Now THAT was WORSHIP!!!!

[Cow Poke]

Many things that we call "worship" really aren't. (In my opinion)
And things that you might not think are NOT... well... here's my story....

I was serving as Youth Minister in a Baptist Church.
We had a "Minister of Music" (Song Leader) (now called "Worship Leader") who was ... just gonna be frank here... he was very talented in "music", and played the trombone, and was an excellent singer.... but in my own opinion, I often wondered why the Pastor allowed this guy to be "Minister of Music", because I really didn't think his personal life was consistent with what he said/did from the pulpit. But that's a whole 'nuther story.

Meanwhile, an OLD guy (let's see, I was 20-something, so Earl was probably 60-something - I have changed my perspective on what "old" is) wanted to sing a solo for the Church Service on a Sunday Morning. We call it "special music", though, the degree of specialness is often open to interpretation. Problem was - Earl couldn't carry a tune to save his soul. (Fortunately, with regards to Salvation, tune carrying is not ... you get it)

People would often tell the Minister of Music (MoM) that they would like to provide "special music" and MoM would schedule them. When Earl told MoM he would like to sing, it gave MoM heartburn. He didn't want to be cruel, but MoM was into all the fancy stuff about singing ... stuff about which I know very little. But Earl wanted to sing. And MoM had a problem. He didn't want to say "no", but he really didn't want to embarrass himself by having Earl mess up a perfectly good Sunday Morning Service. Ah, but this was Ohio, and MANY of the congregants had family in West Virginia, and there were weekends where MANY of the congregation would be traveling "back home". So MoM scheduled Earl for one of those ... not sure if it was Memorial Day or Labor Day ... one of those times when it was traditionally "pretty empty" at Church.

The day came, but for reasons nobody could figure out, the Church was PACKED that Sunday! And it came time for Earl to sing. As I mentioned, Earl is an old guy with a raspy voice, and some think "not quite all there". But he was a GREAT guy and loved the Lord. So Earl takes his place at the podium, and clears his throat, and nods to the pianist... she plays the introduction to "He is So Precious to Me"... and at the appropriate moment, Earl kicks in "So Precious is Jesus my Savior, My King.... " ... but Earl chokes up and begins to sob. The pianist stops, and Earl looks at the people, and says "I'm sorry folks, let me try that one more time" and nods to the pianist.

Mind you, this is the song "before the Preaching"... the Pastor will preach next.

She plays the introduction again (by the way, "she" is MoM's wife) and Earl kicks in again, raspy voice and all, "So Precious is Jesus my Savior, My King...." and AGAIN, Earl gets choked up and begins to cry. At this moment, I noticed "you could hear a pin drop" in the packed-out congregation... all eyes are on Earl. He nods again to the pianist, and says "This time, it's going to work". And on queue, raspy voice and all, Al sputters through all verses and choruses of "He is So Precious to Me".....

So precious is Jesus, my Savior, my King;
His praise all the day long with rapture I sing.
To Him in my weakness for strength I can cling,
For He is so precious to me.

For He is so precious to me;
For He is so precious to me.
’Tis heaven below, my Redeemer to know,
For He is so precious to me.

He stood at my heart’s door ’mid sunshine and rain,
And patiently waited an entrance to gain.
What shame that so long He entreated in vain,
For He is so precious to me.

I stand on the mountain of blessing at last,
No cloud in the heavens a shadow to cast,
His smile is upon me; the valley is past,
For He is so precious to me.

I praise Him because He appointed a place
Where some day, through faith in His wonderful grace,
I know I shall see Him, shall look on His face,
For He is so precious to me.

For He is so precious to me;
For He is so precious to me.
’Tis heaven below, my Redeemer to know,
For He is so precious to me.


When Earl is done singing, nobody moves. Absolute quiet. Astounding quiet. A "Holy Hush".
Earl tried to step away from the pulpit, but the Pastor stepped up to Earl and put his arm around him, tears streaming down Earl's face. The Pastor then quietly spoke into the microphone... "If the Lord is speaking to your heart this morning, would you come and kneel...." and the WHOLE CHURCH came forward to kneel and pray, weeping, and pouring hearts out to Jesus.

Of all my "warm fuzzy" or "mountain top" spiritual experiences... this is THE ONE that I can really say ... Now THAT was WORSHIP!!!!

He is So Precious to Me - Words & Music: Charles H. Gabriel, Joyful Praise (Chicago, Illinois: Jennings & Pye, 1902) (MIDI).

[Sundance]

Great story. Brought tears to my eyes.

[Eeset-Shadowgrl]

Thanks for sharing.

[Methuselah]

Excellent, sometimes we can spoil worship by ‘Degrees’

[Cow Poke]

Excellent, sometimes we can spoil worship by ‘Degrees’

Interesting way of saying it, yes. Or like trying to hard, or trying to formalize something that can be SO simple. Yeah - spoil by degrees... I like that!