Loving One Another - A God-Given Calling to be Lived Inside the Church!

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Living for the good of others is an Act of Worship as important as loving the Lord our God. Wow, really!? Accepting and living out that truth might just shake a lot of things up in our Christian lives!

Are we committed, ready and willing?

If we whole-heartedly believe we must sing out our Love for the Lord with hands raised and music playing in our churches, are we also as passionate about making sure those in the seat next to us feel fully loved, edified, healed and lifted up by us?

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Some Transformational Considerations for Believers:

1. Could our love for one another within the Church be a test from the Lord as to the integrity of our love for Him? As believers, congregations and church leaders, can we honesty say we've been fervently seeking to love each other?

This is direct, but if church leaders can preach and expect congregants to grow in love, would not the Lord also provide opportunities for them to model and lead in Love? 

Wouldn't Love of Others have to be modeled and exemplified through the decisions, priorities and cultures of our churches from the very top down?

If our decisions deliberately dismiss and sideline segments of our congregations or individuals in our midst, would not our ministries be built on a false gospel? Are we deceiving ourselves? If we have not Love, might our ministries and efforts become pale, tasteless and ultimately misguided?

If we neglect the Second Commandment, might we soon reflect the things of this world more than the Bride of Christ? Might we begin to look and act like social clubs or consumer-driven businesses more than a reflection of our Lord?

 

2. Worship Leaders and Musicians, would not the Lord desire Love of God and One Another in our ministries before we will be considered credible witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? 

If we have not Love, might our efforts ultimately come to nothing and be judged as hay and stubble?

Here's a hard question for each of us to consider.

Musicians, in the name of "worship" and "loving God" have we ever destroyed another believer's life and heart just so we could sing the song WE want so "WE can love God more fully and experientially?"

The American Church has nurtured a church culture where worship of God is run by personal preferences and "personal needs." I believe we have often deceived ourselves and possibly the Love of God is not really in us. 

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Dear Modern Church Worship Pastors and Church Leaders, for too long the American Church has often been more concerned about growing and becoming like the large competing ministry down the street. We have often forgotten the importance of humbly loving and serving the Flock the Lord has given us. We have often failed to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves, thus fulfilling the law of Christ. Logically, how can we love the world well if we can't even love those the Lord has already placed in our midst? 

 

3. From my own experiences, in ministry there is a point in time when every leader has to intentionally decide on what foundation they're going to build. In Worship Ministry our team had to make daily decisions either reflecting the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Man. We had to commit to listen to Holy Spirit for our decisions and actions. We had to intentionally commit to the foundation of Love for everything! Frankly, often many around us and above us didn't understand Love as a foundational cornerstone of ministry inside the body. That priority seemed foreign to many.

 

If the American Church would build on Christ alone with Love, I believe Holy Spirit transformations would increasingly flow. We would regularly see the process of sanctification happen before our eyes and in our midst. The Church would increasingly be an agent of transformation for Christ in our world. 

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4. Here's what's so delightful and exciting! Get this, if you get anything from this page!

This is the testimony I'm bursting to share in this season of waiting and writing. 

*When we as a Worship Ministry team began to selflessly love and build one another up before ourselves, the Lord blessed and allowed us to see glimpses of His kingdom of heaven here on earth! Isn't that our prayer!? And when we see Him dwelling amongst His people, the experience is magnificent! His presence amongst us is more fulfilling than any song we could ever sing!

 

With the Lord's help, the Fruit of the Spirit began to grow abundantly. My own heart had to be pruned often. It isn't easy. Our flesh is real and we all have to grow in the Lord from infancy. Others wrestled a lot with their own fleshly desires too. But as many could testify, Loving Each Other became a great JOY for us! The rewards of our sacrifices and surrender were Love, Joy, Peace, Patience.... 

 

Admittedly sinful desires would flare, and we'd have to go back to the Lord in repentance, submission and prayer. 

Beautiful testimonies exist when even after a couple years, dear colleagues would come forward confessing sins of pride or wrongdoing. We asked for forgiveness from one another and what blessings came when Grace was quickly applied!

Forgiveness is not hard when we confess our sins one to another! The joy of walking and serving together in the Spirit is so glorious. We'd begin again and the qualities of God's fruit would begin to increase: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control! 

 

5. After fifteen years of cultivating the ground, growing one another up in Love through Christ, a vibrant Forever Family of Faith began to shine brilliantly like the stars - like a beautiful multi-faceted diamond smoothed, refined and purified through the crucible of testing.

The aroma of fellowship and worship was sweet and appealing. The fruit looked and tasted so good; the reflection of Christ grew brighter and brighter. 

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6. Here's a very important reality we must understand and embrace - actually fiercely grip! 

Laboring for Love in the Church is hard work! It requires commitment, time, great care and sacrifice. And sacrifice is not always an overt action.

Sometimes sacrificial love (i.e. Worship) means we do NOTHING! We step back from ourselves and let others shine and be blessed. 

For us as church leaders or congregants to fall into the trap of thinking growth must be quick or that WE can just make it happen in our own strength and wisdom, we must consider the farmer who patiently works to cultivate good soil.

Bountiful harvests come only after years of tilling! Good farmers strategically pull out weeds, carefully feed and nourish the plants, and most importantly trust the Lord for the sunshine and rains at the proper times. Farmers know the fruit they are seeking to cultivate and are willing to labor for it with dependence on the Lord. 

 

Very pointedly, music in worship amongst believers often generates a lot of feelings and opinions. Because of the remarkable gift it is from the Lord, the evil one also knows he has a primed playground in which to stir up idolatries in the name of 'worship.' Consequently believers and congregations simply followed the American Me-Centered Culture in this generation.

During the Worship Wars in the last decades, the evil one appealed to our flesh and over time the witness of much of the American church has become pale and tasteless. The Church didn't see it coming, but we should have.

It takes one generation to lack discernment or conviction and the evil one triumphs in leaving the church without a living, vibrant testimony for Christ.

There are few congregations who have honestly loved well in their Worship through Music Callings. There are very few congregations who have labored at all to demonstrate the supremacy of Christ over them through song. We have lacked conviction to follow Jesus as the true head of His people. We haven't demonstrated faith and trust in His power and ability to hold all things together !

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I believe unified worship through song should be a renewed pursuit in our day. It's a calling from the Lord, certainly unlike anything in this world.

The time is now! Revival is waiting to spring up if God's people would arise as true worshipers!

 Because of Jesus, our perfect High Priest and Older Brother, let's resist division through music in our congregations. It can be done, has been done and should be done - for the Glory of God and Good of His People!

 

7. If we are zealous and called to nurture true worshipers, just like our Heavenly Father, we will pursue and love each lamb in the flock according to their need. Some sheep require a lot of work, but aren't we willing to love well and love hard? Is Reconciliation and Grace a mark of our fellowship? I believe it should be, but how faithful in living out the Gospel of Reconciliation are we?

 

8. Lastly, the race marked out for us will be long and laborious. But it's worth it! Getting caught up in the River of Life is quite a ride and it nourishes the fields and plants in its path. More on that later....

Without question the ministry of growing true worshipers is the most exciting labor I know! In due time, the Lord brings the harvest. In HIS time He brings the rewards! So let us Love One Another as our Heavenly Father loves for HIS honor, glory and fame.

Let the River of Life and Healing flow from the Threshold of Glory and the Presence of our God!