. We miss the point of worship if we rely on good music to connect.
I've written previously about we may end up worshipping the music rather than God Himself - and it is a very real danger in our secular, performance-driven society.
At the same time, it would be wrong if a band does not make the most of the skill they have been given, and hone it to the best of their ability. Not every band is world-class but I believe in stewardship of the gifts we have been given. If you are using some kind of skill in a worship team - whether it is musical or technical - neither look down on it nor serve it: use it to bless the Lord, and the people He loves. In order to do so, you may need to improve your technique so that you are more able to match what you hear inside your heart to the sound that reaches people's ears.
I have concluded that a band that stewards their gifts well does so as a testimony to the world to their sincerity and love for God. If they happen to be amazingly gifted and produce albums that not only compels the secular entertainment industry to respect them but also moves people closer to God, then that is their gift, their anointing and their lot, and this too is also a testimony. Music, after all, first comes from God. It is only logical that those closest to Him should also be some of the best at performing it. And yet, not everyone is gifted in this way. Every band has their gift and their place - but all are called to honour God and connect His people to Him. All are called to bring heaven down to earth, and God's presence to the needy. Worship teams are not your regular band: they are instruments of God connecting the divine to the earthly.
The heart comes first, but at the same time, we must steward our gifts well. If you are part of a worship team, I encourage you to reflect on where both your heart, and your skills are at when you worship God.
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