I do think the inability to be together on Sunday mornings in the settings that we ’ ve become really accustomed to is actually a really good thing and challenges some cultural norms that should be challenged and re-examined . Should you choose to return to those you ’ ll at least return with an awareness that you didn ’ t have before . Should you choose not to return to that and not to fire up the fog machines again , the ability to take a look at your own life and to experience God is such a beautiful thing . It ' s hard to do unless that routine is broken up . What an amazing time , a forced time whether you like it or not , to reexamine , and to look again at some of the things we may have grown accustomed to that we have the opportunity to tweak and adjust or to return to .
[ WM ] Both leading worship and songwriting are gifts from God . Excellence in each craft is both breathed by God and developed by the individual . What words of encouragement do you have for those aspiring to serve the church in these ways ?
[ Pat ] For the songwriter I would say that even the song that is written in ten minutes may take ten years to write under the surface . To pay attention to the things that God is using to try to speak to you in your life , the awareness of things that move you in your life . For me personally when I decided to become aware of that and keep a journal of like , this line in this movie , this conversation with this person , this piece of art … I felt something in that moment , what was that feeling ? Why was that not just a painting , why did that feel like something more to me ? Following that feeling has been really powerful , the connectedness to things that move the heart even though it doesn ’ t make sense in my mind why it would . Why am I getting emotional to a melody ? It ’ s realizing the gift of songwriting and of music is not just to say words but to say words in a way that helps you reintegrate your heart and your mind .
For the person , for the writer , just write . Write , write , write , write everything . Write how you feel . Write how you ’ re embarrassed at the way you feel . Write about how angry you are at this person . Take it to God and write until you say it the way you feel it .
Then for the person who ’ s a worship leader … what I love about that position is it ’ s a leadership position . It ’ s a position of being in love with God and sharing that and exemplifying that , but also serving people and creating space for them to find communion as well . When we try to use that position to build our own name and our own neediness for attention things get weird . I would encourage every worship leader to let leading worship on stage be one percent of the worship that happens with you during the week . Don ’ t let that be everything or close to everything . Have a life of worship far beyond and outside that one space so that you can in practice keep away that inclination to make that something it was never intended to be .
[ WM ] Pat , thank you so much for this time and for sharing your gifts with the church . God bless your future endeavors to this end .
[ Pat ] It ’ s been awesome , thank you !