How Will God Use You?
Worship Articles
by EXW Staff
November 17, 2008
A great article from Jason Whitehorn
I was just reading the latest Worship Leader Magazine and saw an article from Paul Baloche. In the article, he shares how 20 years ago, he had no desire to ever sing any lead vocals, much less be the voice for God he is today. No, instead - Paul's take on life was "I'm just a band guy." Paul goes on to share how all that changed one day when the band was playing softly, and the worship leader asked in the microphone if Paul would come forward and lead the congregation in song while the worship leader prayed with some people up front. He was never the same after that.
The point is...Paul was someone content to sit on the sidelines and do nothing more than be "a guy in the band." God, however, had different plans for him. What kind of plans does God have for you? Paul's "sideline" was just blending in the back with the band. Perhaps your "sideline" is sitting around knowing that you have a desire to serve...but are too afraid to take a step of faith with Him guiding you.
This next weekend, we will have the chance to audition several people who have decided that they want to step out of the sidelines and audition for our worship team. Maybe you are a wiz with the camcorder...couldn't God use you running a camera at your church? Perhaps you have a green thumb. Could God use you to create beautiful floral creations for the sanctuary?
But how can these small things do anything for God? Yes, Paul was a musician and came forth to be a worship leader...but I can assure you, the job he was doing before is an important one. Without the guys in our band backing us...the whole worship experience would not be the same. You see, God uses us to help let His light shine. A couple of months ago, we had the pleasure of having an out-of-state woman fly in to our church in order to be baptized. Why, you ask? Because she watched our services online and felt God's calling into obedience in baptism. She wanted to fly to the place that ministered to her. Thanks be to the folks who ran the cameras, produced, directed, the audio folks, lighting folks, and the website director who made it all possible for the woman to come to her decision. Now, I ask you...would you consider what all of these folks did trivial in comparison to the end result for one out-of-state woman?
So I ask....how will God use you?
Used by churches all over the world to help teach worship, the Experiencing Worship study can help your worship team too.
Your team will learn why we worship and gain a better understanding of how to worship.
One user said..."Your 5 week study course has made a tremendous impact on my life in the study of worship... I would like to express my thanks for a well written study course that leads into a higher realm of praise and worship."
This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.