Everyone's A Stage

Recently I was sitting in the chair at the barbershop getting my hair cut. My barber is never short on stories to tell. I’m usually there first thing in the morning to get a haircut so the stories are fresh for that day. Some mornings I don’t feel like talking and will just sit quietly in the chair while he snips and trims my hair and I’m out the door without much conversation. During my most recent visit he told me something that was so profound it bears repeating.

This particular morning I was sitting in the barber chair retelling a story about a local group of churches that had put out a call for help for an event they wanted to put on and then refused help when I had offered services from our ministry. My barber put in the proper light. “Have you ever heard of the Opera ministry”, he said. “No”, I replied. “Well, he continued, it’s all about Me, Me, Me, Me!”

Hebrews 13:15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ESV

Now I don’t think that most ministries are selfish or self-centered rather they are not always equipped to know how to work with others that have resources to help. Churches just don’t naturally work together. Guarding against pride and selfishness is something I have to work on daily in my own life and ministry operations. Ministry leaders will tell you that you must be focused on your objectives and not let anything or anyone distract you from your calling. For example many times someone has said to me, “This is the way we do it at our church”, or “nobody around here will like that”. Even better yet I’ve heard it said ‘church is not a performance’, usually in reference to various styles of praise and worship music or even preaching styles. You right, church is no place for a performance, and it’s a place for worship, yours’ and mine. Many times the music at a Christian concert has moved me to go beyond just watching and listening to worshiping and at times music in a traditional church has lulled me into a sleepy comma as the organist tries to keep up with the pianist and the congregation is a measure ahead of the choir director and everyone’s face is down inside the hymnal muffled by the pages. It’s not about music or message rather worship.

Matthew 15:8 "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; ESV

Recently as I was writing this, a local church asked me to sing for their Sunday morning worship. The church, two months prior, had lost its pastor and youth minister at the same time, basically pressuring them out because of their efforts to create a more contemporary format. They also informed me they don’t do the “Praise and Worship thing”. As I began to sing on Sunday morning, by the way, I was leading everyone in traditional hymns and asking them to sing along, we had the words on the screen but it was all traditional music. I noticed four people walk out. On Monday one of the deacons and his wife called me and told me in a most hateful manner, I quote “did you see those people leave? Well they left because of you!” Wow, thinking to myself. People refused to worship in song so they walked out and they blamed me. They were not there to worship me rather they were there to worship the Living God and couldn’t even do that. I couldn’t believe my ears; it became clear why the staff was gone.

I was standing on the football field at Dolphin Stadium in Miami during the Half Time Show of Super Bowl 41, I watched Prince perform to a sold out crowd in the pouring rain. As he began to sing one of his most popular ballads, Purple Rain, seventy-five thousand screaming fans rose to their feet waiving purple glow sticks and singing at the top of their lungs. Standing there on that field, in that moment gave me chill bumps down to my toes; I can still see it and hear it in my mind. Even people that didn’t like Princes music were on their feet swaying to the music, it was a moment you’d never forget.

Why then can’t we worship our Creator and Savior with the same fever? God made you his instrument, so you stand on the stage of His worship and raise your hands, sing your song, lift your eyes to the Maker of the Universe. You will never be without an audience; He is watching and all of creation applauding your worship.
Ephesians 4:12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,