In Jesus Name I Play
Colossians 3:23 — Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.
Growing up as the child of two church musicians has been both a blessing and a curse in my life. On one side growing up in the environment that I did has helped me to grow into the Christian musician that I am today, but at the same time church music has always been such a constant in my life I have realized that it is very easy to forgot who it is we sing/play for. We go to church every Sunday and Wednesday and we stand up and we sing and we raise our hands to the sky and praise his name. Our we really doing this to praise God or has it just become something that we do on Sundays and Wednesdays.
What do I do
What is a Worship Pastor expected to do? Get up and sing songs of praise and adoration, sing a song so beautifully that it makes members of your church cry? I have asked myself what am I supposed to be doing here. Every time I ask the question I have received the same answer. I am here to help others to worship the Lord Jesus Christ and to do my best to remember that everything we do is him.
Cause and Effect
There are many things that can cause us to lose focus on why we sing/play. The energy level of our congregation has a very large impact on us and how we worship that day. This past Sunday during service as the congregation sang the hymn “We have heard the joyful sound” I began to look around at all the people. My spirit began to sink because many are just standing there looking at me or they are mumbling the words as we go along. Then I see Laurie. Laurie is a deaf woman in the church who is filled with so much joy and love that you can not help but feel that same love after talking with her. Laurie has her hands raised and has the biggest smile on her face. She did it every time she saw the words “Jesus Saves” come across the projector screen. This one small moment has completely changed my attitude and it made me realize that the people in the congregation did not see the joy in me so why show the joy that they have. I couldn’t help but to smile and sing out with a new found energy and as I did I noticed other voices begin to grow in strength with me. This helped to remind me that I have just as much influence on the people in the congregation as the do me.
In Jesus name
I gave this post the title In Jesus Name I play because I say it to myself almost everyday. When I practice my music or when I am simply goofing around singing with friends I have begun to remind myself that it is because of Jesus that I can sing, it is because of him that I have the urge to practice my music so that I can be at my best when I get up to lead his people in worshiping him. It is in Jesus name that I sing, it is in his name that I play, it is in his image that I try to lead my life.
