It’s Not a Performance, It’s an Honor

Have you ever been in a church service where the band was tight, the vocals were smooth, the lights and sound were contemporary, and the songs were from the top 10 worship songs for the year, but you didn’t feel or sense any moving of God’s Spirit? You wondered, “Is this just a really good performance?”

The next question to ask is, “Who, or what, is the center of attention?”

Our responsibility as worship leaders, as worship ministers, is to lead believers in ministering to God. Our goal should be to create an environment that glorifies God, focuses on Him, and welcomes Him to minister as He desires. It’s an honor to minister to God.

We can limit our corporate invitation to God to be Himself among us. Here’s how:

• by focusing on ourselves with songs about us and not about Him;

• by focusing on the natural production more than seeking God for His direction for a service and following His Spirit’s prompting during the service;

• by refusing to live a holy life that’s free from bitterness, anger, strife, and disobedience to His Word.

The people in Jesus’ hometown limited the flow of His miracles and teaching because they would not receive – they would not pay attention to what He could do and wanted to do. They disrespected Him. “Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.’ And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he wondered at their unbelief.” Mark 6:4-6 (NASB)

What’s in your heart will show in your decisions and actions. It will show in your song selection and the way in which you allow God to influence what is done in the service.

We need to ask ourselves if we have so planned our church services to the point that we tell God what we’re going to do, and we don’t allow Him to direct the flow of the service.What is in our hearts and where is our attention? Is it on Him?

Worship is not a performance, it’s an honor.