Jim Drew is a musical artist and engineer with a heart for worship based in Rochester NY. I’ve been on his mailing list for a while: “The Art of Worship”.
In his most recent post he addresses the tension that goes with up front leadership – the fine line between just enjoying yourself on stage and seeking the attention of the ‘audience’.
“I love to worship and yet I feel the responsibility of leading folks in front of me into that special place where we all give God the opportunity to touch, heal, speak, strengthen us, and all the other things He wants to do to make us stronger children. I also know I am weak and can be thinking one moment of how I need to enjoy that one word in the song because it means so much to me and then the next moment I am daydreaming of myself doing a guitar boogie across the stage. I know, I know, it couldn’t be true, right?”
Jim goes on to outline the human struggle for attention, reflecting what he calls ‘stage fright’ – the sabotage of effective leadership.
I’ve been thinking about this for some time now, provoked by words by Rick Warren in his book, Purpose Driven Life, in which he says that it is impossible to keep a servant attitude when one has a high profile. It’s not impossible, obviously. But having friends and family who treat you as an ordinary person is certainly one of the best safeguards against soaring ego.
If you’re interested in receiving Jim Drew’s emails on the art of worship send a message to this email address.
I’ve had a look at this matter of service and limelight over at Driving with Purpose today as well.