You want to know what the best worship teams do? They worship.
Too often worship teams have a zealous leader, chasing God with all their heart and a band—with band members who seem bored out of their minds at worst. At best, they like to play music.
But I believe God is after more in our churches, teams, and leaders. God is raising up people to shepherd the next generation. God is raising up a worshiping army in local churches—teams that are more interested in a glorious God than just great tone.
Their hearts are transfixed on the Master. They will never be the same again.
Before you start shouting amen, there’s something you need to be aware of:
If there’s one thing the enemy wants to discourage in your life, it’s worship.
If there’s one thing the enemy wants to take out in your team, it’s worship.
If there’s one thing the enemy wants to distract your church from, it’s true worship.
Why? Because worshippers cannot be stopped. True worshippers are the most resilient people.
- Bad news won’t stop a worshipper; it only strengthens their song.
- Fiery trials won’t stop a worshipper; it only emboldens their position before the throne of God.
- Fear won’t stop a worshipper; they sing through the unknown.
The enemy hates worship.
Because if the enemy can keep you from worshiping, he’s not worried about you. He’s got you where he wants you—in a spiral of complaining, confusion and disillusionment. You’re not on the defensive and most definitely not on the offensive. You’re in a haze. He’s moved you away from beholding Jesus.
But worshipers keep perspective through it all. They position their hearts before God. Their song keeps getting stronger. Their perspective of Jesus keeps growing.
Psalm 112:6-8 lays it out:
Surely the righteous man shall not be moved;
the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings;
his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is established; he shall not be afraid,
until he sees triumph upon his enemies.
That’s why Job was so effective. The story of Job is a heart-wrenching story about the power of worship. Here’s what we learn from Job: the enemy will try and threaten your worship. The voice of others will try and threaten your worship.
We worship until we see a breakthrough. We worship when the breakthrough is delayed. We worship after the breakthrough has come because worship isn’t a single, solitary, Sunday-morning event. It’s the breath that we breathe.
5 Ways a Worshipping Community Is Powerful
So what makes a worshipping community so powerful?
1.True worship fosters unity: When we worship, we see Jesus more clearly. And when we see Jesus more clearly, there’s no room for ego. We see how great he is and how small we are. Worship keeps a team on its knees loving Jesus and serving one another.
2. True worship brings the breakthrough: Sometimes that breakthrough is external. But more often, the breakthrough is internal. While the storm is raging around us, the peace of God rages within us. But worship is also a weapon. We beat back the lies we tend to believe. We beat back the work of the enemy by lifting high the cross of Christ.
3. True worship reaches out: Worship isn’t complete if all we do is gather and sing. The heart of God is to reach out to the marginalized with the love of Jesus. That’s the power in our worship times. That’s the power of our songs. It’s when we start to live them out. It’s when we honor God with our lips and our hearts remain close.
4. True worship honors God: How many want to live a life that pleases God? Worship invites God to do what He does. Worship doesn’t make God any bigger, it expands your vision of His greatness.
5. True worship is what you were created for: If you were made for anything, you were made to worship your Creator. You were designed for His presence. Nothing else can satisfy. Nothing else makes sense. As worship teams, we are helping people discover what they were created for.
How are you fostering a worshipping culture in your team?
What does it take to develop not only great musicians but fiery worshippers? {eoa}
David Santistevan is a worship pastor at Allison Park Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This article originally appeared at davidsantistevan.com.
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