The Poison of Price in Worship Leading
Pride has been described as the original sin, the mother of all the others and it is not hard to see why. It convinces us that we are superior, of more importance and more worthy than others, and therefore, in that context, we can be allowed to do, say and think things that others cannot.
Let's face it, playing an instrument, singing well and worship leading are all skills which most people either fail to possess, or possess to a lesser degree than we do. Many other skills used in the church are possessed by people to some extent, but music and singing stand alone as being skills or talents that the common man does not possess, and that many of them highly exalt because they do not have it themselves.
However, playing an instrument or singing is far beyond what the average person can do, and this lends itself towards us having a special feeling of pride unlike anyone else in the church.
The Antidote
The best way to combat pride is to keep the right perspective on your life. To do this, you need to fill your heart with Scripture while you are continually be in prayer and in humble supplication before the Lord, thereby keeping your attitude pure and pride-less. I have memorized, and often recall, Mark 1045, when Jesus explains that even the Son of Man came to serve and not to be served, and this is a great antidote to poison of pride.
If you keep the perspective of a servant, then whatever you do you're doing unto the Lord, and not for your own importance. This means that, if anyone honours you and inadvertently feeds your pride, you simply need to remember that you are a servant, and a servant is devoid of all rights, save the right of serving.
The antidote for pride is a humble, serving spirit, and if we apply this antidote as worship leaders I believe we will see great reward and will begin to see a new, fresh power in our worship leading.
It will also change the attitude with which we view our fellow servants on the music team, and give us a new-found patience and love for them, and a desire to see them achieve their highest potential in worship.
Getting this attitude right, and minimizing the effect that pride has on our lives, is probably the biggest step towards deeper and greater worship. As the original sin, all the other seems in some way stem from this one, so if we get this right we will be a long way towards avoiding the poisons that follow. However, I would like to examine each of these poisons in more detail, but as you read on, please don't forget that a humble serving spirit will counteract many, if not all of the deadly poisons that we will be looking at. Let the Holy Spirit deal with pride in your life, and you will a see huge surge in power and anointing in your worship leading!
The interesting thing about this particular poison is that, the more success you have, the greater your pride can become. That is why, as your ministry moves from success to success, or your church grows and worships more deeply, you must be alert to the pitfall of pride, lest it scuttle the advances the Holy Spirit has made in your life and in your church's worship life.
Make sure you never feel like you have conquered this poison, because the greater your ministry gets, the stronger the poison will be. You have to walk in humility, both when you are starting and as you go on to greater heights in your worship ministry.
Pride has been described as the original sin, the mother of all the others and it is not hard to see why. It convinces us that we are superior, of more importance and more worthy than others, and therefore, in that context, we can be allowed to do, say and think things that others cannot.
Let's face it, playing an instrument, singing well and worship leading are all skills which most people either fail to possess, or possess to a lesser degree than we do. Many other skills used in the church are possessed by people to some extent, but music and singing stand alone as being skills or talents that the common man does not possess, and that many of them highly exalt because they do not have it themselves.
However, playing an instrument or singing is far beyond what the average person can do, and this lends itself towards us having a special feeling of pride unlike anyone else in the church.
The Antidote
The best way to combat pride is to keep the right perspective on your life. To do this, you need to fill your heart with Scripture while you are continually be in prayer and in humble supplication before the Lord, thereby keeping your attitude pure and pride-less. I have memorized, and often recall, Mark 1045, when Jesus explains that even the Son of Man came to serve and not to be served, and this is a great antidote to poison of pride.
If you keep the perspective of a servant, then whatever you do you're doing unto the Lord, and not for your own importance. This means that, if anyone honours you and inadvertently feeds your pride, you simply need to remember that you are a servant, and a servant is devoid of all rights, save the right of serving.
The antidote for pride is a humble, serving spirit, and if we apply this antidote as worship leaders I believe we will see great reward and will begin to see a new, fresh power in our worship leading.
It will also change the attitude with which we view our fellow servants on the music team, and give us a new-found patience and love for them, and a desire to see them achieve their highest potential in worship.
Getting this attitude right, and minimizing the effect that pride has on our lives, is probably the biggest step towards deeper and greater worship. As the original sin, all the other seems in some way stem from this one, so if we get this right we will be a long way towards avoiding the poisons that follow. However, I would like to examine each of these poisons in more detail, but as you read on, please don't forget that a humble serving spirit will counteract many, if not all of the deadly poisons that we will be looking at. Let the Holy Spirit deal with pride in your life, and you will a see huge surge in power and anointing in your worship leading!
The interesting thing about this particular poison is that, the more success you have, the greater your pride can become. That is why, as your ministry moves from success to success, or your church grows and worships more deeply, you must be alert to the pitfall of pride, lest it scuttle the advances the Holy Spirit has made in your life and in your church's worship life.
Make sure you never feel like you have conquered this poison, because the greater your ministry gets, the stronger the poison will be. You have to walk in humility, both when you are starting and as you go on to greater heights in your worship ministry.
Darin Browne is an internationally known Praise and Worship leader who has been leading worship for over 20 years in a variety of churches across most denominations in many countries around the world. He is the worship director for Bill Newman International Evangelistic Ministries, and he is passionate about training young praise and worship leaders. Darin has produced an incredible online training package, guaranteed to teach you how to lead powerful and effective worship in your church. This is the ultimate praise and worship leading training package. Check it out for free at Worship Leading Tips
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Darin Browne
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