5/13/2025 Word Count – 405 Reading Time – 1.8 minutes

In the past I’ve served as the drummer for a variety of worship teams from a few different churches. These worship teams have all been rock oriented and our playing was spirit filled and enthusiastic.

I recently visited a church whose worship team was incredibly subdued. Every member was a talented musician, and the singers were clear and on key, always. I was most impressed by the drummer. She was very precise but not at all showy. She was always in control of her volume and managed to stay well under the other instruments and singers without the aid of a plexiglass cage, sound dampening sticks or electronic drums.

I was so taken by her control and humble playing demeanor that I had to mention it to her. Her reply surprised me at first. She said she accomplished her style of subdued and non-showy playing through the prayers of many.

I am not a particularly good drummer. But I worked hard to be the best drummer I could be because I always felt that was honoring God. But sometimes I would be self-conscious about my style and would be concerned that I was trying to be flashy or showing off for my own glory. Fortunately, I experienced the presence of God during worship enough that I remained assured that even if I occasionally lapsed into self-focus it wasn’t so egregious that it kept the Holy Spirit away.

In the past, on occasion, I was in conflict about whether my somewhat raucous and aggressive drumming could be considered worship. But I remembered the times I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit and how amazing it felt. It then began to sink in that I played and worshipped in exuberance and that was my natural form of worship. This other drummer was worshipping just as enthusiastically but she was doing it through her restraint.

God is big and broad. He looks at us through our hearts and is pleased by praise that is both loud and quiet. Rather than worrying about whether we appear to be doing the “right “ thing we should be striving to dive deeper into our relationship with God through whatever style of worship He has built into us, whether subdued and peaceful or a bit wild and crazy. God loves us all. I believe if our praise comes from a sincere love of God He appreciates it no matter what volume.