Prelude: Giving Our Best to God

The theme for this issue of Gathering is worship and whether what we do makes a difference to God or to the world. As I was reflecting on this theme, I was reminded of various churches and denominations, some where this question of giving your best to God was considered carefully, and some where it’s barely considered at all!

Over my career, I’ve often thought about what we do as music leaders and what impact our roles have on the congregation, on our worship life, and ultimately on God. 

Wherever I’ve been and whomever I’ve worked with, I’ve always taken the approach that we give our best to God. What constitutes our “best” might differ from place to place or maybe even Sunday to Sunday, depending on our style, level of training, the number of participants. But nonetheless, the best would be whatever that group or leadership is capable of giving at that time and place. Someone once asked me if I still have to practise the hymns, to which I responded, “Yes, otherwise I’m not giving my best to God.”

Personally, I feel that giving our best also applies to other parts of worship life—like the printed bulletin or the portions of the worship service that are projected. If we give very little attention and care to those items, it can appear like we give little importance to our worshipping life. Are we giving our best to God through the tools we implement that are used by the congregation? Similarly, are the parts of worship well thought out and are the logistics communicated to the various people who may need to assist?

Do you give your best to God?

Tammy-Jo Mortensen, Gathering Music Editor

Photo by cottonbro studio: pexels.com