I met a worship pastor one time that couldn’t sing. No joke. His name is Bob Sorge and he was serving as a worship pastor when he had to go have a medical procedure done. The surgeon accidently clipped his vocal cords and now he can’t sing; he can only whisper for one hour a day. After this tragedy, Bob asked God what He wanted him to do with the rest of his life. God said, “Be a worship pastor!” Bob replied, “Uh, I can’t sing anymore. We have to do something different, Lord.” To which God said, “I didn’t make a mistake when I made you a worship pastor. I also knew the difficulties you would walk through. Go be a worship pastor.” Bob went on to write many books on worship, raise up worship leaders and he “whispers” (speaks) at worship conferences. I have had the privilege of meeting him and hosting him at our church. He is a hero in the faith.
Recently, a couple of my staff and I had an opportunity to go to a conference. We enjoyed worshipping together, which was led by Bethel Church’s worship team. We were inspired by the main speakers, which included Lisa Bevere, Jimmy Evans & Choco De Jesus. But, one of the highlights for me was a breakout session one morning that was being taught by a guy I had never heard of. His name was Joel Sorge.
Joel was teaching a class on developing an environment that cultivates creativity. While that title intrigued me, I was more interested in his last name…Sorge. I kept wondering if this guy was related somehow to my hero, Bob. Joel taught for about 45 minutes of his hour-long class and then he got personal, real personal. He started talking about all the failure and disappoint that he and his wife had went through. He had everyone’s attention. And then he said something I will never forget. He said, “I have been through all this hurt and pain, but thank God, my father Bob taught us kids how to SUFFER WELL. He taught us to always complain vertically, not horizontally. You see when you complain about God to other people, it is sin. When you complain about God to God, it is worship. Read the Psalms.” Wow. When we complain about God to God, it is worship. What a statement. What a treasure. I don’t like to fail and I don’t like to suffer. But, if I have to go through it, I want to SUFFER WELL. Thank you Bob for teaching your kids this lesson. Thank you Joel for learning it! My life is enriched because of the pain you both have endured. For more on this subject go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekYgDb1fQ2E