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?
Experiencing Worship, The Study