Four Levels of Effectiveness

The Ministers¹

What we can we learn from the people God handpicked in 2 Chronicles 20? What qualified them to be ministers? Let us begin by looking at those who lead music or worship in church. What qualified them to be ministers?

Four Levels of Effectiveness

The lowest level is the song leader level.

These are people who show up and help with a few songs. They put no thought into planning or purpose. They prefer to play and leave. They avoid rehearsals and planning sessions.

God has little use for those content to stay at this level which at best produces mediocrity. It's better to have 10 people who are sold on music ministry than 100 who are just showing up.

The next level is the music minister.

These are people who want to have input in making music the best it can be. They are not content with just showing up. They like to be prepared, and they want to know the music is planned. They struggle sometimes with seeing past the music and getting everything just right. They know what and how to sing and play, but sometimes they forget why they are doing it.

The third level is the minister of music.

God can greatly use folks at this level of effectiveness because they understand that music praises God and ministers to others. They want their music to change those who are listening, just as David's harp soothed Saul (1 Samuel 16:23). While they appreciate and even strive for excellence, they are also committed to pleasing and blessing God.

The Levite musicians were mostly Level 3 ministers of music because their priority and their goal were to use their music to minister to God.

Please read 1 Chronicles 6:31-32. Notice what ministry or service they were to perform. Now read 1 Chronicles 16:4. Notice specifically where some of the Levites were to minister. Interestingly, Strong's Concordance defines the Hebrew word ministry as “service.”

The fourth and highest level for church musicians is to be ministers through music.

People on Level 4 still desire the excellence of Level 2. Like those on Level 3, they see great blessing musical praise can be to God and other people. However, Level 4 people realize that our music is not the minister; we are the ministers. God did not ordain the music to bless Him and others, but He ordained us to serve Him. And we are responsible to serve whether we are making music or not.

The singers that Jehoshaphat appointed in 2 Chronicles 20:21 certainly qualified as Level 4 ministers. Many of them were probably Levite musicians, so their “job” was to sing in the Temple. Yet they willingly went way beyond the call of duty as they marched in the opposite directing from the ark and the Temple. They weren't just ministering before the Lord; they were now waging war.

A minister through music is first and foremost a servant. God must smile when we see ourselves as His servants-nothing more, nothing less. Blessing others with a servant-like heart will keep on blessing God long after the music fades.

My Daily Praise

Read 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; and Jeremiah 23:6. Thank and praise God through at least one of the eight ways to praise: singing, shouting, clapping, kneeling, dancing, testifying, playing an instrument, and raising holy hands.

My Daily Surrender

How much do you like ministering to others? How willing are you to serve others after the spotlight's turned off?

1 This material is taken from DeWayne Moore's book, Pure Praise (Loveland: CO: Group Publishing, 2009), 90-92.