We’ve been discussing at some length how the spiritual giftedness of members of the church can specifically affect the worship ministry.  Today we come to the “no-brainer” spiritual gift of any ministry:  a ministry has to have leaders.  Therefore, the Spirit of God has gifted some of us in the area of “ruling” or administration.

I want to point out something that should be obvious to us, but often isn’t.  Often, we assume that if someone has a “type-A” personality, that automatically means that God has gifted them in the area of leadership for the church.  Let’s not forget, however, that the gifts we are discussing are gifts given by the Spirit after someone experiences His regenerating power.  Just because nature endows people with agressive and poweful personalities does not mean that the Holy Spirit intends for them to be a leader in the church.

That said, leaders are indespensable in any church context. They help us focus our minds and efforts on specific courses of action that allow the church to flourish in very specific doctrinal and practical directions.  A worship leader should recognize those on his team that are gifted in this specific area and put them in charge of something.

What would a worship team be without leadership?  Obviously, the worship leader is the “head” of the worship organization, but everyone on the platform is exercising a leadership role in a sense.  It certainly helps if some of those who are onstage can be gifted in the area of rulership, because they will be intentional and purposeful in the way that they lead the congregation in song.  Worship should not be an accident; instead it should be carefully lead and marshalled by those with giftings that allow them to lead diligently and helpfully.

Yesterday, we began a discussion of spiritual gifts and their relationship to corporate worship.  We discussed the spiritual gift of prophecy, and we talked about some ways taht a prophet can be useful in a group worship setting.

Whenever I hear a discussion of the spiritual gifts, I have to fight the urge to think that some of these gifts are “cooler” than others.  For some reason, Prophecy and Leadership sound much better to me than service or mercy.  I have to remember that all spiritual gifts are essential to the proper organization of the church, which is Paul’s point in Romans 12:5-8.

The spiritual gift of service is vital to a healthy church.  Someone who possesses this gift feels very comfortable backstage or behind the scenes.  This person enjoys mowing the church lawn or cooking meals for those who are in need. Typically servants don’t require, or want, a lot of recognition for what they do.  The job is reward enough.

I should mention that all Christians are called to serve.  Sometimes when we get into the discussion of spiritual gifts, we just assume that some responsibilities don’t apply to us because of our own spiritual gifting, but that is simply not the case. We are commanded over and over in Scripture to serve one another, regardless of our gifts, but there are members of the church body who are better at it than others.  These people have been given that gift through the power of the Spirit.

I cannot imagine running a church worship team without people who have the gift of service.  It would impossible to accomplish anything onstage without people who are willing to operate lights, sound, make copies, etc.  Servants often see needs before leadership does, and I have found that to be the case in the context of my worship team. 

How have servants helped your worship team?  Are you a servant?  If so, please do not be ashamed of your gifting; it is just as vital to the church as leadership!