{What is the posture and expression of worship to you?}
One of my favorite things about God is how He created music and how there are so many different kinds and styles. Music notes turn into rhythms and rhythms turn into instruments together once the sound is found then lyrics place upon the pages and it begins forming a powerful message that a musician wants to share to have all these different expressions but in song! I love to write and when I write I think of them as my lyrics to share but you won’t find them matching a particular style of music. Ever since was a little girl music was my escape from reality and singing in my room was so much fun but often my best concerts were in the shower and still to this day it is! Back when there were CDs it was so exciting to get a CD for my birthday or Christmas because it was something new and maybe something you listened to at Mardel in their music section or on the radio. (No Spotify back then!) I would put on some of my favorite tunes like Rachael Lampa, Britt Nicole, and Mandisa and belt out the hardest notes without a care in the world or how early in the morning it was for my parents to wake up too! I remember worship during our Sunday services and how even if I couldn’t read the lyrics on the screen the sounds of the instruments made my mind sometimes wonder and think of Jesus making all these sounds but we’re so different. Even the vocals were different but altogether it made one beautiful-sounding song.
My brother Victor is a musician and has released three albums and all the songs are original which is amazing! All his songs are great and it means so much more when I hear the meaning and why He wrote what he did for others to be encouraged and draw nearer to God. My two favorite is “I Will Remember” and “Count It All As Joy.” Those two constantly remind me to Jesus is so good even through the hardest times. Victor’s style of worship is his own he felt called to share it and it didn’t matter to him how listen to it or who judged it because he was being obedient to share his heart, lyrics, and expression of worship to this generation. I’m so thankful he was willing to share those lyrics and it continues to inspire me to write the way I write and not worry about how others perceive me and my way of worship.
So, through worshiping with childlike faith and believing I could sing without care.
Believing my worship was something special to God and He wanted to hear it this topic began flooding my mind. If an expression of worship is made by each individual and Jesus desires to hear all of it no matter the sound, tune, and or the way we do it physically why can’t we express worship through different ways of people and abilities?
Without sounding prideful I had people say countless times that I should try out for kid’s worship to be singing to begin practicing my voice in public. I refused to do anything that made me alone in front of people in that season of life so I decided to do choir which felt a lot safer cause no one could point out the flaws! I grew out of that phase of life and continued doing worship on my own at church, and then there was a time in life that Victor was into theater and my mom encouraged me to try out for something like that, and yet again I couldn’t imagine trying out and singing in front of people. But as I reflected on those memories there was a lot deeper meaning than just stage fright or auditions. I think it was because when I watched worship pastors or even musicals on tv I only saw one “type” of person. People could stand for long periods, jump around when the music got louder and faster, and then be able to walk on and off the stage with such ease. Yes, this is a lot deeper meaning than just a girl being scared to try something new but I had no inspiration on who I could be one day. I think we forget that as children grow up they look for people to aspire to be. I can remember my first inspirational person wasn’t any specifically like me but she had a movie out in theaters and focused on her disability and how God used it. Bethany Hamilton inspired me to not mind my disability and to use my story, and her act of worship was to continue surfing even when everyone told her it was impossible!
I do wish I had gotten over that fear-based mindset when I was younger but I think it’s a story I’m willing to share now because I believe worship can be even bigger than it is now at churches. I just recently wrote a post about Adaptability In Our Daily but because I love to worship so much and believe there is a calling to expand our view of worship I wanted to share my back story of how I viewed it and maybe it is resonating with you or is bring this to your attending now? There are always places for our church to grow and I believe that it will never need to stop growing. Still, my heart is to get the disability community out of their barrier beliefs and open the door to more possibilities to be the light in the church and inspiration to the next generation.
Why not have disabilities represented on the main stage during worship?
Why can’t the stage be adapted so a disabled person can get there?
Why have the Deaf Interpreter on the side of the auditorium instead of on stage?
Can we change our language when we do an altar call, communion, or even when we are asked to worship to stand,well not all of us can!
Why does worship have to sound a certain way?
If we change the style of worship will that affect the flow of service and if so how do we change our service flow so that we can experience God through different lenses?
Those are some loaded questions!
But that’s on purpose!
These are not judgmental questions these are written observed questions that I genuinely thought out and wanted answers to so that there can be changes thought about. There was a video shown at a conference I spoke at that showed a church representing special needs kids and families signing and using signs to express worship to a Lauren Daigle song. It made me cry and continue pondering this question of worship and how it is expressed. Another time I volunteered at a special needs camp under Joni & Friends Ministry and when at the retreat we had worship every morning. It’s nothing fancy no bright lights with lyrics, but simply an acoustic guitar and two singers. One of the singers had new signs and signs while singing and when worshiping she let the kids come and worship with her. Many different disabilities were represented at that family retreat but the most wonderful observation I took with me was that it didn’t affect the presents of God at all but if anything made me think of what heaven’s worship looks like. These kids had physical challenges, cognitive struggles, and non-verbal circumstances, and so many others had even more difficult situations, but it didn’t matter because God’s presents were there and worship kept going. This picture has stayed with me and I would love to see this unfold in our churches today.
My final story is this.
In my final year of Victory Bible College, they had us take a speaking class that would prepare us to give sermons. At the end of the year, they would have a group of five speak on a panel at one of the main chapels. The Lord opened the door for me to speak on that panel even if at first I didn’t want to do it out of fear, but within that sermon, He helped me break so many walls I had put up around myself in the one sermon title “Praise in the Unknown.” I not only spoke that day but I spoke in my wheelchair, on the main stage, and at the very end did something unexpected even though I prepared something so different. A song that has stayed with me that I sing over myself often is Bethel’s “Raise Hallelujah” it went with my sermons mostly but at the end of my page I had written the lyrics to finish off the sermons but instead, the Lord interrupted my thoughts and instead had me sing it to everyone. I had never sung on a microphone on my own EVER!
I was the last one to speak and we went into a time of reflection and the band began to play that song which was so powerful. Worships are an expression and everyone is different and that is for a reason. Allow God to show you what terms of worship He has given you and how that worships can impact those around you. Don’t be afraid to go out and try out for a worship team even if you are the only one with a disability because you could be that person who inspires the next generation to step out of the typical and lean into something much more radical!
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