Comments on: The (practiced) art of enjoying worship http://blog.theworshipjournals.com/blog/2007/09/08/the-practiced-art-of-enjoying-worship/ Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess Fri, 16 May 2008 12:41:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.0 by: April http://blog.theworshipjournals.com/blog/2007/09/08/the-practiced-art-of-enjoying-worship/#comment-8 Sun, 09 Sep 2007 19:41:52 +0000 http://blog.theworshipjournals.com/blog/2007/09/08/the-practiced-art-of-enjoying-worship/#comment-8 Wow. Tell me how you REALLY feel! Seriously, I enjoyed the blog and could sense your energy, excitement and passion in what you wrote. I could visualize what you were talking about. As someone who "occasionally" leads worship in a home group, I can even apply the steps above! My cues, since I would be the worship leader, come from God and what he is doing in me and around me. But mostly the cues come from what he is doing around me...in the group. If people are staring back at me blankly, then I can take the hint. If you hear others engaging in worship, then that is one cue. If you hear silence, that is another. I often have just completely played for myself...of just for God, rather. Meaning, I just shut my eyes and sing my little heart out and hope for the best with the group. (eyes closed so I can't pick up the cues if people really hate it or not). SNiff..sniff...I smell some insecurity there! The chord charts you mentioned...well, I am completely guilty of depending on them and getting caught up in that. The songs that I do know by heart, I enjoy playing and can "feel" the song. Though I confess, I am afraid I will trip up. And my chord chart becomes my crutch. Often, embarrassingly enough, helping me limp along to the next worship song. I arrange my charts on the floor, sit down, and begin to "read" the songs. Sometimes not enjoying. Actually, I have often been playing my song from memory and have panicked and glanced at the chart. Often saving me. So for me, I like the charts. But maybe that is because I am not obedient enough to fully commit to the song. Hmmmm...I guess I have some accountability now for engaging more in worship leading. Wow. Tell me how you REALLY feel! Seriously, I enjoyed the blog and could sense your energy, excitement and passion in what you wrote. I could visualize what you were talking about. As someone who “occasionally” leads worship in a home group, I can even apply the steps above!

My cues, since I would be the worship leader, come from God and what he is doing in me and around me. But mostly the cues come from what he is doing around me…in the group. If people are staring back at me blankly, then I can take the hint. If you hear others engaging in worship, then that is one cue. If you hear silence, that is another. I often have just completely played for myself…of just for God, rather. Meaning, I just shut my eyes and sing my little heart out and hope for the best with the group. (eyes closed so I can’t pick up the cues if people really hate it or not). SNiff..sniff…I smell some insecurity there!

The chord charts you mentioned…well, I am completely guilty of depending on them and getting caught up in that. The songs that I do know by heart, I enjoy playing and can “feel” the song. Though I confess, I am afraid I will trip up. And my chord chart becomes my crutch. Often, embarrassingly enough, helping me limp along to the next worship song. I arrange my charts on the floor, sit down, and begin to “read” the songs. Sometimes not enjoying. Actually, I have often been playing my song from memory and have panicked and glanced at the chart. Often saving me. So for me, I like the charts. But maybe that is because I am not obedient enough to fully commit to the song.

Hmmmm…I guess I have some accountability now for engaging more in worship leading.

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