TWLL #62: He Loves You Apart From Your Ability To Lead Worship

read time: under 5 minutes

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It's one thing to theologically agree with something- it's another to believe and experience it at the heart level.

And I think this is the case for a lot of us when it comes to the idea that the Father loves us apart from our gifting and ability as worship leaders. 

We "know" that He loves us unrelated to our gifting and ability to lead worship- and yet in the deep corners of our hearts we've attached at least some of our sense of value and worth to what we're able to do on the platform. 

Which might not even be on our radar screens until we don't get to lead for the conference, or a super-gifted new worship leader joins the church staff, or we get negative feedback about our leading.

That's when we start to see that we’re relying on our gifting for our sense of value.

And I don't have all the answers to change this, and frankly am in the middle of this journey myself- but I have a few thoughts I think can help us as we walk further down the path of becoming secure in His love.

He Likes It When You Lead

It might be helpful to start by simply remembering that God gave you the talent and desire to lead worship, and that He loves it when you lead.  And I think you can can and should celebrate this.

Your voice, your musical ability, your capacity for expression and emotion, your desire to sing, and more specifically help lead others in worship through song- this is all from Him. 

And I believe it brings joy to His heart to see you functioning in and stewarding the gifts He's placed in you.

But this is different from His love for you and the value that He places on you, and that's sometimes where we get confused.

What We Really Have

A hypothetical scenario that helps me get less confused and more sure about His heart for me goes something like this…

If it was all taken away, and I couldn’t lead worship- He would still think the world of me.  

And I can give a simple mental nod to this idea, and say “yes, of course”- but when I'm being honest with myself, the fact is deep down inside I struggle to believe this.

How do I know?  It shows up in the way that I hold on tightly to my gifting and ability to lead worship.  Maybe in my words or attitude I’ll try to play it off like leading is no big deal, and that I hold it with an open hand.

But what if it did suddenly all disappear?  I wonder if what might come out of me is a “please don’t take this- it’s all I have.”  

And that statement right there- that’s the proof.  The proof that I'm getting my sense of worth and value from my identity as a worship leader. 

And I imagine the Father’s eyes welling up with tears hearing me say that, and then a simple response of “oh son…you have so much more than you know.  You have my love, you have my heart, and you are valuable to me unrelated to your gifting and abilities.”

The Key

And I wonder if that might be the key right there.  If we can just hear His heart for us, and listen in such a way that we actually receive what He says at a gut-level...how will this change the way we carry ourselves as worship leaders?

How will this allow us to not hold on so tightly to our gifting and ability to lead worship, because we truly believe that He thinks we're enough without it?

I think it will actually make worship leading more enjoyable for us because it won't be a security issue.

I think if we can get to that place, it will allow us to let go, and find a place of rest in His love for us.

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1. The Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship Course.  If spontaneous worship has been a struggle, you might want to check out Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship.  It's a self-guided, self-paced course that empowers you to lead spontaneous worship with confidence, enables your musicians to flow with you, and helps your room engage.  

2- Join A Zoom Group.  Every 3 months I host small zoom groups- one focused on worship leading and one on songwriting.  Each group meets once a week for an hour on Zoom over a 12-week period, as we walk through the process of learning to leading worship/write songs out of connection with Jesus.  For more details about the next upcoming zoom group, including schedule & cost, email me at [email protected]