Sweat and tears stung my eyes as I stood, strumming my guitar on stage. A moment, frozen in time, just like so many other times in the 10 years I served as a lead worshiper. I learned many lessons through those incredible experiences. But there was one most important lesson I learned, the lesson that completely changed my life, and utterly altered my view of what it means to worship God with our lives. The Lord is after more then just ‘what we do’… He is after our hearts!
One day, a few years ago, I wandered up the dirt path to the monument that sat on the hill in front of our old student Center. I sat there quietly praying, seeking the Lord. Then, for the first time I read what was carved into the marble. It said:
On this site August 23, 1964 Members for the Westminster Chapel gathered for prayer to claim this property for Christ.
And to His cause of spreading the Gospel throughout Bellevue and beyond to the ends of the Earth.
May Westminster Chapel remain loyal to this cause until Her Lord returns.
One year ago I was in a car accident that paralyzed most of my body, and sadly, I lost the use of my fingers as well. This occurred just before the community life center was opened. I had been looking forward to leading worship in that new space, and had made many plans for that transition. While I was in the hospital I could not stop thinking about who would take over my role in the different ministries that I was involved in. At times, I would even worry anxiously about this. How foolish of me…
This summer was a beautiful display of the Lord’s work among the young people of our church. We went back to crescent bar at the beginning of August for our college retreat called “the heat”. It is a weekend of sun, boats, and jet skis (and bruises!) that our college students look forward to every year. But more than just fun, this is a time of growing in relationship to one another as we fellowship and worship the Lord. I’ve led worship at this retreat over the years, and we’ve had many speakers, but this year was different.
This year both our worship leader, and speaker were students from our college ministry, both of whom met the Lord Jesus, and began to follow him through our youth ministry. Most of our attending students didn’t have to get to know their speaker and worship leader for the first time because they were their peers! Two young men, Andrew S. and Shane K. led the charge. Andrew led us in worship through song and prayer as we sat on the shore of the Columbia River with the sun setting, and the cliffs looming. We sang to the Lord, thanking him for his extravagant, sacrificial love, sending his son to die on the cross for us sinners. We offered our hearts as we worshiped him, giving him praise and glory not only from our lips, but also from our hearts. Andrew skillfully led us. He played and sang with sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, he led with passion making it easy for the rest of us to sing to the Lord.
Then Shane stood up and began speaking the words that God had inspired. We walked through what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ in every sphere of our lives. Shane helped us to see more clearly who God is, what he has done for us, and how we should respond. Shane has shown a desire for growth and maturity because of his understanding of the Lord’s love and grace. The messages that Shane gave were intense, the words were filled with truth, and his life backed them up.
So 44 years after the Lord gave us Westminster, we continue to work, and serve, and worship him. Are we staying loyal the cause of spreading the gospel? Watching Andrew and Shane, two young men starting to use their gifts for his glory has reminded me that our God is faithful. And even though his ways are not our ways, he knows what he’s doing. Period.
