from a worshipper's heart

It has always been an honor and thrill to lead worship; whether it would be in a church setting with a body of believers shouting at the top of their lungs, praising God with every ounce of energy they have, shouting the words to a song they know so well...or, in a simple setting with 4-5 individuals sharing a new thought for a song to share with the church body one day.

Earlier this year I was blessed to be part of a worship leaders retreat with a few fellow worship leaders for the church. The purpose and intent of the retreat was to bring ideas, thoughts, creative ways to put into words the songs God had been developing in our hearts. This was not to be a planned out, get it done now, song writing experiment; ending in a completed selection of album ready material. This was an opportunity to hear what was in the worship leader's heart. And, I entered the retreat with the curious expectation of hearing some nice little campfire-song offerings. But, this retreat was different. Before I heard any song offerings and ideas, I got to hear the heart of these worship leaders.

Here you have five guys with different backgrounds, experiences, journeys, trials, blessings, questions, and fears...all leading worship...and all with a heart; a passion to find a way to honor God with a gift He has given to each of them; not to just lead worship, but to worship Him. And now, we have come together to share the songs, the passion of a worshipper's heart with each other and see what happens. There were a lot of amazing moments during this retreat. The history behind a chorus...the struggle behind a verse...the celebration reflected in a completed arrangement. It would be hard, and a lengthy blog to share with you all that transpired at the retreat; corporately and personally. But, last night, it all came back to me.

I was completely blessed and moved to tears to hear, in a live performance, songs I had been a part of; a part of the discussions, the writing, the re-writing, and then more re-writing; chord patterns; key selection; and, the arrangement of how the songs flow best. And, after all the work several months ago...taking these ideas and placing them on paper...emailing added thoughts and changes back and forth to each other...the songs have taken on a life of their own; all from a worshipper's heart. Last night the body of Christ sang with abandon; praising God; lifting their hands and hearts toward heaven; remembering and worshipping Him...all being guided by the words of the songs they were singing; songs written by worshippers.

To Sam, Samantha, Travis, and the rest of the Hope City Worship Team...thank you for the blessing. Thank you for your passion to bring life to written words and chord charts expressing a love for God ...from a worshipper's heart.