Had a great weekend that included a birthday party, worship on sunday, and a quick trip to Michigan (which i'll write on soon). Played a song in church this weekend that wouldn't be considered one of my favorites and according to one of the band members "couldn't have been written any worse".
It brought to mind a conversation that i had with a group of worship leaders a year or so ago. We were wrestling with the question "is it possible to authentically lead a song you genuinely dislike"? There were several great points made in that discussion. Points that come to mind include: the worship experience is just as much about whether the audience connects as the leader, there is always something of value in a song and you should find it and focus on it, and working through a song that you struggle with can be viewed as an act of worship.
I was able to see this past point in action this weekend. I have to admit going into rehearsal I was already nervous because I knew that this particular band member really disliked the song but had a huge part that would make or break the song. As soon as we started rehearsal there were the predictable comments about how bad the song was and how we all had thought through what we could do different to the arrangement to make it more enjoyable to play. With no decent ideas we relented to doing the song as normal.
I was so impressed as we kicked off the song and this band member ripped into his part and executed it not only in the same style of the song but with all the little nuances in there as well. He had really done his homework on it even though it wasn't fun for him at all to execute. i had to wonder if God was even more pleased with his worship because he stepped up his effort when he could have mailed it in and called it good.
If i took a poll probably every band member we have at Southland has a song or two (or three!) that they are less than excited about playing when they are on but the audience (and other band members) would never know it because they all take there craft and worship seriously. It really makes me proud to be a part of the team!
The idea of bringing your best attitude and effort can apply to every aspect of your life and really honors God, especially when you find yourself in a situation where you are less than motivated. Remember you never know who you are influencing and also that God wants your best in all situations.
And no - I'm not going to tell you the song or the band member. Hopefully as far as you can tell we love all the songs we play!
