A wise friend had told me that when his heart is unable to worship in a given moment or situation, for whatever reason, he looks around the congregation to find a person most engaged in worship and begins to pray, “Lord, let that person’s worship be mine.”

At times when the worship seems to my musical sensibilities as a diet of cotton candy I remind myself first, that the worship isn’t there for me (so I can “be fed”) and second, that there are many in the congregation for whom that musical expression is authentic, even empowering.

In turn, this reminds me that I am a small part of a congregation that is so much bigger than me. It has enabled me to transcend the limitations of the styles that I prefer and even to worship, dare I say, “vicariously” through others. It’s a great fix for the “me generation.”