A Musicians’ Look at the Body of Christ
I can remember being hit with sort of mini-revelation one weekend a few years ago. I was playing lead guitar with a worship band at a very conservative Church from a conservative denomination. A day or so before my own band had just played an outreach in a very bad part of town with a Church of tattooed bikers in leather and metal studs, playing largely to a crowd heavily impacted by the drug culture. And a couple days before that I had played in a very “contemporary” type worship service at my own Church with a very “seeker-sensitive” vibe. Three very different type of events, different crowds and congregations, purposes, and styles of music. So what did they all have in common? Jesus Christ. As I stood on stage getting ready to begin the worship set, I felt the Lord impressioning me with thoughts of just how much He loves the multi-faceted body of Christ, and how He chooses to use different ways to reach them. I also felt honored to be allowed to take part in each type of event and to be used in different ways.
In my band (The Steve Riddle Band), we are blessed to play about 50 percent Christian events and 50 percent secular events. And of the events we play they can vary greatly, everything from a secular blues club such as BB King’s in Hollywood, to a prison outreach with the Billy Graham Crusade, or leading worship in the local Church. Our attitude has always been to follow God’s lead into whatever opportunity He presents us (I have only had to turn down a couple situations where to play in certain environments would clearly have been to compromise significantly). We feel that in every one of these different types of events God has had us there to minister to some group of people in a different way.
I’m also reminded of an event back when two of my grandparents were still alive. They had just recently moved to California and were looking for a new Church. They came to my home Church and experienced their first taste of what I call a “contemporary seeker-sensitive” Church (although that’s very broad). The congregation was into it, everyone was involved in worship and coming forward for prayer and altar calls, etc. Afterwards I asked them what they thought of it. They both agreed that the music was way too loud, that there was way too much time spent on the music and not enough on the reading of scripture, and that everyone dressed way to casual. Months later they found a Church home in a denomination that they were familiar with. As I attended their Church as a guest it was apparent to me just how much my “style” of Church had changed over the years as I found many of the traditions I grew up with seemed to now be lacking to me. And that’s ok. But their Church was perfect for them. I felt that God had showed me through my grandparents just how necessary it was for the body of Christ to be so diverse. Each of us needed a different environment to flourish in as we worshipped and grew in the Word and in fellowship with other Christians.
So in conclusion I would just like to encourage you, wherever the Lord has you at the moment, and in whatever manner He is using you, to trust that your situation has been perfectly designed for you and your talents alone at this particular time of your life. Instead of worrying about worship wars concerning style of music, etc. let’s focus on the one we worship.
