So yesterday for my birthday, a friend took me and several others to a Chris Tomlin concert. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it, but I definitely wanted God to show me something. I didn’t want it to be any old concert experience, there has to be some meaning behind it.
And here are the top 5 things that really stood out to me when I was at the concert:
1. Watching Chris Tomlin perform his classic songs really reminded me of how much I appreciate being a part of the REM worship team. The fact is is that we sing a lot of Chris Tomlin songs, and the classics that he brought back (like he always does) just reminds me of all those times we spent toiling at practices and all the good times we had as a praise team, just doing a bunch of different things. It really does feel like a team, which I can’t really describe fully. I wouldn’t go as far to say that we are clique-y, but I think there is something that commonly bonds us and that we all have an understanding of, which is how worship team really works and the kinks and blessings that come with it. I remember specifically those times when we went over songs and songs again just so we have the timing down or the solo right. And remembering those times when we know God was praised in a worship session and how sweet the feeling was.
2. Why I became a worship leader in the first place: This fact didn’t really dawn on me right away when I first joined, it was a gradual realization of why God called me to worship. When you are leading, you are standing in front of everyone and hence have a really good view of just about everyone in the room. You hear their voices, you see their outward responses and ultimately God’s people praising Him, which is a really good thing to hear. Sometimes, I’m really concentrated on playing the right chords, strumming and looking at my music. But I try to take a glance here and there and get a feel for the people. Sometimes, it does feel dead. Others, it seems quite the opposite. Either way, sometimes I think I lose the sight of how my role is really impactful in the church. We forget that we are a part of a universal body that is singing praises from all over the world. And then, it just feels like any other Sunday in an elementary school, with a bunch of Asian people singing songs. But this concert was a good reminder that this is not the case. We are instead joining the chorus of creation and singing to an Almighty God. Amen to that.
3. Inspirations and encouragements. Sometimes, it’s nice to be able to take a step back and to see how other worship teams do it and get inspired and encouraged by them. It’s also nice to not be doing anything, but instead just worshiping in the moment. And then you draw from those moments and are able to come back feeling refreshed and ready to lead the people once again in worship.
4. Raising hands is a human thing. Louie Giglio also gave somewhat of a message in the middle of the concert. A really cool thing I never thought of before was the physical human response of raising hands. We see it all the time, when people are excited, when they are at sporting events, when proclaiming a victory. Humans naturally tend to raise their hands in adoration of a great feat or when they are in the presence of something beyond themselves. Or it’s just a natural response to joy, excitement, exhilaration, etc. to something. God created us to have a heart for worship, and a physical outward response to it. I never made that connection before and I thought it was really cool. Good job, Louie.
5. Symphony of Creation. Before this illustration, Louie somehow managed to string 3 frequencies from pulsars (stars) and whale songs on his iPad and somehow made it sound like How Great Is Our God. Yes, a bit cheesy, but it’s cool. The bottom line being we are praising with the universe and all of creation. If we really wrapped our heads around that and all the songs that come from creation, it would be somewhat mind blowing. Shows us that God is so much bigger than this world yet He chooses to regard us.
Man, that was a really impactful concert. Probably I would venture to say that most impactful of a concert I’ve ever been to. But then again I haven’t really been to THAT many concerts…
