At the heart of the questions about worship ministry that I frequently get asked is this: What is the most important thing I must do as a Worship Leader?
Ask any musician what they love to do and you will likely get an answer that has one thing in common, to work on their craft. They love to practice their instrument. Whether that is vocals, guitars, or keys, they can spend copious amounts of time on this. And don’t even get me started on gear. Although this is not a bad thing, it is not the number one thing they should be working on.
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Mt. 22:37-38)
I love that Jesus himself was asked a similar question in Matthew 22 to the one we face today. His answer sets in motion a theme for the Christian life that should be the central focus of each Worship Leader’s ministry. To Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, is to pursue Him, and the things that are important to Him with every aspect of your life. In order to accomplish this, you must spend time with the Lord. You must know Him. More than anything else in life, you need to spend more time with God. One of the great things about spending time with God is that as you read in James: Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you… (Jam. 4:28) God meets you there. The creator of this entire universe meets with you, and He draws near to you.
Why does this matter? What difference does it make? If you don’t have a strong, growing and thriving relationship with God, nothing else really matters. This is the central focal point of not only Worship ministry, but all ministry. You see, in order to grow and lead a Vertical church, you have to be a Vertical follower of Jesus Christ, and this starts by spending good quality time with God. Love God, with everything that makes you up. And, you really can’t love someone that you don’t invest in the relationship with, so invest in your relationship with God. Make time for this!
If you take this a step further and delve into the aspect of Loving God with everything that is within you, then you get into some of how you are to live. If you truly Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, you will long to do everything you can for Him…everything! He truly becomes your Lord and Saviour – your Master – and you become His unworthy servant. (Lk. 17:7-10)
The most important thing of everything that you do in your day is to really know God… to love God… to pursue Him in all areas of life. This is really the key ingredient of growing and leading a Vertical worship ministry that pursues God and the things that matter to Him most.
