Seeking worship advice age 16

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Ethan241

Guest
#1
#1
I've been the bassist in my church worship team for almost 2 years now, however when I'm in the congregation I don't have the confidence to fully commit to the worship, like putting hands up etc, however when I'm playing my bass if feel much more connected to God, and it's my way of expressing myself and my way of glorifying God, is it wrong to be this way? I just don't feel confident when amongst my youth leaders and peers, any advice?
 
Stephen63

Stephen63

Banned
#2
Aug 15, 2009
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Well..... as a straight shooter, the first thing I'd say is put the bass down, & force yourself to worship without it. Musicians tend to get into a habit of believing their playing means they're being faithful & obedient to God while the truth is their music has become their crutch or their idol. I've known many musicians over the years that had the attitude, "If they won't let me play, I won't come to church", which translates to, "my music is the only reason I go".

Not sayin' that's your situation, just that it's possible.
 
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Ugly

Guest
#3
#3
I've never been comfortable worshiping in public, even though i did it as a teen. Personally i am too aware of what's going on around me and other people. So i reserve worship to when i'm alone. This allows me to have my mind where it needs to be. So, perhaps, you should find private time to worship on your own, and still serve God by playing for your church.
 
Willie-T

Willie-T

Banned
#4
Feb 7, 2015
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Stephen63 said:
Well..... as a straight shooter, the first thing I'd say is put the bass down, & force yourself to worship without it. Musicians tend to get into a habit of believing their playing means they're being faithful & obedient to God while the truth is their music has become their crutch or their idol. I've known many musicians over the years that had the attitude, "If they won't let me play, I won't come to church", which translates to, "my music is the only reason I go".

Not sayin' that's your situation, just that it's possible.
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I originally just gave this a "LIKE". But, considering how often I have been pretty hard on you, I thought I owed it to you to compliment you openly on this post. I have also seen this same thing, and agree with you that we all need to stretch a little out of the comfortable little niches we carve out for ourselves in church settings.
 
Sirk

Sirk

Banned
#5
Mar 2, 2016
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If you are self conscious it means you care too much about what people think of you. If I could tell me 16 year old self one thing it would be.....do not care what other people think of you....because you make most of it up in your head anyway.
 
Willie-T

Willie-T

Banned
#6
Feb 7, 2015
22,418
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Sirk said:
If you are self conscious it means you care too much about what people think of you. If I could tell me 16 year old self one thing it would be.....do not care what other people think of you....because you make most of it up in your head anyway.
Click to expand...
We would worry a lot less about what people think of us, if we only knew how seldom they do.
 
Sirk

Sirk

Banned
#7
Mar 2, 2016
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#7
Willie-T said:
We would worry a lot less about what people think of us, if we only knew how seldom they do.
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So true. Acceptance of yourself is hard for some of us and it can take a lifetime to undo those negative voices in your head.

You're special kid cuz God made you that way. Throw caution to the wind, raise your hands...be yourself and let the chips fall where they may. This is pleasing to God.
 
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TemporaryCircumstances

Guest
#8
#8
Willie-T said:
We would worry a lot less about what people think of us, if we only knew how seldom they do.
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That's true, most people are too worried about themselves they don't have time to worry about you. Even if that sounds harsh >. <
 
M

Maglost

Guest
#9
#9
Ethan241 said:
I've been the bassist in my church worship team for almost 2 years now, however when I'm in the congregation I don't have the confidence to fully commit to the worship, like putting hands up etc, however when I'm playing my bass if feel much more connected to God, and it's my way of expressing myself and my way of glorifying God, is it wrong to be this way? I just don't feel confident when amongst my youth leaders and peers, any advice?
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Opposed to the others before me I don't think it's wrong at all... I find God in the music/when I play for Him. That's the gift that God gave me, you and many others. Some people worship with raised hands, others do it with dancing, flags, singing or whatever you can imagine. A lot of churches tend to focus on the external stuff to measure the quality of worship. Examples can be: Raising hands, talking in tongues, prophecy, words of wisdom for others and I think you can come up with a few yourself. We/I as musician use my guitars/bass/keys/voice/whatever to worship Him.

My point here is: there is no wrong way to worship God as long as your heart is focussed on Him and the things that you do are meant for His glory and honour. So it's no big deal if you're uncomfortable with raising hands. Do you want to do it? Go for it! You don't want to do it, but play the bass the best way you can for Him? Do it! Again: the most import thing is that you keep in mind that it's all for him.

David/Maglost :)
 
santuzza

santuzza

Senior Member
#10
Feb 12, 2013
1,609
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I understand both sides of this -- as a worship leader myself, I am actually most comfortable worshipping when I'm actually leading the worship. But that is what God gifted me to do, so I SHOULD feel comfortable doing that.

With that said, that does not mean that I'm NOT comfortable when I'm NOT leading worship. I think it's truly important to learn to worship without the instrument in your hand. After all, you may not always be able to have that bass in your hand. So perhaps it's a good idea to put the bass down for a while and just focus on your heart during worship.

Let me also add that putting one's hands up in the air is not an indication that you're truly worshipping God. Yes, oftentimes we express our worship by raising our hands, but it's not what we do outwardly that indicates whether one is worshipping in an authentic manner -- it's the inward expression that's important. Some folks, like my hubby, for instance, just doesn't feel comfortable lifting his hands, clapping, etc., but that doesn't mean he's not worshipping in spirit and in truth. It's all about the heart, not the hands, head, voice, feet or any other outward part of our bodies.

Finally, as you're worshipping (without your instrument), make sure you enter God's presence with an attitude of prayer. Despite the fact that we most often worship corporately, corporate worship is in actuality the sum of individual worshippers. Talk to God during your worship time and don't even think about what others around you are doing. You may want to spend some time worshipping God alone and not corporately. Then once you gain that confidence in your own personal worship, you will feel more comfortable worshipping God in a corporate setting.

Thank you for your honesty in your posting. The best way we can express our love to God is to worship Him. Worship is, indeed, THAT important. I wish more people took it as seriously as you do.
 
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