Dwell in the midst of us

Worship practice last night was exhilarating. I haven’t had a singing experience like that since being in Germany with University Chorus in April. One of the things I love about Kairos worship is that the worshippers understand that we are there to lead worship, not to be a band; but that doesn’t mean that we can’t be artistic.

Kairos worship isn’t afraid to take risks. Hey, they’re allowing a college senior that they’ve only known for a couple months to take her turn at singing this Sunday. :) I’d say that that’s a bit of a risk. They usually have people come to practices for a while before allowing them to sing or play on Sunday evening. But they take other risks, too, like writing their own harmonies, or including new instruments that haven’t been a part of the team ever before. There is a great girl who plays violin sometimes, and it adds such a different and beautiful element!

That’s not to say that worship teams need to include different instruments and harmonies to be successful. Sometimes that isn’t practical, or there just aren’t enough people to really do it right. But this Sunday there’s only going to be four of us (Steve on drums, Matt on piano and male vocal, Jordan on guitar and female vocal, and me doing female harmony) and last night we didn’t sound too shabby when it was just us practicing. We sounded great with everyone else, too.

The other thing I love about Kairos worship is that it really IS a worship TEAM. The line-up changes every week. I think this is such a good idea, if you have enough people to pull it off. It allows for more creative expression and a fresh perspective every week. I feel like worship can get boring if it’s the same thing every time, and worship should be anything but boring. It also allows you the opportunity to work with different instruments and singers, and really challenge yourself and make your own musical skills better. I learned last night that I really need to see notes if I’m going to be singing harmony! It was neat to incorporate skills that I’ve been learning in classes at W&L into an extra-curricular activity.

Finally, I think that Kairos does a very good job at including the community in worship. Weekly worship practice on Thursday night is open for anyone in the ministry, not just for worship team members on Sunday. We always take the time to get to know one another and pray beforehand, and people can participate as much or as little as they like. The leader always tries to make enough music copies for anyone who might come. I’ve always felt included and refreshed afterwards. It’s especially cool to see how other worship teams handle practicing and taking their craft seriously.

I truly believe that worship is a craft that must be honed. It’s not just singing the right notes and embellishing well, because worship isn’t just about music. It’s a lifestyle, and it’s about serving. It’s really cool to engage in a ministry that allows worship to flourish in a unique way that I think should be more common.

I’m really looking forward to this Sunday!