Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Leading with Soul (Open Eyes)

Titanic was an epic film. The story demands such a telling. I remember when it was released (1997) and there was a running commentary among my friends: "Why would you pay money to see it? Everyone knows how it ends!"

I'm glad I went to see it.

Not only do I love movies, I was indelibly marked by a single phrase from Titanic. You might have missed it, or maybe I was late coming to an understanding you've had for a long time.

When Smith asked how long 'til the ship sinks, Thomas Andrews answers, "An hour... two at most." And then Smith responds with, "And how many aboard, Mr Murdoch?"

Here it is. The moment I was undone in that movie theater almost 20 years ago... a moment I've never forgotten.



"2,200 souls on board, sir."


Not 2,200 people or 1,500 passengers and 700 crew. No breakdown by 1st class, 2nd class or 3rd class.

Souls.

When we stand before the church to lead worship--whether as a singer or instrumentalist, we aren't leading songs or music. We're not just leading heads and hearts.

We are leading souls.

And that is one of the reasons I want my eyes to stay open as much as possible.

See the connection?

The folks you and I are leading to the throne of grace don't want to be led by a voice or a body. They don't want to be led by a musician or even a pastor.

They want to be led by a soul.

Our eyes are windows to our souls.

Let's not close the windows. Let's not seal off our souls.

Let's use our eyes to engage our brothers and sisters with words of encouragement and testimony. Join me in ensuring we focus attention on the God of the heavens when the text is directed to Jesus, the lover of our souls.

In other words, let's lead souls with our soul.

I'm curious... how do you do this? Or how have you seen it done well?

2 comments:

  1. I struggle very much with this when I lead worship...and ironically, we've never discussed this aspect of leading worship. Anyway, as a worshipper, I tend to close my eyes when I worship. I feel more connected that way...more focused. When on the platform, if I am worshipping like I should, I'm inclined to close my eyes. That being said, I recognize that this is something that can be a deterrent to the people in the congregation. My concern is two-fold. If my eyes are open, I am either looking too hard at the screens at words I already know my heart, or I get myself distracted from worship because I my attention gets captured by what is going on around me. In addition, I never ever want leading worship to look like performance. That is a big fear of mine. When my eyes are open, I think more about looking at people, my expressions, etc...all things that are more about performance. I say all of that to say that I clearly struggle with this and haven't gotten close to mastering it yet.

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  2. Thanks for your comments, Meagan. One of my mentors once told me that to lead worship is to sacrifice 10% of our experience for the benefit of others. I can't get "lost in worship" and lead others. I have to know where I'm going and take them there. Not sure that applies, but it's what came to mind.

    Also, I try to use my eyes to communicate the "text direction." If we're singing to one another (Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus or How Great Is Our God) then I look at people. If we're singing to God (How Great Thou Art or This Is Amazing Grace) then I look at the ceiling/heavens. Hope that helps!

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