"Give to the Lord the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come to worship Him. Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor." – I Chronicles 16:29

What a powerful verse of scripture! As a worship leader, my desire is to do just that—give to the Lord the glory He rightly deserves. Over the past couple of years, God has really taught me a lot about what true worship is. For the longest time, when I thought about worship, my immediate thought was that of music, but over time my thinking has changed. Music, though a primary and powerful tool in worship, is only one part of what true worship is; it is only one piece of the puzzle. True worship is defined by a lifestyle that completely reflects God in everything we do. From the time we get up, throughout the day, till the time we lay back to sleep—the question must arise, "Does my life point people to Christ?"

Above anything else, my passion is for people to encounter God in a new and fresh way when they worship. My prayer is that people experience freedom in worship: freedom to sing, lift their hands, shout to God in victory or sit still and crawl into the lap of our Father in comfort. My prayer is for repentance to fall over us as we worship, that we may turn from our selfishness, turn from our pride, and leave behind the idea of complacency in our walk with Him. Lastly, my prayer is for people to know that we have a loving God who longs to hear His children sing to Him. Many times when I lead, I remind people that we are singing love songs to our Father—songs that speak of adoration and honor to the One who gave us the ultimate love example.

With all of this said, we must never forget who we worship. It's so easy to get caught up in the latest song and forget whom we are singing about. Whether it's traditional, contemporary, or blended, God can be honored. Style doesn't matter to God-what matters to Him is the heart of the worshiper. My desire is that we understand the heart of worship—Jesus Christ.