Sunday morning December 20, 2009 was an epic day at Living Hope. Sara Renner and the Elements joined us for our Christmas Celebration. And it was a party. But it was also fascinating to watch as a ministry leader. This was powerful, and I don’t want to miss the take-aways for us in ministry.
Sara is a working musician here in the Twin Cities with national range. Hockey fans may recognize her. She was chosen to sing the national anthem at the Excel Energy Center before every home game for the Wild last year. But her real passion is WORSHIP and praise of Jesus Christ. The Elements are a team of hand picked musicians who share her love for God and excel in their craft. Sara and her team of friends truly make up some of the best musicians the Twin Cities has to offer.
In Sara’s words,
“Music can move you… but it can’t change you. It can’t heal you. It can’t set you free. Only God can do those things. All of the things that we rehearse, all of our gifts and our talents are meaningless without the anointing of God. And so, in our lives we try to reflect a real faith in Christ, and in our music we try to be excellent, but more than anything, we pray that God’s Spirit comes and changes people through what we do.”
Sara brings a level of excellence that communicates fearlessness and humility at the same time. Mix that with spiritual maturity, deep joy, and a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and the results are exuberant. It’s a contagious faith on display.
You can hear freedom in the keyboard solo by Billy Steele. Fearlessness. Joy. It’s more than skill. It is true spiritual freedom for Billy and for Sara. I want to be a better musician, so I can be a more fearless leader, so I can communicate joy with greater freedom. And if the focus remains on Jesus, He gets the credit. He gets all the glory.
Sara Renner and the Elements performing live in concert at Living hope Church in St. Michael-Albertville, MN. December 20, 2009. This was the end of the closing song in the concert. A great end to our Living Hope Christmas Celebration.
Outstanding musicianship and authentic joy in Jesus. Humility and fearlessness. Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. And always – always – always keeping the focus on Jesus Christ. Those were my take-aways. Those are ministry markers I will strive for.
“sara renner and the elements live at living hope :: fearless joy” by Joshua Skogerboe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
