That's what it's all about

This past Saturday night at church I almost started crying during the worship time. Normally I find myself very distracted during the worship by things like whether or not the music is too loud, or if the mix sounds good, or if the visitors will know where they can take their kids, or if the bulletins are finding their way to people's hands. Then sometimes the a/c or heater isn't working just right, or the area in the back seems cluttered with things we should have put away. And most Saturday nights, when the worship has started I am still trying to go introduce myself to that visitor that I didn't get a chance to say hi to yet. Sometimes I find myself focusing on so many things that are not as important as worship. I get so wrapped up in wanting to make sure that everyone is going to have a good worship experience that I lose focus of worshiping myself. Part of that is because I want everything to go good. Part of it is because we have a small group of people doing lots of things. Take James for example. This past week James got to the church and was in the sanctuary with the band as they rehearsed (he does the slides on Saturday nights). Then he went out and worked on the lightbulbs outside ( he is our Building and Grounds Coordinator). When I got to the church I told him that I had a Powerpoint presentation I needed him to run through during the sermon, and that I would be showing a video clip (that he would also be responsible for). After that, I asked him if there was any way that he could get the sign re-hung (the wind ripped it down during the week) before everyone started showing up. He politely complies and does a great job of doing everything that I throw at him. But that is just part of it. I think we are always vulnerable to getting so wrapped up and busy doing what we do that we forget the reason we are doing it. Well this past Saturday I was reminded. I was brought to a stop during the worship and all of my distractions were quickly silenced. I was standing in the back, trying to focus on worshiping Jesus, not the soundboard, when Jeremy said, "Feel free to lift your hands to God as we sing" or something like that. As I looked around the room I saw people so free in worship that they began closing their eyes and singing to God. I saw people begin raising their hands high to the Lord as the sang out loud the praises of who He is. Some of these people were first time visitors, some were new believers, and some were Core Team members. It didn't matter who it was, what mattered was that they were all joined together, "lifting holy hands" and worshipping God with all that they were. Now I do not think that you "have to" lift your hands or clap or do anything specific to worship, but what I saw was people who didn't care about anything but worshipping God and singing for joy to him. I was humbled and encouraged and overwhelmed all at once. That is why we exist. That is what it is all about...and it was happening all around me. Regardless of what level the music was or wasn't set at, regardless of what the temperature of the room was, regardless of how "polished" or "smooth" the service was...it was happening. Kinda put things in perspective for me. It is so easy to lose sight of what is truely important sometimes. I thank God that the people of my church teach me so much all the time. I thank God that Saturday night Freddy's little distracted mind was hushed by the voices and expressions of a room full of people who were abandoned to God in worship, and would not be distracted. That was awsome!