They Never Told Me About Musicians...

When I was a kid, the first Christian TV programming was just hitting the airwaves; shows like Oral Roberts and his healing ministry and lots of Gospel Quartets. I was captured by the Gospel Quartets. I loved the music. It touched something in my soul. Music still does that to me. The strains of melody minister to my soul and the words are the confession of my beliefs. I need it often.

Musicians are a creative and wonderfully talented bunch of people, but they can be a little quirky. Nobody told me this in Bible College; nobody told me that some of the most intense fellowship occurs between the Pastor and the Worship Pastor as they both try their best to be obedient to the Holy Spirit.

I have worked with people who are extravagantly talented musicians leading with professional quality and I have worked with some who are not formally trained musicians, but have an incredible sense of the flow of the Holy Spirit for a service. I have also worked with musicians who do not necessarily shine in either of these departments. These fall under the heading of "making a joyful noise unto the Lord". As a Pastor, you sometimes just utilize what you have and pray for rescue. Sometimes you just give people a chance knowing their hearts are pure; sometimes purity of heart is the best quality going for you. In all honesty, I have been pretty blessed through the years to have some amazing Worship Leaders in the small churches we have served.

There was a time early in our ministry that was characterized by an incredible worship experience for months on end. We hosted a joint praise service, High Praises, one Friday night each month and invited other churches to participate. We experienced two hours or more of pure worship without interruption; no preaching, no announcements, just worship. Wave upon wave of God's presence overwhelmed us in those meetings. One minute we would be prostrate on the floor in awed wonder and the next leaping and shouting for joy. I've never experienced anything quite like it since.

It was while we pastored this church that we were blessed with an interesting team of musicians. Our pianist was narcoleptic. Yes, you read that correctly. She would strike a chord on the piano during a time of spontaneous worship and nod off to sleep. About the time you thought all was lost, she would rouse long enough to hit the next chord. We also had a deaf drummer at this same time. Yes, again you read that correctly. He was totally deaf in one ear and partially deaf in the other. He was a teenager who wanted desperately to be part of the team, so we gave it a shot. He wore headphones and really tried, but we did ultimately have to ask him to leave the music team. We had a fair trombonist at this time and a guitarist who we discovered later frequented the local bars as an entertainer.

Incredible, huh? It is amazing to me that God was anywhere near that whole thing, but we sure did enjoy HIS presence in those days. In some ways, I miss the excitement and spontaneity of those encounters with the Holy Spirit. Alas, we have come a long way, baby.

Musicians; you gotta love 'em!