The SG Worship Conference and Sharon Michels

Last week was the SG Worship God conference, and a few of us from SGC went–Wayne and Cassie Bollinger, Jackie Curtis, Rebekah Taylor, my daughter Caroline, me. We were there with about a thousand other people from inside and outside of Sovereign Grace Ministries. This was the second of two worship conferences this summer with Worship God West happening on June 27 in Santa Ana, CA. The conference itself was a great time of instruction, fellowship, worship, and all the joys a 9-hour road trip can bring!

Sovereign Grace has posted the teachings on their blog, and every one of them is worth a listen. For those not on worship teams, Craig's, Jared's, and Bob's would be especially edifying.

That said, the highlight for our group (and the group from the Durham church) was the standing ovation given to Sharon Michels. That might seem like a strange thing considering Sharon doesn't play on a worship team or run sound or play any part in the corporate worship of Redeeming Grace Church. So, how did this happen?

The conference was titled, Called to be Faithful. This was taught against the backdrop of our own temptations to want to be rich, famous, and comfortable. Maybe those who minister on stage face this even more than most. That's why it's always good to remember that God prizes faithfulness, not earthly fame.

To encourage us all in this, Bob Kauflin said at the start of the conference that they would give an iPad away to someone others would describe as faithful. To nominate someone, you filled out a card and placed it in a fishbowl. This was different than the other giveaways at the conference, which were done by raffle tickets.

On the last morning of the conference, five of these cards were read. We all assumed that one of them would receive the iPad. They were honored and told that their registrations would be refunded--a great gift indeed, but not the iPad.

For the winner Bob started by reading one card, which I believe was written by Emily Seamon from RGC (who, amazingly, won the keyboard giveaway!). Emily pointed out Sharon's 5am wakeup time on Sundays to get the kids ready, dealing with two long-term illness situations (Hannah and Daniel have Myasthenia Gravis), her work to get the kids to three conferences this summer, and her service on so many ministry teams at church. This was commendable in itself.  But he didn't read Sharon's name yet.

Bob said that first card wasn't what did it. It was the second card which someone else wrote about Sharon. Rebekah Taylor had written about Sharon and described the same attributes: her joyful, sacrificial, and faithful service. But still Bob didn't read the name. Of course, by this point Hannah Michels (in our row) was weeping and hardly able to contain herself.

Then he read Hannah's card. He gave Hannah's name and read what she wrote about "my mother." Hannah mentioned her joy, her service for others, her commitment to church and to all the ministry teams at church. The whole event was powerful and moving, but it was when Bob read Hannah's card that many of us teared up in appreciation of Sharon.

He then read cards where the siblings had actually commended each other: Josh commended Hannah, Daniel commended Josh.

Bob said they would give Sharon the iPad; Sovereign Grace Ministries would send another iPad to the kids. After he finished, there was an immediate and raucous standing ovation.

It really was a beautiful picture of God's pleasure. So often it's the celebrities that get all the attention, but in God's eyes a faithful servant like Sharon is doing work that is every bit as visible and important. She is seen by God and is pleasing God. She perfectly modeled what Jared Mellinger preached on:

For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. Hebrews 6:10

What a great moment it was. All of us were honored to be a part of it.

Daniel