You Gotta Believe (in someone)

We have a pretty good group of musicians in our youth group. We have 3 drummers, 1 great bassist, and a handful of pretty good guitarists, and only one of them is a senior, meaning they will be around for another year too. I usually lead instrumentally with a guitar and vocally as well. There really isn't anyone capable of leading vocally, so I just have done it. I have felt the necessity, over the last few months, to relieve myself of this duty. I had begun grooming someone to take over, and she could do it vocally, but instrumentally and leading a band she is not too confident.

Last week, I decided that I was not going to sing or play as I had a meeting to attend. Then, I received a text message informing me that my lead vocalist was going to be gone. I wasn't panicking, but I was concerned with what was going to happen. I informed the band what was going on, and the junior bassist said, "I will lead it." I had no idea this kid even sang. He organized the songs, the musicians, and the practice.

Tuesday night came, they practiced, and the service began with me in the sound booth and no chance of rescuing them. They played, and from a technical standpoint it was not good. The vocals were off, the singers came in at the wrong place, and there were a number of wrong notes. But I loved it. Not in a way that I was celebrating their failure, but the heart of these students was in the right place. They sang and played and, more importantly, they worshiped from their hearts. The other students felt the awkwardness in the room, but they all got behind them and supported the mess out of the worship team.

So I sat down with the bassist-turned-worship leader today and told him how much I appreciated his heart and how he stepped up to the plate, and I asked him if I could help train him to be the student worship leader going forward. After he got over the initial shock and he realized that I was serious, he got a big smile and agreed to do it.

I love looking past what other people discard or call failures, and believing in someone who maybe doesn't even believe in themselves. It is easy to believe in people that have confidence or are obviously talented in certain areas, but not too many things give me the satisfaction of believing in people that others don't.

This story may or may not have a great ending, I can't predict it. But I do know that I did my part in helping a kid move forward in potentially realizing his dreams and giving him a confidence that he may have never had, and it makes my day!