Heart of Worship

just came back from worship practice for a praise and worship event. well, it is a wow. there were arguments. the atmosphere was really spoilt. the changes of the shape of the face is all there. till even people got to stop the argument. and i'm sure heart tearing hurtful words would have been said. i can't type what, cause i don't understand mandarin. but i could piece a little bit here and there. it was about something really small. about the speed of the song, and about the worship leader coming in early, or later. one was wanting only a certain way and another was saying that its not needed. and as one gets exasperated with each other, things got worse ( it was already getting late, and everyone is tired). it was only between a few musicians that things got heated up.

ironically, funnily, weirdly, the argument was about the starting of the song, ' Heart of Worship.' if you look at the words of the song, it seriously contradicts a lot of the actions mentioned above. what is the heart of worship? is that the heart of worship?
clearly, the heart of worship wasn't there.

another thing would be that, we didn't pray before we start this practise. the previous practises was alright cause there was prayer. and it is evident as to what happened in the musicians side. the choir prayed before they practised and all went well for them. thus, the importance of prayer. indeed later, after a prayer by the pastor there(who didn't know what happened earlier), the last few songs went really well.

as pianists, well, musically we would have been trained well, having the strong foundation of music and would know many ideas and ways of organizing the worship. we should do our best to contribute and help the worship leader ( especially if the worship leader does not know much of music), but it is the worship leader who has the last say. we should not serve our ideas, we should serve God. we should let the worship leader choose what he/she wants, not demand a certain way. why would a worship leader be called a worship leader?

we got to be tactful in what we say. even if we want to help and contribute. what's the point of helping if what you say is going to hurt people? it is then wiser not to help. and words can really cut deep. the wound in the heart takes longer(or maybe never) to heal than the wound on the body.

i was standing at a corner with the keyboard, and well, could observe everyone and their reactions towards the scene. there were people who kept quiet (for it is better to), and there were people who stopped them, there was the choir (the best), who continued to sing the song for they know what it means for the song.

i was reminded of the verse 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.' Matthew 5:9