Accountability -- Part 1

Accountability: Part 1 –Corporate Worship

Confession: When I was a youth, I was a part of the charter church orchestra here at First Baptist Church. I started playing in the 7th grade. I remember sitting next to people who helped to make me better. I was really just a screechy beginner, but there were people sitting around me who were much better than I was, and they mentored me. When they heard my bad notes, they didn’t scowl and tell me not to play so loud. They offered advice – “Try shifting here.” Or “Let’s work on that passage slowly together.” If I couldn’t make it to practice, there was a dedicated violinist who wrote in the fingerings for my music and sent it home with my Mom. Can I just say, I was a spoiled brat, and didn’t realize what a blessing this was at the time!!! As I grew older in the youth group – and better as a violinist – I didn’t model their attitude. I thought I was pretty hot stuff, and didn’t want to be rehearsing when I could be with my friends. Part of that was growing up. Part of it was taking for granted the incredible opportunity that was before me. But, the people around me loved me and grew me up in spite of my shortcomings.

Growing up with that kind of modeling, I discovered through time was that it wasn’t so much about what I got from serving, but it was about what I was able to give. Through that, I discovered an inexplicable joy that comes from serving in these Worship Ministries week by week.

I have had the privilege of playing in some of this country’s greatest concert halls—Carnegie Hall, the Myerson, Bass Hall, Symphony Hall in Boston, Walt Disney Theatre in Los Angeles and many others. It has been amazing. But each time I played, it was just a performance judged on how “perfect” the music was or how pleasing to an individual ear it was. I always struggled with nerves, because I knew that I would never be able to please everyone in that audience—there were always critics.

When I play for God, when I serve in my church, when I worship in the privacy of my own home, I can’t begin to tell you the pure JOY that comes from playing for GOD – my audience of One! He is examining my heart – not my shifting or tuning. It’s truly an amazing thing. He’s not there to critique me, but to sharpen me, to fill me up with His thoughts and His truth, and to mold me as His child. It fills me up week by week, and I’m grateful for every opportunity I have in this place to worship Him corporately, and hopefully to encourage others as they grow in their worship expressions to Him.

I have spent a lot of time this week in the Psalms this week. David needed his time with God. He needed that time of worship, that time of petition, that time of supplication, that time of praise. So do we. We worship a MIGHTY GOD – THE Mighty God! As you prepare for Sunday morning worship, join me in meditating on His Word from Psalm 99:

The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the LORD in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name – He is holy. Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy. Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy.

This Sunday, we have the opportunity to come and worship Him corporately in a time of celebration. As you come, notice those around you that need encouragement. Fill your place—whether you are one that needs a lot of training, or whether you’re one who can help mentor someone else. Give Him all that you have! Ask Him to give you His ears and His heart, and let’s worship Him in His Majesty and Authority. He is Holy!