Practice Matters.

When was the last time you tried to do something without practicing first? Perhaps it was the latest new song that you just had to do THIS sunday, even though your band hadn't practiced with the choir first. Or the new chord change that would sound soooo good in that praise and worship chorus. Or even the run in the 2nd verse that the CD had. Of course you can pull it off. After all, God doesn't want everything programmed, right?

Wrong.

God calls for spontaneity and a "new song", but not at the expense of excellence. The idea that God accepts any kind of worship as long as we're sincere dies at the feet of Cain. The Bible doesn't say that Cain brought an offering that was bad, or rotten. It just says that God rejected it. Meaning, we don't determine whether worship is good enough. God does. If that is the case, it makes sense that we should prepare anything for God as if He were going to inspect it cover to cover and note to note.

This is not to say that unprepared worship music is unspiritual. It's just not sound planning. If you have a chance to go over something, make the time to go over it. There's the same 24 hours for all the other priorities in our lives, and practicing the music for the King can't be a bad use of some of that time He has given us.

Looking unto the hills,

miamimaestro