Last Day at Work

Watching the dream come alive….
Nearly four years ago, as I entered into my staff position as worship leader, I carefully un-wrapped an idea about worship that had been tucked into my heart for many years.  I dared to dream that my role as a worship leader would be less about choreographing everyone in the room to a set of socialized “worship-moves” and more about freeing everyone to dance with the One whom we had gathered to worship.

At first it was awkward.  People whom I trust, worship leaders and pastors whom I love, told me it was impossible.  “People need more direction”, they advised.  “They need you to tell them what to do”.  “What about the new people?”, they asked with understandable worry.

But over the course of these years, you, the worshipers at Gathering, have caught onto this dream too.  You understand the difference between obeying me and obeying God, even when we may have asked you to do the exact same thing!  Standing up because I tell you to is boring.  Standing up because Jesus has invited you to worship is an adventure.  Thank you for dreaming with me and allowing this dream for worship to come alive so beautifully each Sunday.

As we now transition into a team of worship leaders it gives me such joy knowing that we are going to experience richer and more intimate worship because of our belief in this unconventional way of worshiping together.

Worship
There are certain moments in worship when I suddenly know I have fallen into the embrace of God.  And, well, God doesn’t stand still when the music plays.  We start out swaying back and forth or capturing the beat in our feet and hands.  He helps me lift my hands and raise my head.  He sings with gusto and emotion because He loves the lyrics.  We sometimes laugh at my feeble attempts to follow His lead.  He is the perfect partner, spinning and singing and dancing and daring me to keep up.

But the thing about dancing with God is that the closer you follow, the tighter you have to cling to His leading.  And the tighter your grip onto Him in worship, the more likely it is you will end up seeing His face.

And so, the tempo of music slips into a time called holy.  The drummer can kick, hit, crash, and pound at 140 or 64 bpm, but all I can hear is the steady and faithful heartbeat of the One whom I am seeing for what again feels like the first time.  My heart still racing, I will myself not to move for fear I will miss the moment, like a pesky insect that doesn’t see the serenity of a sunrise or majesty of a storm for His incessant moving about.

Whiteboards…
These moments, these dances that are a journey from taking His hand to seeing His face are what I dream about for worshippers at Gathering.  The past 3¾ years have been weekly white boards of trying to prepare the dance floor.

We excavate song lyrics, digging for foundations and truth that anchor our best plans and overcome our imperfect ones.

We rehearse and ready ourselves to play the soundtrack for a dance that has yet to unfold.

We pray and think of you often.  We ask God to get your attention no matter what kind of week you are having.  We hope that you’ll join us on the dance floor this time.

And then we must disappear, hoping to execute invisibly all that has been set forth so that no distraction will hijack–no eye will be tempted to look anywhere but to the One, holding out a scarred hand, asking you to worship.

You must choose.  You must make a decision to take His hand or to sit this one out.  For some it is a decision made as the first chord is played, the first lyric sung.  You are running to meet God on the dance floor or you are backing away, finding your place to observe the dances around you.  On which side of worship are you most likely to find yourself?

For everyone, following Christ’s lead in worship is a single step at a time.  Jesus is a trustworthy partner, never with dare-devilish ways meant to harm, but always with simple first steps.  A deep breath. A sway.  A clap.  An open hand.  A raised head.  An embrace that will show you the way.  A moment when, if you are looking, you will see His face.

The New Team…
David, Hillary, and I look forward to serving as a team of worship leaders.  As we prepare each week, bringing our unique gifts and passions to the white boards of the future, we promise you this.

We promise not to push Jesus out of the dance.  We’ll let Him show You the way even as we remind you to take His hand.

We promise to give you the opportunity to knowingly and willing follow His lead in worship by not commanding a particular set of dance moves from you.

We promise to continually encourage you to stay in His embrace, daring You to keep up with Him as your worship leader.

We promise to not laugh at you as you find yourself singing, swaying, clapping, kneeling, crying, and dancing.

And, when you are finally able to look in to the face of the One whom we worship, heart pounding and unable to move…we promise it’s OK to be still.