A peek into the self absorbed mind of an NAR worship leader...

::::::::

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. -- Romans 1:24-25 (ESV)

https://www.charismanews.com/culture/76853-this-destructive-epidemic-is-sweeping-worship-teams-all-over-america

The implications for damage from the NAR are far reaching. There is a generation of youth being targeted now with carnal teachings about how special we are. How worthy we are. How powerful our words are. It is a petulant faith that worships the created instead of the creator, as God outlines for us in the key verses today. This slippery slope has become more pronounced over the past 30 years as the Purpose Driven teachings have merged with the NAR teachings to become more and more mainstreamed. While we often look at the effects on theology, we rarely stop to examine worship, which directly forms our theology. The last generation grew up on singing Friend of God for example without appropriate teachings on how one actually becomes a friend of God. Thirty years ago, we stood in awe of God and sang how great He is but today we stand in awe of ourselves and sing how much He loves us. There is nothing sadder than watching mega congregations shouting at God to give them their inheritance (Blessing of Abraham) or begging Him to take them deeper (Oceans) when their faith and theology are barren wastelands built on self-help and motivational speeches. The above linked article gives us an insight into the modern depraved mind of a worship leader raised on this poor teaching. So, let us reason once more together beloved:

"There is an epidemic taking place on worship teams all over America; something that is happening right under our noses--and many have no clue that it is even taking place! There are many people in worship ministries who are not walking in the purpose that God called them to, and us worship leaders aren't doing anything about it. Things used to be so simple before we had all of the modern technology and highly-organized ministries and functions that are now an integral part of our churches today. Please don't misread what I am saying. I am not against organization, and I am extremely appreciative for technology and everything that it has to offer nowadays, but there is a crucial key that sometimes gets lost in the mix. It is easy for all our "busy-ness" inside of the church to keep ministry going strong to shift into "business," thus losing sight of the individual people who make up the teams we lead." -- Cathy Sanders

Cathy Sanders' biography lists her as an "anointed" worship leaders and Psalmist, so you understand how deep she is into this teaching. An actual Psalmist is someone who wrote one of the 150 Psalms. Cathy Sanders is not one of those. Modern Charismania however does not care. They aspire to titles that are either no longer used or simply draw attention to themselves. This is how you have people calling themselves super-apostles and mega-prophets. The rest of this introduction reveals how much Cathy has bought into the purpose driven teachings. Her premise is that worship leaders are not "walking the purpose God has called them to." That is straight from Rick Warren's teachings. Let's see where she takes it:

"We are Called to Equip the Body. Paul's words in Ephesians 4 can help us to get a better focus, "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:11-12, NLT). If we look at the original Greek for the word "equip," we see more than just giving tools to someone for a job; it means to put something into order, to adjust it, to strengthen and make something what it ought to be. As worship leaders, this is what we are supposed to be doing for those who are under us. Our responsibility is to help God's people walk in the calling He has placed on their life and strengthen then for that purpose, not our own. Unfortunately, sometimes we can be more focused on how people can fit into our own vision and program instead of helping them fulfill their calling. We force a square peg into a round hole, and that person's actual purpose gets put on the shelf for an unlimited amount of time, while our mission as worship leaders is fulfilled every Sunday." -- Cathy Sanders

Whoa Ms. Sanders, slow down. That list included apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. It gives no indication that worship leaders is included. How in the world do you get so full of yourself that you think as a worship leader your responsibility is to help God's people walk in their calling? Listen, I am not denouncing worship leaders as they do have a real duty within an organized church service. They are responsible for leading the people of God into His presence. They are responsible for making sure that their own issues, ego, or desires do not infringe upon the corporate worship. They are responsible to make sure that the worship is truly unto God and not man-centered. That is it however. It does not carry over into the pastoral and leadership roles listed in Ephesians. Stay in your lane.

"The last thing the enemy wants is for all of God's children to walk in their purpose. If that were to happen, he would lose every stronghold and foothold in the body of Christ, and there would be an overflow of the kingdom of God reaching the world like never before. So Satan is happy when people are distracted from fulfilling their calling. He wants to keep that person singing in the choir because we needed another tenor instead of writing the next pivotal worship song, or keep that other person playing the drums every week when they have an anointing to lead. All the while, we are content to get all our spots filled so our program runs smoothly! When my husband and I were youth pastors, I was always trying to cultivate the gifts of those on my team. Our worship team was mostly led by the youth themselves, except for maybe one or two other people and me. Whenever possible, I would have others on the team lead, even if they weren't the greatest at it yet. If I noticed the guitar player also had an anointing to sing, I would have that person lead a song from time to time to see if it was something God was developing. Our ministry is supposed to look like a river, always flowing and never growing stagnant. From my experiences in many years on ministry, the people who missed what God called them to do were the ones who stayed put in one specific area way too long, never allowed to step out to fulfill what God put on their heart." -- Cathy Sanders

Now, I agree that modern churchianity plays to the carnal strengths and gifts of the congregants too much, especially in the area of worship. At my old church people were often in the choir leadership based on vocal ability and not Christian leadership. Others were allowed to stay living in public sin. Non-believers were paid to play instruments if the pastor could not find volunteers from the body. The result was that the choir and music ministries were often the most tested by the enemy who knew full well the depth of the egos involved and the lofty treatment they often received from pastoral leadership. The problem with Cathy Sander's presentation here is the notion that God has a plan that we can screw up. That the guitar player is secretly a minister waiting to happen if only we would not get in the way. That our lead tenor is secretly the next Kari Jobe if we would just stop asking them to sing? Once again, the doctrine of self-importance. God may very well be able to use that guitar player as a minster or that tenor as a gifted song writer but if they do not walk those paths His plans are not thwarted. Again, He is God all by Himself. He does not need nor ask for our input. This is the pagan way of viewing god. That He has a certain "will" for our lives and we live out our existence in pursuit of some secret path to that will. The truth is He has given us the path in the bible and if we would just follow it, the details become irrelevant. For instance, Betty may wonder if marrying Bob is her destiny, or God's will for her life. She will pray and fast over it, seek elder advice, and submit to Christian counseling. To the pagan, God's will is one of two paths -- to marry Bob or not to. The reality is that God's will exists down both paths as long as we are sticking to scripture in our lives. Sanders concludes:

"How Can We Prevent This from Happening? The first step is to take time to sit down with each person on your team individually and find out what it is that God has mandated them to accomplish. Make sure they know that it doesn't even have to be something related to their current role on the worship team; it's possible they have been just filling the spot the best they knew how, but inwardly knowing they had been sacrificing their calling the whole time for the "greater good." Next, think about how you can help the people on your team to the next step in fulfilling their purpose. If nothing else, you can agree to pray and believe that God will show them His plan for their future and give them the strategy to walk into it one day. If you find someone really would fit better somewhere else in the church, or perhaps they should be in a parachurch ministry that functions outside of the four walls of the church, don't be afraid to make a plan to get them into what they need to be doing. Don't see it as a loss; it's never a loss when someone is walking in the calling they are supposed to be functioning in. Maybe it's time to recruit and get some "new blood" on the team and start the training up process all over again. Worship leaders, let's make it a point to be aware of our team and strive to help them walk out the purposes and plans that God has placed in their lives. This is how we truly build the kingdom of God. You will find that your ministry will be even more blessed in the process!" -- Cathy Sanders

Now we really start to see the doctrine of self-importance. Notice that every one of the people under her leadership must have a special mandate from God. They each have an assignment because after all, how special are they! If they are unsure, the plan calls to pray in agreement that sneaky ole god will one day reveal his special plan he has for their lives and of course a strategy. We all need a strategy for how to "walk in" the calling God has for us. No beloved, we do not. We need a strategy for reading His word continuously to draw closer to His revealed will. We need to understand that perhaps our calling is simply to live an obedient Christian life. To be a good Christian mother. To be a good Christian husband. To honor God at work. To be salt and light to a dying world. How boring, I know!

I do not blame Cathy Sanders as this was how she has been raised and taught. Modern churchianity is all about you. The sermons are now motivational or self-help sessions instead of exegesis. Rick Warren once wrote to pastors that the key to having Easter visitors return the following week was to not preach the Gospel. Instead start a sermon series on their community importance or how to be more significant. This gospel of self-importance infects all areas of churchianity, so it is no surprise that worship falls victim to it as well. The one place we should be solely focused on God we instead sing about how we are His portion and how much He loves us. How could He not? We are so special!

But we are not beloved. God is special. God deserves the worship. The plans are His. He does not need nor ask for our counsel. Our job is to not guess at what He wants. He has already revealed that in His Word. His will for our lives is found in His word. We need to stop mystifying and paganizing God and it starts with purifying worship. It should be about Him and not us. If ever we feel the self-importance creeping back in we need to get down on our knees and proclaim how great thou art!

Us? Not so much.

Reverend Anthony Wade

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.