To discover the secret of originality and creativity in worship, be yourself in the Spirit. Reflecting on his own ministry experiences, Dave Bilbrough explains how God¹s anointing comes when we are true to who he has made us to be
I felt like an alien. I was 17. I'd just become a Christian. But my first experience of church was somewhat extra-terrestrial. Words were said and sung that left me not so much doubting the sincerity as desiring a worship expression that reflected the culture and musical style I was used to.
It was the age of the singer-songwriter. It was the days when the ‘words of the prophets' were ‘written on the subway walls'. Paul Simon and Bob Dylan were the spokespeople of a generation. So it was natural for me to begin to write from that place. I¹m so grateful for those who were around me at that time, encouraging me to be true to myself - rather than merely conforming to what was ‘acceptable'.
As I began to move into worship leading, it was natural for me to take styles and music from the background I¹d come from. I believe God¹s anointing comes when we are true to who he has made us to be. That¹s a place where originality and creativity can flow - from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit - the one true artist.
I became part of a small band of Christians newly ‘baptised in the Spirit¹, stretching out for more in our expression of church life and wanting to push back the borders of the current worship trends and be a part of something new.
I remember the raised eyebrows on many Christian faces when news filtered through about the goings-on at a local pub called ‘The Cauliflower¹. Due to a shortage of local halls in the area the upstairs function hall was the only available venue for our regular Sunday night church meetings. The fervent worship that emerged from that East End location caused quite a stir.
On one occasion I recall leaving the meeting while it was in full joyful flow to visit ‘the Gents¹ downstairs. Looking down over the banister of the big Victorian staircase I spotted the landlord holding the phone receiver up in the air. ‘That¹s them up there,¹ he said to his friend, ‘and it sounds like they¹re having a much better time up there than we are down here!¹
It made me think how infectious and attractive true praise should be to those around us. What was it Jesus said about the common people hearing him gladly? We were being ourselves. There was something so right about the cultural interface that was happening. God¹s presence was among us and the worship was coming from an authentic place expressing the heartfelt praise of a bunch of Eastenders.
I¹ve found there¹s always something new to learn. There¹s always someone further down the track than me. Increasingly we are living in a multi-racial society. I am committed to a worship that makes room and actively learns from different ways and styles than our accepted models of ‘radical worship¹. God is bigger, broader, and more colourful than any one of our worship preferences.
My first trip to a third world country, Ghana, back in 1982 brought that home forcibly to me. A perceived ‘expert¹ from the West, I was supposed to teach them how to praise. Yet 15 minutes into my first public meeting with the West African believers, I realised they were streets ahead of me in their vibrant, joyful expression.
Without condemnation I determined to learn as much from them in that three-week tour, giving what I could but learning and receiving. It was a precious time. The secret is always to stay open and not be threatened. Staying open is the key to hearing fresh things from God.
One of the challenging things I¹ve learnt in my journey of worship is not to limit where I perceive ‘the anointing¹ to be. Even now, we like to try and package what a good time of worship should look like. Loud, quiet then loud again, music led by young people, old people, guitars, decks, from the front, from the back.
There¹s no set formula. I find myself constantly waiting on him to lead me to the next place. I love to read how Jesus upset the status quo. His reactions weren¹t always what we would anticipate. As an inexperienced worship leader I would often attempt to bring order into the chaos, whereas often when God is really present he challenges our pre-meditated formulas and makes them untidy.
Way back in my early years I recall hearing a visiting preacher in full flow sharing an inspiring word that challenged and released a packed auditorium with his talk. The only problem was, as the worship leader, I didn¹t have a song that could fully reflect the content of his message. What should I do?
I felt the weight of the moment on me. Soon he would finish and everyone would look at me. Amid my desperation I heard God say, ‘Go and stand next to the speaker¹. ‘But he¹s still talking,¹ I quietly replied.
‘Go,¹ said the voice again. And so out of raw obedience I leapt to my feet and stood next to the minister. He managed a sideways glance as if to say, ‘What are you doing here?¹ Then I heard that voice whisper again, ‘Start playing what you feel on your guitar¹.
Hesitantly, I ventured out and I played directly to God, trying to interpret his mood and burden. After the speaker had finished we continued for quite some time, creating a context in which to wait on God. I can¹t tell you the pressure I felt to launch into a well-known ‘crowd-pleaser¹. It was immense.
But as I held my nerve and kept steadfast, God took us deeper and further in our worship than many of us had been before.
It was a significant night and an important experience for me. I¹d learned the valuable lesson of staying in the flow until God says it¹s time to move on. As we let him take us downstream and resist heading for the dry land of the predictable, it¹s amazing what God can do.
In our journey into worship we need to maintain a healthy sense of perspective that it¹s God who is the initiator. It¹s our job as worship leaders to put our trust in him to guide.
Sometimes we can take ourselves so seriously. We might feel that everything is down to a good performance from ‘me¹. We can worry over our song selection and presentation. But ultimately it¹s only God who can bring the living water to parch our thirsty souls. He brings freedom to know that I follow his lead, freedom to express originality, to be the person he has created me to be and freedom to take risks and launch out into new territory.
On a recent trip to Kenya with a team of musicians, we were invited back to the pastor¹s house for a traditional Kenyan Sunday lunch. As we sat in a small cramped dark room negotiating our way through the local delicacies, the sound of drumming accompanied by occasional singing could be heard from afar.
After finishing our meal, we went to investigate. And inside a small ramshackle hut not much bigger than a phone booth, we found a remarkable sight. Squeezed into that tiny space were 50-60 people of all ages playing drums of every description with fantastic control and rhythm - yet at the same time in complete unselfconscious freedom!
This was a Kenyan church in worship. And their meeting lasted the whole day through. I¹m sure this is something of how it would have been like in biblical days - chaotic, untidy and raw - standing in sharp contrast to much of our pre-packaged ‘no-rough-edges¹ praise.
Our corporate worship experience can sometimes be so obsessed with presentation, musical styles, lengths of songs, intros, links and smooth transitions that the point of being together, to meet with God, can be lost.
I¹m sure there was little preparation to the meeting we witnessed in Kenya other than, ‘let¹s pick up our instruments, lift all our heart, soul and energy to God and see where he takes it¹. When Jesus visited the house of Mary and Martha, Martha was so busy preparing the meal that she missed the point of the visit. Jesus said Mary - who sat attentively at his feet drinking in his words of life had ‘chosen the better part¹.
In an age where worship consumerism, conferences and CDs abound, the challenge is always for our worship to be real and find vertical as well as horizontal expression.
These last few years, a further part of the jigsaw has come into focus for me. Biblical worship is very connected with caring for the poor, looking after the needs of those less fortunate than ourselves. Surely the experience of touching the grace-filled heart of the Father can only increase our compassion for the vast majority of the world who live daily in poverty and deprivation.
Recovering a sense of what God wants to do - as well as who God is - has been an important part of my worship experience. Perhaps you could call it intercessory worship, a breaking-through as well as a standing on the territory that God is giving.
Augustine said that he who sings to God prays twice both with words and melody. Prayer and praise are inextricably linked together. I do believe that true authentic worship joins us with the host of heaven and opens the doorway for God¹s will to be done here on earth - often releasing the prophetic and other spiritual gifts.
One example of that happened recently during a tour of northern England. There had been a great release of praise. I had shared a few new songs as well as some of the familiar, and we had arrived at the point that I always love. I call it ‘freefall in the Spirit¹. We¹d sung, we¹d prayed and then we were saying, ‘Let¹s take our hands off and see what¹s going to happen¹.
It's always exciting - if not at times somewhat scary - to see what direction God wants to take us. Usually a few words develop, signposts if you like, markers that are helpful for the congregation to ride with us. Sometimes there¹s a word of encouragement, a spontaneous song, a prayer. That night it was just a feeling that wouldn¹t go away.
As I looked out at the congregation, four rows back to my left I saw a young woman. Straight into my heart came these words, which I spoke directly to her: ‘God has heard your prayer and is pleased that you are opening up to him. He wants to reveal his love in a personal way to you tonight, to bring you a place where you have not been before, and lead you into his peace¹.
The music moved on. We sang. The meeting finished. As we went through our nightly ritual of clearing the stage, she came up to me and said excitedly, ‘How did you know?¹
"How did I know what?" I replied.
‘Tonight as you said what you did to me, I was saying to God come into my life - I want to become a Christian."
It reminded me again how we need to be open and alert to speak out the words he is giving - and not hide behind one aspect of ministry.
The substance of ministry activity is only measured from an eternal standpoint by the fruit it has born in people¹s hearts and lives. The success of our latest worship song pales into insignificance in comparison with the glory of his kingdom. Like everyone else on this journey, I am called to prepare the way for the coming King and to bear fruit that endures.
Dave Bilbrough is an established worship leader and songwriter and one of Britain¹s pioneers of contemporary praise music. His material includes such classics as Abba Father, Let There Be Love, All Hail The Lamb, So Freely and O The Valleys Shall Ring.
© 2001 Worship Together