Thursday, October 3

from crosswalk.com, an interview of Millard, band leader for MercyMe:

“I think my concern is there is a big movement of worship music right now. My fear is that it could be creating very shallow Christians, people who worship the act of worship more than they do Christ.”

“Praise & worship is more than a musical style for our band. It’s a lifestyle,” interjects Scheuczer. “It’s a lifestyle lived to glorify God. I don’t think it’s just music. I think the music side is just a means to get closer to God. [Worship] is what we’re created to do.”

The band knows that leading worship is a calling, and it takes that calling very seriously. “It’s totally about building the kingdom of Jesus Christ,” Millard says. “For me as a worship leader, when someone comes up and says, ‘You guys did a great job,’ I can take that and just say thanks.”

But some parts of performing are harder for Millard to take. “When you’re on stage and the crowd starts going crazy,” he reflects, “it’s almost a little frightening. It’s scary just from the sense that we’ve worked up to the point that we’ve done everything we could to call upon the name of the Lord—to have His presence there and literally to be on holy ground, in the midst of a Living God.”

Millard pauses, choosing his words. “When all of the praise starts going all over the place, you get really nervous about it being in the right direction. After a while you start to wonder: Are they worshiping the Father? What exactly is going on?”

How does a band like MercyMe, already uneasy with success, respond to the admiration of over 500,000 fans? Millard considers the difficulty. “We try to be as humble as possible,” he says, “as grateful as possible. A lot of people have come up and said, “You guys seem real, and you do everything you can to point to the right direction.’ For us, that’s just a safer place to be than trying to carry it on our own shoulders. Pass it on to Him; He’s the only thing worthy of that praise.”

3 things i got from this article:
1) reminder of what worship REALLY is: not music, not songs, but a LIFE lived to glorify God (reinforcing material from praise band bible study)

2) sometimes, we get caught up in the musical aspect: we love songs that make us move, songs with special rhythms and melodies...but really, sometime, i have to wonder, are we aiming for a feeling? are we truly worshipping the Father? as Millard asks, "What exactly is going on?"

3) for all you talented ppl out there who are constantly doubting yourself or holding back for some bizarre reason (jee, justin, tim, etc, etc,): just BUST OUT!!! stop questioning every single little thing about yourself, and just let the praise and worship RING. you gotta be humble, and grateful, but stop bearing all the weight on your shoulders (whether it's success, failure, or whatever). just kick it out, and let all that results be lifted to God.

for whatever it's worth, I think you guys are awesome. I think you guys have special talents. stop holding back the tide within, let the waves roll!!!

(i expect CDs from each of you soon...)

comments

jennie @ 04.24.am | October 04, 2002

good article. reminds me of "heart of worship"... i'll bring You more than a song for a song in itself is not what You have required. You search much deeper within through the way things appear, You're looking into my heart. i'm coming back to the heart of worship & it's all about You... it's all about You Jesus~~"
email | website


tim @ 01.22.am | October 04, 2002

i have about 5 more years of training to do anything recording worthy.
email | website


yakov @ 10.40.pm | October 03, 2002

no BOUGHT presents.
i meant that these guys need to put out albums soon
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toile* @ 09.23.pm | October 03, 2002

"(i expect CDs from each of you soon...)", but i thoguht you said no more presnets...?



yakob at 8:03 PM

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