Last evening I and a bunch of SSUniversity students led in a 2 hour Coram Deo evening, complete with candlelight, ancient prayers, soaring violin, faculty serving communion and praying for each student individually.
It was sweet. The band did a great job, with minimal practice. We had some brief musical glitches, and I was very tired (and hungry), but it came together well and served the community at the launch of the new school year.
I added up the hours again it takes, from start to finish, to do a simple event like this. It was unplugged in sound. Including gear setup, chord charts, PowerPoint, typing, enlisting, songlists, prayer lists, rehearsal, event, tear down, gear delivery and wrap up, about 12 hours.
I should video-tape the process at some point, for the bright eyed worship leader who just loves this stuff. I do too, but I’m getting tired after so many years of similar work.
Life is good, no matter the labor. What a privilege to lead people into the place of worship encounter. What a privilege — it’s always different, each time.