There's Another Drummer

A few years ago, I stepped down from the worship team at church.

I’d played drums for years.

I enjoyed it.

I loved worship.

I loved serving.

It was somewhat part of my identity.

Then something unexpected happened.

I felt God nudging me towards something else.

Business.

At first, I resisted it.

Surely serving on the worship team was more spiritual than building a business?

Surely the right thing to do was stay where I was useful.

Stay where I was needed.

Stay where I was already serving.

But the nudge wouldn’t leave.

Over time it became stronger.

I wasn’t running away from something.

I was being pulled towards something.

Eventually I stepped down.

Not because I was burnt out.

Not because I was offended.

Not because I wanted less responsibility.

I stepped down because I genuinely believed God was leading me elsewhere.

Then came the response.

Someone told my wife that I was being selfish.

They even said the worship team would be better off without me.

That hurt.

Not because it was criticism.

But because criticism always makes you wonder.

What if they’re right?

What if I’ve got this completely wrong?

What if I’ve mistaken selfish ambition for obedience?

I think many people experience moments like this.

Not just in church.

In careers.

Relationships.

Businesses.

Ministries.

Moments where everyone around you believes faithfulness means staying.

But deep down, you feel God saying go.

And that’s where things get complicated.

Because from the outside, obedience and rebellion can sometimes look remarkably similar.

The person who leaves the worship team.

The person who quits the job.

The person who starts the business.

The person who moves city.

The person who starts something nobody understands.

From the outside it can all look reckless.

But what if faithfulness isn’t always staying?

What if sometimes faithfulness requires leaving?

I think churches naturally love stability.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Churches need volunteers.

Musicians.

Children’s workers.

Leaders.

People who consistently turn up.

Without those people, things become difficult.

But stability can quietly become an idol.

We can begin to assume that remaining where we are is automatically the most faithful option.

Yet when I read the Bible, I see something different.

Abraham leaves.

Moses leaves.

Joseph is removed from everything familiar.

David leaves the fields.

Paul leaves his old life.

The disciples leave their nets.

Even Jesus leaves Nazareth.

Again and again, God calls people out of what is familiar and into what is unknown.

Their obedience often looks wrong before it looks right.

Which brings me to a thought that changed the way I see serving.

There’s another drummer.

At first that sounds harsh.

But it’s actually incredibly freeing.

When I stepped down, worship didn’t stop.

The church carried on.

Someone else played.

Someone else stepped up.

The church belonged to Jesus before I arrived.

And it belongs to Jesus after I leave.

The truth is, many of us secretly believe we’re more indispensable than we really are.

Not because we’re arrogant.

Because we’re sincere.

We care deeply.

We love serving.

But over time we can start believing that if we stop, everything falls apart.

It doesn’t.

God is remarkably capable of running His church without us.

That isn’t discouraging.

It’s liberating.

Because it means our identity isn’t tied to a role.

It means our purpose is bigger than a rota.

It means we can follow God wherever He leads.

This connects with an idea I’ve spoken about before.

The difference between a doorstop and a hammer.

A hammer can make a fantastic doorstop.

It’s useful.

Reliable.

Helpful.

People appreciate it.

But that’s not what it was designed for.

Its purpose is to hammer nails.

And I think a lot of people find themselves in that situation.

Useful.

Needed.

Valued.

But slightly out of position.

The danger is that usefulness gets rewarded.

Purpose often gets questioned.

The worship team needed a drummer.

But perhaps God wanted a founder.

Perhaps God wanted someone who would build businesses.

Create jobs.

Fund university prizes.

Develop products.

Encourage people outside the walls of the church.

Looking back, I don’t regret stepping down.

Not because worship wasn’t important.

But because obedience was.

I wasn’t running away from worship.

I was running towards obedience.

And sometimes those two things look exactly the same from the outside.

Maybe that’s where you find yourself today.

Maybe God is asking you to stay.

Maybe God is asking you to go.

The question isn’t whether you’re useful.

The question is whether you’re where God wants you.

Because useful and called are not always the same thing.

And if God is leading you somewhere new, remember this:

There’s another drummer.