Destitute, Desperate, and Insufficient
 | Worship Articles
by Donna Patrick
Contributing Writer
April 21, 2008
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Lay Down Your Talent
...not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zech 4:6(b)
I am the Lord, that is my name; I will not give my glory to another, Nor my praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8)
As music ministers, we are accountable to a lot of people. We are accountable to our pastors to run the music ministry as efficiently as possible; to our choir members to respect their time in rehearsal and use that time as wisely as possible; to the congregation to present songs that minister to the needs of the people, and ultimately, accountable to God—He after all is the Giver of our talents. Everything we have belongs to Him, and that includes our musical skill.
But there’s another side to what we do – the business side. If you carry the title "Minister of Music" (I hold that "Minister of Music" and "music minister" are not necessarily one and the same; one is a title, the other is a calling--one requires an anointing from the Holy Spirit, the other merely requires administrative ability. In many of our churches the person holding the title does not always operate under God’s authority. Neither their lives, nor their musical responsibilities reflect the power of God. There are, however, Ministers of Music who do operate under God’s authority, and this is evident from the power that exudes from their ministries.), then you have a say in who gets paid what, and probably have an annual budget to project.
As dedicated musicians, we select music, buy it (or write our own), learn it, teach it, re-teach it, plan special events, coordinate with the sound technicians, ensure the instruments are tuned and in good working order, prepare Power Point presentations, and on and on it goes. And after we’ve done all that, we still have to not only get ready for church, but get ready for worship. Don’t confuse the two; getting ready to come to church is one thing—getting ready for worship is something else.
Worship is a total occupation with God. It is a matter of the heart. Musical practice and preparation are not preparation for worship. You practiced for hours, but how long did you pray? There are places in God we can only go in the Spirit; our flesh won’t get us there. All of our labor won’t get us there. To prepare for worship is readying your inner man to meet God. It is preparing your heart/spirit to hear what God is saying. Get past the technology, the rehearsals, the planning, and yes, get past the salaries, and prepare for worship.
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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.