An Expanded Vision for Worship
From The Mountaintop Experiences to the Valley of the Shadow of Death
This post originally appeared on my previous blog but I thought it was worth updating and re-sharing.
Years ago Kevin DeYoung sent out a tweet that still think about on occasion.
I’ve led worship on and off for the past ten years for everything from Bible studies and college ministries to my current position as a worship pastor and I’ve always tried to select the songs I lead with care and attentiveness to what those in the group might need as well as where the Holy Spirit might be leading.
When I first read this tweet, it brought everything into sharp perspective for me. As I considered it, I alternated between tearing up at the poignant picture of praises lifted up in desperate faith around a hospital bed and searching my memory for what songs that I’d led over the years might fit this description. This all led to a conviction to lead differently in the future by using this question as part of the way I evaluate and select songs.
Because all leadership involves vision (or a lack thereof). And while leading musical worship has the big, grand object of leading a people into an encounter with the Almighty God in a specific moment, we shouldn’t let the needs of the moment lead to neglect of other practical considerations and a long-term vision for teaching and equipping.
Worship leaders, pastors, parents: are we equipping people to worship alone in the valleys as well as gathered together on the mountaintops? When they (and when we) find ourselves wandering through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, what songs will come to mind and spring to their lips? Are we equipping people to encounter and worship God in the quiet, desperate moments beside sick loved ones where there’s no guitar within reach and no PowerPoint or ProPresenter for the lyrics and not just during loud, full-band celebration services? I pray we all will.
What songs that your family or church taught and sings fit this description? Are they all hymns or are there contemporary songs that fit the bill too? Leave a comment if any come to mind: I’d love to hear them.
I tend to favor classic hymns over contemporary ones in general, and when it comes to this specific scenario, I would favor them even more. Our forbears had far more first-hand experience with death, sickness, and bodily suffering. Two old hymns that are more common across the pond, but which I would love to be sung for me as I lay dying, are “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” set to the haunting tune of “Aberystwyth” and “Abide with Me.”
My husband’s good college friend passed away from cancer last year (anniversary is tomorrow), and his widow chose Worthy Of My Song by Phil Wickham/Chandler Moore to end the worship at his memorial service. While that may not have been the first song I would have chose, it was beautiful and reflected the heart of worship his widow wanted people to come away with. That’s what my husband and I remember every time we put it on. We had not had any close peers die, so thinking of songs our generation would sing in those times of grief is something that feels more tangible now.