Responsible Christian by guest blogger Jennifer Peña

Life does not always span out the way we hope or plan, and it consists of many paths full of events and circumstances we might not understand the purpose for right away. Such was the road I chose when I was approached about leading worship at my church. I entered as a newly saved Christian with a considerable amount of experience in music, but obviously, not much in worship. My campus pastor, who had become a person of great significance in my life and my walk, asked me if I would help out until they found somebody else to fill the position. I obliged, thinking that helping out shouldn’t demand too much of my time or attention, or interfere with me reaching other goals I had set for myself in my life and career. But I was wrong. Worship wiggled its way into every crevice of my life, and consumed me from the minute I said “Sure”, with a shrug of my shoulders, and crossed the line onto a yellow brick road of sorts.

Experiencing the surprising workload in the first week, I quickly realized that this position required more responsibility than I had anticipated. I would need to manage my time wisely, and do my work well. Nobody wants to let down the church, or far more importantly, God! As the weeks went on, I improved at completing the work that appeared on my leaders’ long list of expectations, but I had grown so accustomed to only being responsible for my family and myself that dealing with that responsibility and sudden change proved difficult for me. I will admit that giving up crossed my mind  on numerous occasions, but in growing as a Christian, I came to realize that leading others in worship happened to be my calling. This job ended up being so much more about loving God’s children, opening their hearts to accept and hear from Him, encouraging the team of musicians around me to grow close to Him, and growing closer to Him myself than the tedious tasks of selecting songs, assigning parts and scheduling musicians that had been so overwhelming in the beginning.

So, it turned out that my “expertise” in music is not what got me the job or helped me to keep it long after replacements had been found, but rather my heart and craving for the opportunity to inspire and lead others by example that the leaders of my church saw. Given the chance to uncover the purpose of my existence, my obedience put me right where I needed to be,  leading me home, and there really is no place like it. I believe that God had many lessons to teach me about responsibility in the past year, and I understand now that He meticulously placed me on that perfect path where He could best demonstrate His power and control in every aspect of my life, fulfill His promise to strengthen me in times of need, and teach me that I can always trust in Him.  Most importantly, He graciously provided me with the platform I would need in order to be a responsible Christian and fulfill my primary duty in obeying His commandment to “go and make disciples.”

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