It was 1993. I was at a primitive Bible school in the sugar cane fields of a remote place in the Fiji Islands. From this place thousands of missionaries have been trained and sent around the world. It’s the kind of place where life is at its most basic. You ate what they raised in their gardens and took your bath in the river. Teaching there for a short time was glorious. At night the sky was black and filled with stars shining like a thousand lamps. The first morning there we were awakened before dawn by the sound of about a hundred voices in a symphony of worship music that would make angels melt. Psalm 63:1-2 (NKJV) says, “God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You, In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. {2} So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.”
The building where the worship was coming from was a primitive structure with floors of unfinished concrete. There was no glass in the windows and they were open to the elements. As we walked in, I saw that the students were seated in rows of hard metal folding chairs. It was apparent someone was leading them, but I looked and could not find the worship leader. Then I realized he was seated about three rows back, lost in the crowd of worshipers. He simply strummed his guitar and began each song by raising his voice until it was drowned by the voices of a hundred others.
The anointing was so strong it could drive your face into a pool of tears on the concrete floor. The sound was beautiful and brilliant as if it were the sound of many colors. I cannot tell you who that worship leader was, but listening to the students that day, I learned a lesson I will never forget. True leadership never seeks attention for itself. Its motivation is to humbly help others to attain what they are trying to reach, and do so with deep excellence.
The Sound of Many Colors-03-20-14