Role of a Worship Leader - Part 2
In a prior post, I wrote a little about the role of a worship leader. I started to talk about the perception of worship as performance. While it is true that we are performing an act of worship to God, and an act of service to the congregation, this should not be misconstrued as saying that Sunday morning worship service should be a concert. It obviously is not.
There is a fine balance between making the music as good as possible and as enjoyable as possible, and making the service all about the music. A great drum fill, a cool guitar solo, perfect harmonies are all good, as long as they serve the song and the song serves the worship. When the technicalites of the music outweigh the spirt if worship, something has gone off track.
Do not confuse that, however, with the craft of worship. Worship musicians spend a lot of time an effort developing their skill level and art. This is perhaps the most underrated ministry in the church. What the congregation sees on Sunday is far less than half of the service that the worship team or praise band performs. The congregation does not see the hours of lessons and practice, the time spent away from family and other activites, the arguments over arrangements and keys, the multiple repititions of songs and passages to get them just right, the financial investment in instruments, strings, and sticks. They don't hear the hours of scales the choir sings while they are having dinner, or the callouses on the guitar players' fingers.
But yet when there is a special event, the worship team is either a foregone conclusion or last minute addition. (or ignored entirely.) When the service has a lot going on one particular Sunday, do we ask the preacher to cut out ten minutes, or ask the praise band to cut two songs? Or tell the choir to sing the next week?
Yet all this is just fine. Because it is not about us. It's about Him. We take joy in all of that, because it is a service to God. Being a worship musician is not at all glamerous, and it should not be. Believe it or not, it's a humbling experience. Standing on the stage, in front of people, hearing all the mistakes you're making, and knowing that the Spirit of God is making it sweet music is powerful, heady stuff.
A worship leader should never think of themselves as entertainment. They should think of themselves as warriors. They have to be aware that they are on the front lines, doing battle on behalf of the congregation. They are providing cover, opening a passage, holding back the attack.
I'll talk more about that next time...
There is a fine balance between making the music as good as possible and as enjoyable as possible, and making the service all about the music. A great drum fill, a cool guitar solo, perfect harmonies are all good, as long as they serve the song and the song serves the worship. When the technicalites of the music outweigh the spirt if worship, something has gone off track.
Do not confuse that, however, with the craft of worship. Worship musicians spend a lot of time an effort developing their skill level and art. This is perhaps the most underrated ministry in the church. What the congregation sees on Sunday is far less than half of the service that the worship team or praise band performs. The congregation does not see the hours of lessons and practice, the time spent away from family and other activites, the arguments over arrangements and keys, the multiple repititions of songs and passages to get them just right, the financial investment in instruments, strings, and sticks. They don't hear the hours of scales the choir sings while they are having dinner, or the callouses on the guitar players' fingers.
But yet when there is a special event, the worship team is either a foregone conclusion or last minute addition. (or ignored entirely.) When the service has a lot going on one particular Sunday, do we ask the preacher to cut out ten minutes, or ask the praise band to cut two songs? Or tell the choir to sing the next week?
Yet all this is just fine. Because it is not about us. It's about Him. We take joy in all of that, because it is a service to God. Being a worship musician is not at all glamerous, and it should not be. Believe it or not, it's a humbling experience. Standing on the stage, in front of people, hearing all the mistakes you're making, and knowing that the Spirit of God is making it sweet music is powerful, heady stuff.
A worship leader should never think of themselves as entertainment. They should think of themselves as warriors. They have to be aware that they are on the front lines, doing battle on behalf of the congregation. They are providing cover, opening a passage, holding back the attack.
I'll talk more about that next time...
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