Last night I had the opportunity to listen to Jared Anderson and his team talk about their Narrow Road experiences. The sincerity of their collective heart was fully evident as each, in turn, spoke about what God was doing in their lives right now and how they feel strongly called to be disciples of Jesus Christ far above and beyond simply being providers of music or leading worship. Quite a blessing to hear their testimony and see it in action during the concert that followed.
One story that Jared told really made a distinct impression on me and hopefully will guide my way of thinking in the future. Here’s his story:
Imagine this, you’re at a birthday party full of friends and neighbors, some you know, some you don’t. As the party progresses, the host begins to offer the birthday cake. The candles are placed with care and people all start to anticipate the next moment. You can feel many eyes turning toward you. You’re the musical one in the room, everyone knows that, so naturally they are looking toward you as the cake enters the room with glowing candles. Inside your head you pick the key, prepare your voice then begin to sing: “Happy Birthday to you.” That’s it. That’s all you have to sing. The rest of the group joins in and all eyes are on the birthday guest of honor. Your role in the story was to lead the group in singing to the one for whom the party was called. The party was never about you, but you did your part and the celebration continued with great joy.
This is such a great story, such a wonderful picture in my mind. Jesus calls us to His party, to celebrate the God of the universe. He’s put us all in specific roles at particular times to simply start singing the right song in the right setting and at the right time. In Kevin Harney’s book Reckless Faith, this might be called Reckless Singing through the prayer, perspective and patience matrix. An offering of a few notes in a particular rhythmic pattern that people recognize and all join in immediately because the time was right. We need to be reckless in the sense that we are willing to do that which is uncomfortable for the right reason and at the right time.
Jared and his team did a wonderful job last night recklessly starting and ending a capella to draw us all into an intimate time of praise and worship. I pray that many lives will be touched by their discipleship, that they would grow in their faith and maturity in Christ. Thanks Jared for sharing and mostly for starting the song. Grace and Peace in Christ.