This months guest blog is from David Hadden. David and wife Ruth are part of the leadership team at All Nations Church, Leicester with responsibility of leading the worship team. David is a singer, songwriter and his worship songs have been used extensively in churches over the last number of decades. David functions with a prophetic anointing and both he and Ruth travel extensively ministering in worship and the Father heart of God.
Trained and Skilled
1 Chronicles 25:7-8 Along with their relatives – all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord – they numbered 288. Young and old alike, teacher as well as student cast lots for their duties.
Two verses taken from one of the most significant passages in the scriptures dealing with the development and inner workings of a worship team. How people should treat one another, flow with one another and bless one another.
Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun were leaders/supervisors/mentors in this significant worship team numbering 288. Why 288? 24 teams of 12; functioning round the clock bringing adoration and worship to their God. They ministered to the Lord along with their relatives. There must have been an amazing “family feel” to the team. Each one of them was totally for the other, and each one learning from the other. What an environment of love and honour.
There were no attitudes, back-biting, cover-ups or anything else like that. Why? Because each member was responsible for what they had to do, and they were all supervised. Supervised and released to live and function in love and honour. Plus, the more mature and experienced worked with the less mature and experienced. The older ones also worked and helped the younger ones. And no doubt the younger ones had a few words of encouragement for the older ones! In this environment, musicians and singers were allowed to develop at their own pace, in their own way, and in their own style. No-one was a clone of another!
A phrase that I have coined over the years, is Trained and Skilled. They were all trained and skilled. All 288 of them! All of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord. It wasn’t for them to make a name for themselves, or for them to outshine all of the others in the team! It was all for the Lord. Their heart was to make him famous! Each member was teachable, willing to learn and confident that however small a part they had to play, it was important. Their heart was to function so well themselves that it made everyone else look great. They allowed themselves to enter into a process of becoming the best that they could be, and all the time they honoured the process and the ones that were shaping their journey. What a wonderful concept. If our worship teams were like this today it would be frankly, amazing!
They were trained in music – how to play, how to sing, how to involve in a group dynamic and allow everyone else to be heard. Think of the ebb and flow of the waves on the seashore, a wave comes, breaks and retreats, allowing another wave to repeat the process.
Don’t hog the limelight!!!!
Yet at the same time, they were skilled! Being skilled is so different from being trained! Basically, training equips you what to play/sing, but being skilled equips you develop an understanding of how and when you should play/sing. No-one played or sang when they needed a break, and no-one had a break when they needed to play!
In our present day worship teams, in thousands of churches all over our nation this particular issue of “I have a voice, so I need to be heard,” is prevalent. The underlying premise is: “I have to be heard in order to make me feel important! God has given me this skill, so I should be heard!” Actually, God needs to be heard! His voice, his heart, his thoughts, his ways! Yes, many of us may carry extraordinary gifts and talents, but God is the giver of those and our focus needs be on him. We are to come before him, bringing our sacrifice of praise, not our latest rhythm, beat, solo or even song! We are to come before him to bring him glory, to bring him honour. Releasing our adoration, our thanks, our gratitude to him.
He is worthy, worthy of our adoration, and when we come to him, we will get loved up! Inside and out! “Loved by the perfect lover, our lives kissed by the perfect kisser.” He comes to us to bring about a change, a change where we take on his image. A change where every waking and sleeping moment is filled with God thoughts, God ideas and God strategies. Becoming like him is what we see destined for. Taking on his likeness, his image in our lives, so that whatever we do is an exact representation of the Christ.
As we endeavour to live like this, taking on his likeness, taking on his nature, living in his image – we will function as he has destined us to. Non-adversarial, non-combative, non-dictatorial, but rather in love, honour and release.
I pray that as you read this article, you would begin to study 1Chronicles 25 and discover the riches in the amazing chapter. May you be drawn closer to God, and closer to one another on the team that you are a member of.