I learned a valuable lesson a few years ago while in school. One of my beloved professors (we’ll call him Dr. Smith) had recently submitted a blog entry to the school’s website and encouraged me to read it. The blog referred to a young worship leader who was outstanding at everything he did. It went something like this:
Johnny was the ideal worship leader. He was a gifted singer, knowledgable in the realm of sound and media, punctual, loving, kind, and more. Johnny was a guy any church would be blessed to have as her worship leader. However, over the course of many Sundays I witnessed Johnny make a crucial mistake in being a worship leader.
After a service one Sunday morning I ran in to Johnny. I was excited to see him.
“Hey Dr. Smith! Wasn’t that a great service? God moved and three people passed from death to life!” Johnny exclaimed.
“Yes it was! You did a fantastic job leading us to experience God,” I replied.
Humble as he was, Johnny responded, “Thank you. I give God all the glory for what He has done! Do you think there is anything I can do better as a leader?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes, as a matter of fact, there is.”
Shocked, Johnny’s face turned as red as the carpet on the church floor. I suppose he expected me to say the opposite.
“When the service ends, I notice that you typically begin to put your guitar back in its case, wrap up your many cords, and put away microphones. When you finish all that, virtually everyone has left the building.”
“You’re right,” Johnny replied, “but when the service is over I like to put everything up quickly so I can get home and rest.”
I paused for a moment and responded, “Your guitar is not your calling. People are. Go and greet people. Your guitar can wait.”
This story is not simply for church leaders. This is a reminder to all church members that loving others and helping them to feel welcome is vitally important. Do you ever find yourself acting like Johnny? Are you too busy to greet others? If you are like Johnny, I encourage you to examine your heart and remember that being the hands and feet of Jesus is all about loving people.
I challenge you to forget about your “guitar” and greet five NEW people this coming Sunday.
Until then, blessings!
