Being an authentic worshiper means your worship on Sunday flows from a life devoted to God the rest of the week. It starts with a humble, grateful heart, shows up in how you live off the stage as well as on it and overflows in joy and passion for God. Authentic worship isn’t a performance. It’s a whole-life response to who God is and what he has done.
Develop a Worshiper’s Heart
You can’t lead others where you haven’t gone yourself. Before you can help anyone else worship, you need to be a worshiper. That begins with recognizing your need for God’s grace and responding with gratitude.
Psalm 51:17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Gratitude grows through personal time with God during the week. That might look like singing or playing worship music on your own, praying, reading the Bible or journaling. If you aren’t engaging with God in private, it will be hard to lead others to engage with him in public.
Worship On and Off the Stage
Worship isn’t just something you do for 25 minutes on a Sunday. It’s how you live every day.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
On the stage, play and sing to the best of your ability, but keep your focus on God rather than the music. Off the stage, remember that people see you as a leader. How you treat your family, coworkers and neighbors either backs up what you sing about or undercuts it. Live with integrity so your life and your songs tell the same story.
Cultivate Joy and Passion
Joy is a natural fruit of a relationship with God. It doesn’t depend on circumstances, so even in hard seasons you can rejoice in who God is.
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Passion isn’t about putting on a show. It’s the heartfelt response of someone who is thankful for the cross. When people see genuine joy and passion on your face, it shows them that a relationship with God is real and life-changing.
Make the Most of Every Opportunity
Because you serve in such a visible role, you have a unique chance to influence people for eternity. Your words, smile and body language can help create an atmosphere of joy, faith and hope. The same is true when you’re talking with someone in the lobby or at work on Monday.
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Live with eternity in mind, and look for ways to share God’s love wherever you are.
The Takeaway
An authentic worshiper leads from a grateful heart, worships God on and off the stage, shows real joy and passion and makes the most of every opportunity to point people to him.
