why I began this journey
I don’t really remember the date this happened, but I do remember what happened.
I was walking into my office at church one morning, and was struck for a brief moment by the sign outside my door that read “worship pastor.” Now, you might not think I should be shocked by this as that is the position I have been assigned, but that day it made me pause.
For quite some time both in paid and unpaid positions, I have been “leading worship” at various churches. Now, this of course, means sing the songs on Sunday mornings (I know it means more than that, but bear with me). That day, however, I was more struck by the word “pastor.”
A pastor is a guide and a shepherd, and I read on that wall plaque that day that it was my job to shepherd my church toward worship, but what I realized that day is that since worship occurs as a lifestyle, maybe my pastoring should focus on a lifestyle of worship.
If people in our churches do not worship God Monday through Saturday, are we really doing our job of pastoring? Now, I know there are other avenues of discipleship people are involved in, but what can we do as worship pastors to form lives of worship in all our hearts?
This is where I started. What do you think? Have you had similar feelings about your ministries? What do you do to worship God in your daily life?
Read post 2 here:
http://daviderlandson.com/2014/04/11/the-journey-part2/
Great thoughts – I’ve had them myself. I sometimes just sit back in wonder and think, “I am a pastor…wow.”
That’s a big part of why I like the new position I’m in. Part of the requirements (once we get through all of our transitions) will be to help people devote themselves to God more fully Monday through Saturday. We aren’t sure yet what that will look like, but it is going to be more about shepherding people toward a lifestyle of devotion/worship every day. This is something that I am excited about!
I have felt that many churches do just an average job of discipleship, teaching what worship is, challenging their people to greater love for God, and wonder why their “flock” isn’t “more committed” to Christ, the Church, each other, living the life, etc. Just a cursory reading of the Scripture would demonstrate that we need to be living our everyday lives in light of Who Jesus is and what He’s done – this isn’t just a Sunday morning routine.
I’ll be praying for you and all of the others that I know who do this ‘worship pastor’ thing. It’s a big responsibility, but a big blessing too. Feel free to get a hold of me anytime if you want to talk about it. It’s a big thing for me too!
See! This is the issue: we know where we want to go, but no one knows what it’s supposed to look like!
That’s why I’m working on this, so hopefully all of us can go somewhere new together!
Thanks for your initial comments. Can’t wait to hear what you guys start working on at your new church.