Leonard Jones has been our chief musician and main worship leader since the beginning of our ministry. Sometimes he gives a one or two-minute teaching while leading worship that can be as profound and important as any sermon. He also writes a daily blog for our website that I read every day because they are either profound or just timely truths. Recently, he talked about how agitated he gets when he sees musicians using worship to practice, rather than using practice to worship. I know Leonard lives this, too. He is a world-class musician, and I have heard some who are considered the best say that Leonard is the best they have ever heard. He plays almost every instrument he puts in his hand with amazing excellence. How did he get to that place? For the nearly twenty years that we have been together in ministry, I have watched him spend hours a day practicing so that he can play his best before the King and His people.
Because of Leonard’s devotion, there is a spirit of excellence in our worship department that has helped to produce a continuous stream of world-class worship leaders and musicians. There are many others who may not have world-class talent, but who do more with what they have been given than many who may have much greater natural talent. These are now seeded in many other ministries and churches, as well as touring with top professional artists. We have even had some of our CSCL (our K-12 school) musicians and singers offered contracts by top music producers whose names you would probably recognize. Leonard has worked with those he feels have callings and gifts in this area, but I think his main contribution to them has been to create an atmosphere of world-class excellence because they play before the most important audience in the universe—God.
Leonard joined our team at MorningStar when we were just beginning. I was told by the Lord to give Leonard a job, but at the time we did not even have meetings or church services or anything that a musician could do, so we gave him a shack in the woods and told him to just worship the Lord. I did not tell him when to do it or how long, but he faithfully came in every day for at least eight hours. When I would walk to the woods to visit him occasionally, I would be astonished at the music coming out of that little shack. When we finally started our School of the Spirit meetings in our home, Leonard’s sound system was a single Crate speaker about 18 inches square, which had been given to us, but Leonard played on it like Michelangelo painted.
When I say that our worship in the beginning was very unimpressive, it was not because of Leonard’s musicianship as much as it was the small amount of equipment we had and the other very amateur musicians he had to accompany him. This is not to knock amateur musicians because some of these very unprofessional musicians had hearts after the Lord that were rare to find, and I think He probably enjoyed their worship much more than the worship from some professionals who are in fact hirelings.
Even so, after almost twenty years of serving with Leonard I have never seen him compromise his devotion to playing before the Lord with all of his heart and with great excellence, practicing every day with diligence to be able to do this. Even though some of the best in the world consider Leonard one of the best, he is always trying to stretch himself and get better, and it is contagious. For this reason his practice is very serious, and this, too, he does before the Lord as worship.
Please excuse my repetition, but this is a most crucial matter at this time. When God’s people get serious about their training, they will impact the world. Do not waste your trials, and do not waste your training or your opportunities for training, which come every day. If you are driving and get cut off by another car, do not let your anger grow, but let your patience, the fruit of the Spirit, grow. If you are facing financial problems, do not let your fears grow, but strengthen yourself in the Lord, and let your faith grow. Do not be afraid to look back at what you have done to find the mistakes and call them that. The Lord does not forgive and redeem excuses; rather, He forgives sins that are confessed. Count everything that the Lord allows to come your way every day as an opportunity to grow in your skills as a Christian, which is to grow in the fruit and gifts of the Spirit.
Having great musical talent is to be treasured, but I do not think on that great judgment day we are going to hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you played your guitar like Jimi Hendrix!” What we will be rewarded for is how we used what we were entrusted with to worship Him and to serve His purposes. When we do that, we will do as unto the Lord and not just people—we will get better because only a fool would want to play an instrument or do what we are called to do sloppily before the King.
Of course, what I am sharing here from the perspective of a musician applies to anything we have been called to do. Everything that we do should be worship, and we should be doing it with all of our hearts as unto the Lord. There should be a continual striving for excellence, getting better at the skills we have been given, and gaining whatever knowledge and experience that will help us to be better servants of the Lord. This is the foundation for true greatness, which is much more than just “fifteen minutes of fame.” We cannot settle for that; we are playing for an eternity of being known as the true royalty in the universe—sons and daughters of the King, God Himself.
6/2/2008 - 00:00
