Epic Worship Leading Event

The people are gathered. The stage is set. The sound check is done. The lights come up. Are you ready to lead? Nerves anyone?

I became a Dad again on Monday, as Theo Judah, with impeccable timing, burst into the world at 3.33pm. We've now got two boys under 18 months old and a lot of fun and hard work on our hands! Anna, my wife, is doing exceptionally well considering she had a caesarean section!

Anyway, in getting married and having kids, I have brought to my door, the biggest, most challenging, most joy-filled and anguish-wrought worship event I could ever have hope to lead.

Let me explain myself.

Romans 12:1-2 is for me the definition of worship for someone who loves Jesus.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Worship is continuous and is an attitude. It doesn't begin at 10am on a Sunday and end at

10.45am. It doesn't start again at 7.30pm on Wednesday evening and end at 8.00pm. Technically it starts the instant you're born and then doesn't stop. We're all worshippers. What or who we choose to worship is a different matter. Every moment of the day I'm serving somebody's purposes, be they my own or my 'gods' ' or God's. Obviously I want my worship to be Christ-wards.

Having this attitude and leading in this attitude – for that's what lead worshippers should do – should begin at and be evident at home first and foremost – for husbands and fathers in particular – it is our calling.

When I married Anna, according to Ephesians 5: 22-33, I became responsible for loving her as Christ loves the Church and leading her in the above. I am the head of her as Christ is the head of His body, the Church. Christ gave Himself up to enable the Church to worship God. According to Paul in Ephesians, when she's around me, she should be being nourished and cherished in a way that sanctifies her and produces worship as seen in the above passage.

When we decided to have kids I was also charged with Ephesians 6: 4 – 'Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.'

I, as husband and father, am accountable before God for how I lead my wife and sons to Him. Therefore, I must seek to lead them in every moment. I am to sacrifice and serve with every breath in a way that will point them to Christ. Husbands and fathers, we are all worship leaders whether we like it or not. We are called by Christ to be worship leaders! That means we have to be! This is responsibility that we cannot shirk or refuse. God has sovereignly appointed us as worship leaders for our households.

God has made me very aware in the past few days and weeks, that in the same way as when I get up to lead worship musically on a Sunday when all eyes and ears are on me as to what the next move is, that I now have 3 pairs of eyes watching and 3 pairs of ears listening for how next to seek and pursue God 24/7. What an enormous responsibility!

Maybe if I can lead my family well in worship then I can start to think about giving direction to people's lives in a musical and lyrical level and perhaps more in the house of God. - 1 Timothy 3: 5 – 'For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?'

The people are gathered. The stage is set. The sound check is done. The lights come up. Husband, Father, are you ready to lead?

Wow, what an event! :-s