Worship

As Easter morning draws near, the church remembers the glory of the resurrection. This day stands apart from others as doors are flung wide and many undertake their annual pilgrimage to a house of worship. 

On this day, this holiest day of remembrance and celebration, the imperative of clarity and intent looms large, covering everything from song selection to instrumentation to the words spoken between the stanzas. 

Easter is the pinnacle of days in the Christian calendar. As we honor the day our Risen Lord left the grave, we must do so with a solid understanding of the significance of His sacrifice and victory. It is most certainly a day of celebration, but it is also one of humility. It is a time to sing of grace, but only within the context of our need of it. 

As worship leaders, we must never neglect the role of spiritual direction in our minds and hearts. For it is the direction we seek that will, in turn, osmotically transfer to those sitting in pews before us. It is our sacred conversations with the Divine that will be written all over our faces and reverberate through our sung prayers. 

Every leadership attempt we make—at church, at home, at work—will reflect our understanding of the cross and resurrection. Every conversation we initiate or participate in will be flavored by the depth of our humility and the authenticity of our genuine need of and desire for grace. 

With the Easter sunrise just days away, take the time between now and then to revisit the cross and the grave and the mess and depravity of our humanity that required then and requires still this most monumental sacrifice. 

Be bold enough to accept your human fallacy and humble enough to accept His forgiveness.

Be intentional and unflinchingly honest as you assess your motivations, actions, and desires.

Be willing to be led before you lead. 

Learn before you teach.

Remember before you remind.

Worship is a sacred conversation that begins and ends at the cross. Without the blood of Christ, our songs are just noise. 

Drenched in the blood, our songs become anthems of the eternal throne room. 

This Sunday, approach the throne with praise and joy but do so with the gratitude of one whose life has been spared—because it has. 

Easter will be the one day out of the entire year that many will walk through the doors of any church. When they walk through yours, let them be greeted with love, met by humility, and embraced with absolute transparency. 

So as the miracle of that first Easter morning draws near, fling wide-open the doors of your heart and allow the grace of our Lord to fill you, renew you, and always to lead you.