Is Excellence Necessary? Part 2

Musician lead the battle!
“Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army….”II Ch 20:21   There were many instances of God using the musicians to lead the way to where He wanted His people to go.  In our context that is into the ‘holy of holies’ or in other words, true worship of the Most High God.  In order to properly ‘lead’ there is a level of skill required.  This is different from the call for everyone to participate in worship.

Historically the church was the keeper of the arts. The greatest displays of art were in churches. Most music was written for the church. Even most great secular composers of the past wrote at least in part for the church.  However with the reformation and Martin Luther’s sincere desire for a purified church there was a move to ‘cleanse’ the church of any and all things that appeared to be ornate or garish in any way. Times of worship were reduced to simpler forms of music accompaniment or none at all. Sadly, the ‘baby was thrown out with the bath water’ so to speak.

In recent times though there has been a great move in the church to regain our place and take back what was rightfully ours.  God gave the gift of music (and all artistic expressions) to His people first and foremost to be able to worship Him. How awesome this move has been for the church! But we are behind in a sense and it seems like we’re still trying to catch up.  I have seen that there is a hunger to grow in this area to better serve the Lord.

There are many worship seminars and conferences springing up all over the country where the arts are being taught in workshops and classes that lay leaders can attend without having to miss (much) work. Even the Christian Musician Summit is expanding to include more locations and dates (for more information go to www.christianmusiciansummit.com). These are excellent opportunities for continuing education and getting a spiritual ‘shot in the arm’.  But it’s only a start.

If you are a worship leader or a background vocalist please take your position seriously. What you do on that platform can have eternal consequences and although I realize that your voice is not what does the ultimate work, the Holy Spirit is, your voice can be a huge distraction away from what God is trying to accomplish. I hear concerns on a regular basis from people who are desiring excellence from their worship team but don’t feel they can require it. Is there a more appropriate place to require excellence?

TO BE CONTINUED….
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