Have you heard the story behind Matt Redman’s worship song, “Heart of Worship”? The song was released in 1999 and became a regular part of the worship rotation at many churches, including LifeSpring.
In the 1990s, Matt Redman’s church had made some huge upgrades to their worship ministry. Things were expanding and growing in this area, and people were excited about Sunday worship. But Matt Redman and others realized that people were getting so caught up in the production, performance, and sound of the music that the spirit of true worship was getting lost. In the midst of all the excellence in the ministry, the true spirit of the ministry was getting lost in the mix.
So the worship team decided to do something drastic. For a season, they decided to strip away all the fancy production, instruments, and projection. They decided to get rid of anything that could cause a distraction, and focused on putting first things first.
While this story is about worship ministry, I think the general idea here is really significant, including for LifeSpring. LifeSpring is in a stage of growth in its ministry. Many different parts of the church are growing and improving, from worship ministry, to missions, to Kingdom Kids, and beyond. A great example is the upcoming summer program at Kingdom Kids. Last year, the pastoral team took the lead on this, and we simply provided supervision while the kids played in the gym. This year, the shepherds team is planning all kinds of engaging activities including sports and learning. Seeing ministries grow like this is amazing!
But I’m also reminded of the message behind the Heart of Worship song, the idea of putting first things first. It is no coincidence that LifeSpring’s first memory verse was Matthew 22:36-39.
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
At times, it can be easy to get caught up in the busyness of ministry. But for all the good that is happening at LifeSpring, it is so important to remember to keep first things first. What is most important is real relationship with God. What is important is genuine worship. Please don’t get me wrong, ministry is important, and seeing ministries grow is amazing. But it should never be at the expense of what is most important–loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind.
My prayer is that as ministry expands at LifeSpring, it will always grow from what is foundational–a deep, genuine love for God.