Stepping Out: Into Serving Others (Part 2 of 3)

In part one of our three part series, Stepping Out, we discovered the joy and freedom of a life knowing the providence of God. If this is your first time to Resonant Music Ministry, check out the post here.

"We don't serve to receive, we serve to glorify God"

Today we are going to dig deeper into Philippians as we discover the joy of Christian fellowship and serving others. This sounds like a HUGE step but I encourage you that it is a natural outpouring of your personal, private devotion. While a servant's heart is certainly required of ministry, it should not be something that is forced. The closer you draw to God, the more He will draw your heart towards others.

If you are in a time crunch and cannot stay for a while, I completely understand. Here is the final paragraph, the take-away:

The way you build up, encourage, and love upon others—no matter their backgrounds, beliefs, or political affiliation—the closer you are setting your ministry up for God to work through you and for the Holy Spirit to change lives; you become the vessel through which God’s work is done.

Now if you are on the longer journey. You probably want to know how I got there.

Let’s dig in:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:1-4 (ESV)

The first half of this passage looks closely at fellowship, the second half looks at a servant’s heart. Let's look at both to see how they could apply to our music ministry.

Christian Fellowship

Whenever you see “if statements” from Paul, take it as a question: “Is there any…?”. I believe this set of questionings demonstrate the fruits of Christian fellowship: encouragement, love, participation, affection, sympathy, unity, and agreeableness. Mind you, I am not talking about some forced Christianese, you know...all smiles and no personality. I am saying that when Christ is the center of fellowship, respect for one another’s differences, embrace for one another’s giftings, and a love for one another’s calling becomes the natural outpouring of our interactions.

It is very easy—especially in the midst of tight deadlines, never-enough-time rehearsal schedules, and high standards—to overlook some of the most important aspects of music ministry. We publish the music, scribble down notes, set production cues, manage soundcheck, research best-practice, recruit talent, etc. In the never ending cycle of Sunday-to-Sunday, how much time do you dedicate to prayer, devotion, and fellowship with your team? When we place Christ at the center of our creative work, it moves the focus from us to God and sets our ministries up to yield these fruits as well.

Think of the last time you looked at someone deep in the eye and acknowledged their story, cried and laughed with them, and provided resources and encouragement for their dreams and aspirations. How did those interactions change your connection with them???

Fellowship: embracing each other’s diversity of spirit through total unity with Christ. This is what I believe Paul is saying when he writes, “working together with one mind and purpose…” It is not absent minded Christian conformism, but a single-minded love for Christ that empowers our desire to serve others as Christ loves us. I draw the word single-minded from the Warren Wiersbe commentary, check it out here.

How does Christ love us?

Paul answers it in a beautiful statement of faith and theological image of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to read it on your own, Philippians 2:5-11. Here's a paraphrase:

Jesus humbly served man in obedience to God by descending to earth in total submission to God’s providence. Acting in absolute sovereignty, Jesus died in the most lowly, despicable way possible and it was through His obedience that both He and God were exalted above all others through the resurrection and ultimate redemption of mankind’s fall to sin.

Significantly, Paul doesn’t stop there. With the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is working in us, Paul brings his focus back to us—the church—saying, “...work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” -Philippians 2: 12-13 (ESV).

I am going to be honest, the first time, second time, and third time I read this passage I thought it meant that I needed to work to secure my salvation. You know, “do this… do that...be this… say that.” It was a total turn off. But through prayer and study, I grew and I am here to encourage you to a different conclusion if you read it in the same way.

Leadership 101: Lead with a servant's heart

The Christian story can be summarized in two steps:

1. Believe that Christ died for you and has redeemed you from any need of guilt or sorrow over past actions no matter the circumstance (that simple). This is called, faith.
2. Submit yourself to God’s providence and be obedient to the changes in your heart. This is called, works.

The longer that we stay in fellowship with one another the deeper our hearts will grow towards serving others through our skills, talents, and interests. Here, the plead from Paul is super straight forward: all of your work must be done in humility (Philippians 2:3-4). We don’t serve to receive, we serve to glorify God. Since glorifying God is at the core of how we use our talents on earth, we must approach it with reverence, respect, and with obedience to God in our hearts.

If your legalism bells are ringing, I hear you and don’t get worried. Remember, this is a natural spiritual progression that occurs as one draws nearer to God in worship and it has nothing to do with whether or not your salvation is secured. While you do not need to work to be a Christian (at all, just have faith), God will stir in your heart a desire to serve others through Him as you grow nearer to Him. In this regard, “to work out your salvation” simply means that the Christian life does not stop at salvation. In fact, it’s only just the beginning to a exciting journey!

It’s Only Just Begun…

So, how does all of this relate to music ministry. Awesome question... It is all about exhibiting the fruits of Christian fellowship as we “work out our salvation” within our music program. You know… the fun stuff!

I firmly believe that this spiritual growth is even more important within music ministry; the temptation for ego is tremendously high.

The way you connect with your musicians and production crew is not only an integral part of your ministry but also vital to their development as Christians, as creative people, and as members of your church community.

Your creative team probably uses their skills outside of your church. In fact, they probably lead people themselves. Imagine how far the fruit of Christian fellowship can go with impacting the lives of people far beyond your site-specific ministry. When your team members leave on Sunday and head to work on Monday, have your interactions at church equipped them to lead people in encouragement and in humility? 

We desire music in worship to be excellent, yes, but when the fruit of that labor begins to propel ministry forward, remember this: it is God working through you and the reach of your ministry can only be as big as your heart for the people that you serve.

I remember watching a leadership seminar through Gateway Church on YouTube and hearing the phrase, your character must always proceed your talent. When I first heard it, it hit me hard and stuck with me. I believe in it 100% and I tell it to all of my long-term students.

The way you build up, encourage, and love upon others—no matter their backgrounds, beliefs, or political affiliation—the closer you are setting your ministry up for God to move through you and for the Holy Spirit change lives; you become the vessel through which God’s work is done.

I appreciate you so much and thank you for your time today! I hope you enjoyed the read. If so, share with your friends and comment below. I would love to hear from you! We have just one more post in the Stepping Out series and then we will be digging into building a great vocal music program for your church. Return next week for Stepping Out: Into God’s Calling for your Life.

Remember: Be Encouraged, Be Inspired, Be Resonant.