The Highest Place and the Greatest Honor

I can’t believe I found this on my portable hard-drive! Back in Toronto, I served 2 years as the Worship Coordinator for Ryerson University’s CCF (Chinese Christian Fellowship) for the school years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005.

May this be a blessing to you, as we think through how to live lives of worship — lifestyles that puts Christ at the highest place in our lives and gives the Father the greatest honor.

In holy and divine matters one must first hear rather than see,
first believe rather than understand,
first be grasped rather than grasp,
first be captured rather than capture,
first learn rather than teach,
first be a disciple rather than a teacher and master of his own.
We have an ear so that we may submit to others,
and eyes that we may take care of others.
Therefore, whoever in the church wants to become an eye and a leader and master of others,
let him become an ear and a disciple first.
This first.

-Martin Luther, First Lectures on the Psalms II, Works II.245-246.

I think that there’s a tendency in fellowship to build up the next generation of leaders, and in so doing, we neglect our first and foremost mission that is to make “disciples.” We puff ourselves up to be “leaders” as if we have something to teach and change others. If we do this long enough via trial-and-error, I’ve personally found myself to be a failure at leadership. People don’t listen for one, they don’t learn anything, and don’t even embrace the Spirit-sanctified truth that is in our words. I think what God requires of us is what Luther said so plainly–we need to become disciples ourselves first, before we even remotely consider our role in leading others.

A close seminarian friend but it quite succinctly this way, when he said to me: “Good leaders try to get their agenda on the table, but GREAT leaders show the example and influence others.” The power that is in our gentle persuasion of authority exists not in us teaching people what works best, or what is the right way of doing things, but rather it is the Holy Spirit within us that illuminates our hearts and souls so that the Light that shines in us can be clearly seen. I haven’t recently read any books on discipleship (see Ling-Ling for these!), but one thing I’ve learned from my own experiences this year serving, “leading”, worshiping, and being lead by you all, is that leadership is enabled most greatly when we become true-life examples of what we claim to teach. All the words are pretty are useless and futile in leading others towards a glorious life if there is no life foundation support it.

I have no use for cranks who despise music,
because it is a gift of God.
Music drives away the Devil and makes people gay;
they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like.
Next after theology,
I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor.

-Martin Luther, quoted in Martin Marty, Martin Luther, 2004, p. 114.

And so, if there’s any area of improvement in my life… if there’s any suggestion of what can be improved in terms of the Worship ministry at Ryerson CCF, I think it is becoming disciples ourselves. Let’s not even think about “leading” others right now, but consider what we need to learn from God, and how we can learn such truths through each other. From the friendships God has built in my life this year, I see this as the utmost importance. We sing so many songs and have so many “worship practices” that it seems like music does not happen apart from music. Yet more and more so recently, we SAY a great deal about making worship our life, life-style outside of worship. As “labeled” leaders we must be a genuine example of that ourselves. Worship through music is very, very, very important, yes–just as Luther notes above–but such importance is secondary to theology, our understanding of God’s nature and living out this knowledge. (Picture what an overflow of orthodoxy into orthopraxy looks like in day to day terms…)

Let us be discipled and lead by our model worshiper of God, Jesus Christ. And since no worship happens apart from the Holy Spirit, may we ask the Spirit Himself to continually reveal our glorious Reedemer to us, in order that we may give to the Father an all-consuming response to the all-deserving revelation of God!

An effective corporate worship leader,
aided and led by the Holy Spirit,
skillfully combines biblical truth with music
to magnify the worth of God and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to join him in proclaiming and cherishing the truth about God
and seeking to live all of life for the glory of God.

-Bob Kauflin