Sunday, June 03, 2012

Nervously Sufficient Worship: Reprise

Last night I wrote about feeling a bit nervous for leading worship this morning. Today I woke up feeling just fine and ready to go. I got to class, put the slides on the laptop, and all seemed well. After class, I connected everything up and turned on the projector. The image was horrifying. The screen was all wavy, like there was some interference somewhere. I tried a couple things real quick to reset it but to no avail. Any further diagnosis would require getting the ladder to reach the projector and there was no time. Quickly I swapped out a few songs that were only on the slides for ones that were in the book. I also had a medley that was no longer feasible. After some quick reworking all was set.

Things were not as I had wanted them to be, but all in all it was a wonderful service. The lesson was great and everything tied together nicely. And the things that made it wonderful could not be planned at all. Had I not been at peace with my effort it could have been a very stressful time.

I am not sure that God was trying to teach me any lessons but I will find one here anyway. It is not about me. It is not up to me.  I cannot rely on technology, planning, or my own efforts. I can plan and prepare, but when the time comes God will do what he will do. My goal should be to make sure I am with Him and open to the Spirit's leading. Semper Gumby. Always flexible.

Epilogue: After worship, while setting up for the potluck I was able to tinker with the projector enough to get it to reset and get back to normal operation.

1 comment:

Bob Mathews said...

Yes, I thought it went well too. In a similar vein -- especially if I'm teaching on Wednesday night -- I sometimes find myself with less than optimum time management during the week prior, and not as much prep time for the lesson as I would have liked. God has a way of working through the entire class (or in the case of a worship leader, the entire congregation) to make himself known to us, and for us to be able to praise him the best we can.