Hindrances to Worship
A Call to Inner Healing
They are out there in every service, at every Bible study, on our worship teams and in our prayer and cell groups. They could be a friend of yours, or even a stranger. It could be you or me, your husband, boyfriend, your children, aunts, uncles, cousins or your great, great, great grand pappy. The list can go on. They are wherever we lead worship, teach or preach. They are the "wounded," those who cannot enter fully into the experience of worship. They are wounded so deeply that it hinders them from seeing Him clearly. The severity of pain is on different levels. Some of us have learned to function very well with it, and some of us can't hide the pain as well. What I am about to say may not apply to everyone, but the coverage reaches deep and wide. A study that we as worship leaders should know and be familiar with is, The Psychology of Worship - Wounds that Hinder.
All of us have issues and dysfunction in our life that we must work through. We need to look at it and deal with it. While it may not be that easy for most of us, we can be aware of it and pray. When we came to Christ, we were saved spiritually and no longer separated from God. But, because of our fallen state, our emotional selves still need an inner healing. Only Christ can truly heal us through and through, and He is faithful to complete everything that concerns us - Spirit, Soul, Mind and Body.
As a worship leader we should be aware that just as we have been brought out of darkness into God's marvelous light, there are those who have a much darker past than we do. This worship leader included. Some of these issues start way back in childhood. If you are involved with the youth ministry at all, these things are going on now. Some hindrances to worship that affect our congregation's ability to enter into worship are:
The divorce of parents
Physical or sexual abuse
An alcoholic parent
Abandonment and neglect
Conditional love based on performance
A home filled with strife and disunity
Emotional abuse and harsh and inconsistent discipline
While each of these areas respectfully requires in-depth study, just knowing that these situations exist is sobering enough for me. From within our congregation, we utilize volunteers to fill our various department and ministries. This isn't even mentioning the musicians and vocalists that serve on our teams and lead worship. I have often wondered why some people cannot get involved during the song service, let alone get involved with people from within the congregation. We are brothers and sisters belonging to one Father. We need to reach out and minister or serve these people. We are to let them know that God is concerned with every area of our lives. We cannot do this if we are hurting inside ourselves.
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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.