A funny thing happened to me the other day whilst I was serving in the music ministry team at church. A lady fainted in the back row during the third song.
Of course, this wasn't funny for her, and huge props must go to her husband who caught her. I'm glad to report that she is okay.
The funny thing was me. This all happened whilst I was leading a song, and what surprised me was how easily I managed to disengage my brain from what I was doing and turn my attention to the mild chaos in the back row. I still carried on singing the song and playing the right chords, but my mind was elsewhere. The people closer to the front may not have even noticed.
This led me to consider two things. As musicians serving in a church, I think it is good to cultivate a certain 'multitaskability', because things are going to happen around us that might throw us off. But for the sake of serving, being able to be aware of what is going on around you in the service and being able to carry on with your ministry is a very good skill to cultivate.
On the other hand, how easily are we distracted when we've been doing this for a long time? Have we gotten to the stage where we know the songs, with the words and the music so well, that it's like hitting 'play' on CD player? Do our hands and voices do their thing whilst we look around, watching the weather outside, look at who's in church today? If we're very good, we might even be able to do this without our faces even giving it away. Of course, you need a very convincing 'worship face' for that!
To serve well in this ministry, we need to engage with the songs we sing first. Once we have engaged, we can lead others and encourage them to engage with them. Our time of singing in church is a special time of praise to God our Father, who has gloriously saved us by his Son Jesus Christ. Let's make it that and try to shut out the distractions.
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