If you are married or in any kind of serious relationship, you’ll know that learning to see things from someone else’s perspective is a big part of growth. Our human condition issue, is that we tend to focus on ourselves, if we’re honest, far too much. Our own opinions, our own thoughts, our own cares… However, when we take the time to see things a different way, you will always learn something new. When you approach something with a different perspective you expand your reach of who is engaged with you. I have found this way of thinking to be invaluable for our worship services.
My natural wiring is more cerebral. I have studied and gotten to know the character of my God, and that truth alone compels me to worship Him for who He is. What this way of thinking excludes are those that respond more through their feelings, utilizing physical action or looking at a simple truth that speaks to their circumstances. All of these encompass a way to worship God that would be overlooked if I only focused on my personal taste. I had a mentor ask me a question once that encouraged this paradigm shift in my life, “What if God calls you to a state like Texas, where you will engage people in worship in a better way by using a ‘country’ style?” If you know me, my two least favorite forms of music are cheesy country and modern rap. What this challenged in me was that we are called to lead others with multiple perspectives in mind so that we might best point them to Jesus. [1 Corinthians 9:19-23] I believe it is so important for a team of worship leaders to grasp this! When we shift our focus this way, so many avenues for worshipping Jesus become available. The other side effect of a perspective shift is you see the beauty in things you wouldn’t normally see. If you favor hymns, you start to see the power in a corporate chorus. If you prefer songs that speak to a felt need, you start to see how deeper songs are a valuable teaching tool. This is why I believe it is our responsibility as worship leaders, to help engage believers in worship through multiple song and worship styles.
There is another perspective I feel that God has more recently laid on my heart. Engagement is always something we discuss in regards to corporate worship. We are often asking how we can cause people to “uncross their arms” and respond to God. There a few things I believe will help this, in addition to our worship team modeling and leading. We need to utilize moments to teach our church and remind them of the freedom they have to respond in worship. We also need to understand that everything in our world is working against the culture of engagement. When people associate with music nowadays it is in the midst of a myriad of other things. In fact, most of the time, music is intended for background rather than participatory foreground. Students studying, music in background; working out, music in the background; even at concerts, anybody behind the front section is simply listening. I think it is important to know we are asking people to do something they never do elsewhere in their lives. What I love about this realization is that is what a life of following Jesus looks like anyways. So, it makes perfect sense that our engagement with worship through music should look different than the world too. Now that we know, let’s lead they way and bring that change!
What I love most about the power of perspective is that it reminds us of one of the biggest pillars of our faith, “it’s not about me.” May we all pray for more perspective in our lives, especially that of our Father’s.