Have you ever gone to a museum and been annoyed by overzealous or talkative tour guides who kept you from enjoying the experience?
Have you ever gone to a worship service and been annoyed by singers or musicians who kept you from enjoying the experience?
I’ve uploaded a brief essay I wrote about worship leaders as “tour guides,” and the need for us to be as unobtrusive as possible so that we call attention to God and not ourselves. You can download the essay as a PDF file here.
Too many of us come together to “praise the LORD” not because the LORD is great and “worthy to be praised” (Samuel 22:4, Psalm 18:3), but because we need to feel good — to get that emotional high in order to make it through the coming week. We do not bring the “sacrifice” of praise, because the very word “sacrifice” reminds us that we have to give up something — and what we have to give up is our pride, our illusions, our very selves. And so, too often, those of us who are trying to lead and guide the worship experience call undue attention to ourselves.
Please ignore us, if you can.
If you like it, if you disagree with it, if you share it with your pastor or worship leader, or even if you wonder why I was so uptight that I needed to write an essay, I’d appreciate any and all comments.
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