“The devil is in the details”- by Justin Tharpe

If you’ve met me, you know I am very technical when it comes to worship and singing. Not only have I been leading worship for a few years, but I’m also a classically trained tenor. I’m blessed to have gotten the opportunity to study voice at the University of Alabama and that knowledge contributes significantly to what I do as a worship leader. However, the technical side of my brain can throw a wrench in my worship sometimes!

For example, one Sunday morning, I was leading at Church of the Highlands, and our worship leader that day, Bethany Phillips, wanted to do a flow song in the middle of a pre-planned set. In between two of our morning services, I asked Bethany which verse she wanted me to come in on. I thought this was a completely normal question and she looked at me like I had two heads! She proceeded to say something that changed my perspective. She said if you’re thinking about that during the service then you’re not worshiping.

Here’s what I had missed: the purpose in doing the flow song was to allow the Holy Spirit to direct the set for a moment. I got distracted and missed that opportunity to focus on God. My point in telling this story is to say this: God comes first in all worship scenarios. I think for those of you who might get lost in the technical, let us remember Psalms 95:6, “ Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker." When we put God first, everything else falls into place.