God's Help

In the last few months God has been challenging me and the local church I attend. This is happening as the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has been the main focus of our pulpit ministry. Many in our local church are evangelical in background. Some have sought a symbiotic relationship with this important distinctive of the church. However, there is a sense of God's special presence in our services - as hungry people seek God's direction for their lives. And the fullness of the Spirit is something that has become increasingly desired by many, regardless of background. God is moving, there is no question of that. This blog is about music ministry. Regarding this move of God, I'm all about how He intended music ministry to operate within the local church. I maintain a constant awareness that there is the possibility of getting things backwards. In other words, to suggest that the church should somehow be directed by music ministry is not healthy in my opinion. We are to provide an atmosphere for people to seek. Through song we proclaim a message of deliverance and hope. For music ministry, there's a time to proclaim, and a time to support in the same service. Both must occur. It's obvious, in American church culture, it's easy to become distracted - or lose focus. We can't afford this in music ministry. We understand that when we're distracted, things start to fall apart in our lives, in our families, and in the church. God's special presence seems to move on. This shouldn't come as a surprise, but it does for many. Or worse, as R.T Kendall suggests, we don't even realize God has moved on without us. The good news however, is that the still small voice of the Holy Spirit continues to speak today. However, seekers can run up against a backlash. For those realizing they need to cultivate a relationship with Jesus, the feeling is almost like God is setting us up. The noise of life (unfortunately) an accepted drone, coupled with the din of our own thoughts, makes it almost impossible to hear God unless we choose to intentionally focus on Him and His Word. Those who turn things around in a positive direction toward God, are people who have experienced enough pain and dissatisfaction to seek His help. Until we do, we'll be empty. There's no other remedy. Kenneth Hagin writes in his book "Following God's Plan For Your Life" (Faith Library Publications) "...if you know on the inside of you by the inward witness what God wants you to do, don't wait around for God to give you more spectacular guidance. Obey the inward witness." As a worship musician / leader I want to facilitate this process as much as possible. It all begins with an awareness of my function.

-Tim Covert

Tags: Christian Music, Devotional, Worship