On Sunday we heard a testimony from Wes Hanson about his 1-year worship leader apprenticeship. Wes has served faithfully and skillfully. When he leads the singing on Sunday morning, we love to sing along. He exhibits the heart and skill of a worship leader, one who seeks to lift our eyes to Christ.
We’re grateful to him and his wife, Natalie, for committing the time to be trained and to grow. It has borne good fruit. And we’re grateful Wes will be continuing to lead congregational singing on Sunday mornings at Sovereign Grace.
Here’s what Wes shared with us on Sunday:
It is such a blessing to be with you today. I am so grateful for the opportunity I’ve had over the past year to work with Pastor Dustin on leading you, my brothers and sisters, in worshiping our Lord and Savior. Ever since Natalie and I stepped foot in this church, we could tell it was full of joyful people who loved to sing to God. And it’s been a gift to help you do just that, magnifying the Lord together.
Over the past year, with Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Music’s help, Dustin and I ran the gamut on why we sing, how we should lead, crafting a liturgy, even loving and serving our pastors and fellow musicians. Here were my biggest take aways:
The first is that music is crucial to the life of the church. Although faithful preaching from the Word of God is essential to our gatherings, I was reminded that not many people come away from a Sunday humming the 3 sermon points. However, they just might be humming the chorus from one of the songs we sung. Having the best news in the world, the gospel, embedded in every song we sing, is monumentally important for a healthy church.
Second, you don’t have to be perfect to serve in a capacity like this. Every musician out there knows that we are our own worst critics, and I am no exception. But it is liberating to know that Jesus Christ is our true worship leader, and he perfects all of our feeble efforts to please God.
Lastly, leading worship is not about me. This experience has been humbling and God-exalting. This role is just one of so many in the body of Christ. And I was always reminded that it’s not about me, how well I thought I did, or how you perceived my “performance.” It’s about magnifying his power in my weakness. It’s about shifting our focus from ourselves to the glorious Christ and worshiping Him rightly. It’s about all of you, your perception of Christ, whether you saw him rightly and gloriously on a given Sunday.
With all that said, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to Dustin for spending his time equipping to equip me (and for buying me coffee once a month), and of course, my wife, for the sacrifice of her time, and every little thing she does to support me. And I also want to thank all the other musicians who have served faithfully every Sunday; I couldn’t have thrived without your constant support and input.
And the same goes for all of you, for your feedback, steadfast encouragement through it all, and for always being the loudest singers in the room. Thank you for letting me continue to lead you in that endeavor.
But truly, both today and forever, all glory and thanksgiving go to our Triune God.
If you have a desire to be trained and equipped for church leadership, let the pastors know you’re interested. We want to train the next generation of church leaders in Orange County.
