Wednesday, 05 November 2008

• Excellence in Church Worship

  1 Corinthians 12:27-31
  Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

  As a body of believers, we should seek to serve God using the gifts he's given us.  As we discover our own gifts, we can help direct others to do the same.  And if you're a leader in a church, you have the opportunity to find specific ministries in which believers can serve according to their gifts.  When we serve using our own gifts, I believe we can serve with excellence, thus propelling the entire church towards making Jesus' name known everywhere.
  

  This is a great idea, but it doesn't always happen so smoothly.  It can be difficult to figure out your gift(s) or maybe the church isn't structured enough to create serving opportunities for everyone.  In any case, one area that I've experienced a lot of mismatching of gifts is within worship music ministries.  I realize that worship leaders have to be more than just skilled musicians, they have to be humble, servant-hearted, and anointed in order to lead people into an intimate meeting with God through music.  However, I really believe they should be skilled too, and yet I've encountered many different people who serve through music ministry (or desperately want to) and yet cannot hold a tune!

  While I'm all for acceptance and giving people a place within the church, I sometimes wonder if worship ministry leaders (in my church, specifically) are actually acting cruelly by placing people who lack musical talent within worship ministry.  By "acting cruelly," I mean that they may be giving some of these people false confidence in their abilities and/or keeping them from discovering their true gift and finding a ministry to suit it. 
  

  I also wonder if this happens in other ministries?  Are church leaders making excuses for their volunteers because they're so desperate for help?  Or is serving really more about the heart and less about the gift?
  

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