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The nature of a worship leader We were in North Carolina last week with friends. On the last night of our stay they took us to a very nice restaurant-- 5 stars. I have never had service like we had at this restaurant. We had an extraordinary waiter for the multiple course affair. He began by playing the role of host, giving us a brief tour of the place and sharing the colorful history of the 150 year old home serving as our dining room. Next he gave us a tour of the menu, highlighting our options and answering all our questions. Then he gave us a brief review of how the evening would go, complete with courses, intermezzos and the preliminary tastings we would be treated to. He told us enough about the chef to give us a feel that we knew her a bit and he virtually coached us through our orders. When someone left the table for the restroom, he quietly took their napkin and replaced it with a new one. I never once ran out of tea or lemons or butter nor did it occur to me that I was about to run out. The amazing thing is that I was never aware that he had actually filled my glass or given me additional condiments. He "waited" on us in an extraordinary way. It was as though he was part of our group and yet completely unnoticed. He cared for our needs with exquisite detail. This guy was totally focused on us rather than on performing well at his job. It was as though he had transcended his job and become dynamically alive in service.
Through it all I remembered that the new testament word for minister is "deacon" which means "one who waits tables." As I have continued to reflect on this connection it has made me ponder this question: What would it look like for a worship leader to take on this spirit of a deacon, a waiter, in the craft of worship leadership? It's interesting. . . . at the center of Christian worship is a Table.
Sitting in Chapel the other day I was struck at the way our worship design team had ordered the worship space. In the center of the aisle at the head of the sanctuary, turned long-ways, the communion table functioned as though it were the helm of a ship. The cross served as the mast and the bread and wine were stowed under cloths as precious cargo. I remember thinking it was a kind of mercy ship. At the center of that worship, we were waiting on each [o]ther at the table.
I found myself thinking, what would it look like if I saw myself in this gathering as a waiter. What would it look like if our design team envisioned themselves and their work as a wait staff. Often it looks that way back stage prior to a worship service, a hustling wait staff. But what if our focus were more on waiting on people than on getting the details of a program right or on pulling off a polished worship experience. That strikes me as the essence of worship leadership and the nature of a worship leader.
This is a picture of our fabulous worship design team-- the group I am privileged to work with daily at the seminary-- the true joy of my job.
posted by John David Walt | at 10/10/2005 09:03:00 PM
Today...
8 Comments:
wow, JD. This is a beautiful blog entry. what a wonderful incarnational insight the Spirit has breathed in you.
thanks matt.
hmmm...I wonder what that looks like when we take it out of the chapel and into justice as worship?
that's a good question Dan-- the question I am more interested in is what would it look like if our vision of worship weren't so dualistic as in "out of" vs. "into". in other words, if it is not becoming justice it is not really worship at all, but idolatry. see what i mean?
Awesome metaphor JD. I think this is the way that we must approach worship in the 21st Century. Also, I enjoy the image you imploy regarding the nature of the one doing the serving...taking pride in his role to make your's more enjoyable. Awesome!
Keep writing!
Peace to you,
Eric
Is the essence of worship "serving the people", or is it leading others in serving God? I think this was a beautiful post, but there is a difference between the two. I understand what you are saying, that as leaders in worship we must serve the participants. However, our primary role in serving these participants, is serving God, and through our service to God, we lead others in serving him. Am I off here? I might not be understanding you.
thanks Ben for this focused question. More and more I wonder how can one love and serve God apart from loving and serving people. Sure one can purportedly love and serve people and it not be Godward. But is it possible to love and serve God in a way that is not people-ward? And what would that look like?
I shared this with the staff at the church I work at. Thanks for the encouragement!
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