Worship Wednesdays: The Heart of the Worshiper

I've said it many times before that what we do for God is all about our motives or our heart. After all David, you know the guy who wrote most of the Psalms, is described as a man after God's own heart. The heart is where it all begins when it comes to worship. So what kind of heart should we have when it comes to worship? Well in his book Biblical Foundations for Worship Leadership Dr Randy Quackenbush describes 7 biblically-based characteristics of a lead worshiper. The following is my take on these 7 characteristics.

1. Purity
   This goes straight to the heart of the matter, pun not intended. It is our motives in doing what we do that is important here. Are we trying to win God's favor or are we trying to give him the honor and glory that He is due? Are we trying to appease a guilty conscience or are we grateful for His forgiveness and mercy? Are we just giving lip service to the great I AM or are we sincere in our adoration of the creator? The bottom line is we need to check where our heart is when it comes to serving God.
2. Passion
   We need to be passionate, and I think most people involved in music are. The real issue is to be passionate about the right things and to prioritize those passions. I have to agree with Dr. Quackenbush that our priorities when it comes to passion in ministry should be: 1.) God (get to know Him through reading His Word.) 2.) His Church (Be passionate about facilitating God's people in worshiping and serving Him.) 3.) The Arts (Strive for excellence in the artisitic expressions offered to God both in public and in private.)
3. Power
   I firmly believe you need the anointing of God on your life in order to effectively minister to people. I once heard a speaker compare the difference between serving God with the anointing and without to the difference between a screwdriver and a power drill. Yeah you can do it, but it will be that much more work to get anything accomplished.
4. Prayer
   This one should be a no brainer. Seriously we can't do any of this with out God's guidance nor should we try to. We need to sincerely seek God's will for our services and earnestly pray for the moving of His Spirit in our corporate worship gatherings.
5. Pastor
   This one actually surprised me. I never thought of my leading worship as a pastoral position, but when I really looked into it I realized that is exactly what I am doing each Sunday morning. I'm also in a position to mentor and teach those on my team. If we are leading a ministry in church then we need to mentor and shepherd those under our leadership.
6. Presentation
   We should be offering our best to God. What this means is we need to take time to hone our musical talents, i.e. practice. God desires excellence, for us to use our talents and abilities in the best way possible for His glory. We should always be striving to be better. There is always room for improvement.
7. Price
   Serving God should come with a price. If we only serve God when it is convenient or when it takes little to no effort then where is the "sacrifice of praise?" We should never apologize for detailed planning and preparation when it comes to our ministries. Of course if we expect others to be disciplined in service we need to set the example ourselves first.

I did find it telling that out of these 7 "P's" there is one "P" that is missing. "Perfection." God does not require us to be perfect in order for us to serve and especially to lead. The Bible is full of Godly leaders who were far from perfect. What God requires is a willingness to serve and to strive excellence. Remember excellence is not perfection, it is doing the best we can with the gifts God has already given us.