WORSHIP WORKSHOP

Last weekend at church, the bulletin contained an announcement that initially did not interest me but, moments later, somehow challenged me. One of our worship leaders was going to hold a "Worship Workshop" the following Saturday for anyone interested in learning the worship songs currently used during our services.

I have known a few basic guitar chords for a lot of years, but have always avoided playing songs with difficult chords. Many of these difficult chords are "bar chords" which require pressing down on all six guitar strings with the index finger of the left hand. I have tried playing some of these chords in the past but it has always been too painful. It has always felt like six dull knife blades trying to cut into my finger. Consequently, I just never attempted to learn any of these hard chords.

But just last month my brother, Dean, noticed that the neck of my guitar was slightly--almost undetectably--bowed. He repaired it. He straightened the neck so that now I can press all six strings with minimal, painless effort.

So, this morning I attended the workshop. About twenty-five others attended as well. We heard a brief lesson about the heart of worship, which was both instructive and edifying, then we started playing the songs which were distributed among the group. Some of the chords I had never seen before. As those chords were shown to us, I must confess that I really did not learn them. I knew that I would need to go home and find them on a chord chart and practice them on my own.

I am stretching myself. I am putting forth the effort to learn something difficult, something I have been unwilling to learn until now. I am committed to keep on practicing until I get it.

There are two elements to this challenge: a technical element and a spiritual element. I must learn a technical skill with spiritual help for the purpose of producing a spiritual effect. So, I am praying and asking God to help me learn these chords so I can serve Him in a new way, exalting Him in worship.

I took my first guitar lesson when I was 20 years old and still have the original mimeographed song sheets that the instructor handed out. Among the first songs I learned were "Blowin' in the Wind", "This Land is Your Land," and "Sweet Betsy From Pike".

When I was 31 years old, I played guitar on the front step of our house on White Lane in Crescent City. That was when I had hair growing on the top of my head and on my face and before I had hair growing out of my ears and out of my nostrils.

I have occasionally played for our church group, but only songs with easy guitar chords.

My brother, Dean, straightened the neck on my guitar so I can now learn to play some bar chords.

Tony taught the worship workshop today and had no idea that one of the attendees brought a small, concealed camera along with a guitar.