Do you find yourself worshiping excellence?
Hey there!
The last couple of weeks have been CRAZY BUSY for me. This weekend especially. So, in lieu of sharing some half-thought out idea due to a lack of sleep, I asked my friend Rachael Thomas to share some thoughts on worship leading. I’ve had the joy of both leading with and being led in worship by Rachael and she is awesome. We can learn so much from her! Check out her thoughts on leading with excellence below. I’ll be back next week! -Caleb
Do We Worship Excellence?
Let me ask you something that may sound a bit odd...do you think as creatives/worship leaders and songwriters, we worship excellence? I know this may sound bizarre at first, but hang with me. How many of you are familiar with Psalm 33:3? If you've spent any time in the creative arts in the church, I'm sure you've heard it on some level. It goes like this..."Sing a new song of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy". I love this verse. It encourages me to work on my craft and always offer my best to Jesus. I'm 100% on board. No sloppy seconds or lazy delivery (and of-course, "skillfully" can apply to MANY areas other besides just music).
However, most of the time as creatives, we take this verse and make it our "bulls eye". The "Golden Rule" if you will for creating. The standard for success at all times. Here's the problem with our interpretation of that... we ignore the state of the heart. We ignore the fact that Jesus said we can have a "white washed tomb" on the outside and "dead bones" on the inside (Matthew 23:27). We seem to disregard that problem of praising Him with our lips and having a heart that's far from Him (Mathew 15:8).
You see, we can appear to have the most "excellent" offering but if our hearts desire the praise of man over God Himself, are we really brining Him an offering anyway? Rather, are we actually worshipping the delivery of our own presentation instead? When we zero in with laser like focus on our performance above all else, we deceive ourselves in thinking God is pleased just because we were able to pull off something "excellent". He is the maker of ALL things and is not impressed when we "stick" our landing. Rather, "The fountain of your pleasure is found in the sacrifice of my shattered heart before you. You will not despise my tenderness as I humbly bow down at your feet" Psalm 51:17 TPT.
As we continue to offer The King our best, let's not forget that He's also looking at what's going on inside of us!
Side Note: It's important to consider that while there are standards for excellence, preference also plays a KEY role here too! What someone may find thrilling and lovely, another may find slow and dull instead. Don't write off someone else's work just because it's different from the way you would do it. Ask the Holy Spirit for grace to cheer others on, even if your preference differs from theirs!
Here's to creating more!
Rachael
Want to read more of Rachael’s thoughts, listen to her music or thank her for sharing? Find her on Instagram @rachaelthomasmusic or check out her Patreon page!