The Open Door

If you’re like me, you’ve probably thanked God many times over for people like Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Paul Baloche, Chris Tomlin, and others whose ministries and songs have impacted your life and served the church throughout the world. But...

if you’re like me, you’ve also probably wondered if God might be calling YOU to have that kind of influence. You can picture yourself going on tour, leading thousands night after night in powerful, life-changing, glorious worship. What a contribution you could make to the kingdom, if only God would open the doors!

The Door God Has Already Opened

Bob Kauflin // Guest Blog // Week Four

The problem is, for most of us, God had already opened the doors. And they lead right in to our local church.

Over the past 30 years I’ve led worship in a variety of contexts, large and small. Living rooms. Auditoriums. Civic centers. Outdoor festivals. Each time it’s been an immense privilege. I’m grateful that God uses events of every size and shape to bring glory to his name.

But nothing compares to the privilege of leading my local church in singing God’s praise every Sunday morning.

Scripture describes the church as “God’s building,” God’s “temple,” the “body” of Christ, “the household of God.” We are “living stones . . . being built as a spiritual house” (1 Cor. 3:9b; Eph. 2:21–22; 1 Cor.12:12; Eph. 2:19; 1 Pet. 2:5).

We can apply all those metaphors to the church universal. But their most immediate and practical application is to a local church—the Christians I live with day by day, week by week, year by year.

On Sundays, I’m doing more than leading people into individual “worship experiences,” as powerful as those might be. God wants to knit the fabric of our lives together as a worshiping community. He wants our singing on Sundays to be an expression of our shared lives throughout the week.

How do we develop a heart for serving in our local church and resist the temptation to be dissatisfied? Here are some thoughts.

Seek to be faithful rather than famous. One of the biggest surprises in heaven will be watching God hand out the greatest rewards to people whose names we never knew. Individuals who labored year after year in obscurity, at unknown churches in unknown towns. But they were known to God. And in the end, that’s all that matters. God is seeking servants, not stars.

Understand the benefits of congregations over concerts. Concerts can have value. But concerts last one evening. People come together and then leave, never to meet again. A congregation gathers repeatedly, week after week, year after year. The opportunity to teach, pastor, encourage, and build lives together far exceeds what happens in a single night at a concert.

Recognize that Jesus came to build a worshiping church, not a worship industry. I once heard Louie Giglio point out that the center of “industry” is “dust.” That’s a reminder that while God may raise up certain bands and artists to bless the church with their songs, none of them are essential to his purposes. The church is. We’re off the mark if we make primary what God thinks is secondary.

Be the best you can be in the place God has called you. Prov. 22:9 says, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” That’s not a guarantee that God will make you famous if you practice your instrument. But it’s a clear statement that we shouldn’t wait until we have an massive audience to develop our gifts.

As we seek to please the Audience of One we can trust that the platform we lead from will be just the right size for giving Jesus the praise he desires and that he alone deserves.

Bob Kauflin is the director of worship development for Sovereign Grace, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. This involves overseeing its music projects and teaching on congregational worship. He has written the fantastic book ‘Worship Matters,’ which in Tim’s opinion is one of the best books currently written on worship. He and his wife Julie have six children and an ever-growing number of grandchildren. Find out more by checking www.worshipmatters.com