Beyond the music, beyond the songs, beyond the band, lights, gear, rehearsal, and setlists, is your life. A life that needs to love God’s Word and do what it says.

As worship leaders we need to set an example not only in our musical excellence but in how we live our lives. Consider I Timothy 4:12

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”

• Speech – are you glorifying God in your words?
• Conduct – are you glorifying God in your actions?
• Love – are you glorifying God in how you treat others?
• Faith – do you actually believe the song lyrics you lead others in singing?
• Purity – are you glorifying God in abstaining from sexual sin?

Does what you declare on Sunday oppose what you live Monday-Saturday? Are you more passionate about music and performance than you are living a holy life behind closed doors?

Imagine if you had the audacity to approach a guy/girl you were interested in and say, “You will love me. You will marry me. That’s just the way it is.” After a slap in the face you both would be on your way, probably never to speak again. You and I just don’t do that. If you do, you may need a crash course in people skills. But what about a Scripture verse like this: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). Is this the same sort of thing?

This verse is the great commandment. We’ve all heard it. We all know it. But do we realize this is a commandment? This is not a “if you feel like it, love me”. This is a “do or die” sort of thing. It’s in the syllabus. Not only is loving God supposed to be our joy, but it’s also our duty. Does this trouble you in the same way the “you will marry me” scenario does? Probably not. But why?

I believe it comes to down to the fact that there is no-one or no-thing like God. He is completely “other than” anything we’ve ever known. We relate to Him in human terms because that’s all we know. But he is set apart, different, holy, worthy, and a gazillion other attributes that even eternity will struggle to unravel. Because He created us, we love Him.

But that’s not the whole picture.

David said in Psalm 116, “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.” It all starts with loving Him for WHO He is, but it get’s personal too. We love Him for WHAT He has done for us. The goodness and kindness of God to me, a wretched sinner, is absolutely mind blowing.

Good worship leaders lead worship because they love God. Not because they are gifted or popular or musical. They love God so much that they enjoy directing attention to His glory, His grace, and His goodness.

Ever been a part of a band, worship team, or ensemble where someone doesn’t know what they are doing? Maybe that person is you. They hit wrong notes, transition to wrong keys, overplay, and are not sensitive to the moment? Yep. We’ve all been there and done that.

This Sunday Kate Griffin and I hosted a worship workshop for our keyboard players. Since a good keyboard player is so important to the sound, we wanted to create a context where deeper coaching could occur. When it comes to playing keyboard in a band/worship setting, there are some important things you need to know:

1. What is My Role?

• Keyboard players are atmosphere creators
• It’s our job to bring fullness and continuity to a worship set
• Be sensitive and supportive of the worship leader
• Awareness is everything. You can’t follow or support if you’re not paying attention. Be sure to look up.
• Be spiritually engaged with what the Holy Spirit is doing in the moment. Allow that to interpret what you’re playing.

2. What Do I Play?

• Pick a sound that supports the song type (organ, piano, rhodes, pad)
• Keep it simple. Less is more. Contribute to the overall sound of the band. Give the bass player the low end. Stay in the mid range.
• Maintain common tones between chords as much as possible.
• Rehearse your transitions Subtlety is your friend.
• Be intentional about dynamics.
• Never stop practicing.

Send me an email if you’re interested or want more information. These are going to rock your face completely off.

I just read this great post from Jeff Leake on his ministry transitions from doing to living to coaching. And it got me thinking, “How are we as worship leaders doing as coaches?” Here are two questions to ponder:

• “Are we using musicians/singers/worship leaders to further our own goals and make ourselves look better?”

Or

• “Are we coaching musicians/singers/worship leaders to become the best they can be for the glory of God?”

I’m still pretty young, but I feel there comes a time when you realize ministry is not just about what you’re doing but who you’re raising up. It’s not just about where YOU are going but WHO is coming with you. You start thinking in terms of legacy rather than just personal effectiveness.

Your strength as a local church worship leader lies in seeing each member of your team reach their highest potential.

I want to be THAT kind of worship leader.

DS

When it comes to being a worship leader in today’s church, “commitment to a local church” is not always the most popular thing we want to hear. Somehow we’ve inadvertently adopted a mindset that true success as a worship leader is writing hit songs, getting “discovered”, and going on tour. Without wanting to bash the touring worship leader model, which has its place in the kingdom, let me describe something less sexy, more biblical, and more enduring.

I believe God is seriously moving in the area of church planting. The local church will (and always has been) the hope of the world. We carry the Gospel message. What we need is not more worship leaders running out of their churches to tour, but more worship leaders seriously committed to strengthening the spirit of worship in their local congregation, building a devoted team, and raising up the next generation. I have nothing against touring. I have nothing against traveling ministry. I simply think we need to see the incredible value we are adding to our local congregations and invest the energy to make it great.

If you are a worship leader who tours, my point is not to discourage you. I’d love to do some more personally. I have some friends who do it with excellence. Here’s the catch: don’t isolate yourself from a local church. Stay connected to a congregation. Stay accountable to a pastor. We appreciate what you do as well. For those considering it, touring is not as “glamourous” as you may think it is

If you’re a worship leader who leads worship in a small, local congregation and you’ve wondered if it’s worth it, what you do week in and week out is way more difficult than leading worship for a stadium of worship connoisseurs. It’s the truth. Realize how much your needed. Keep pressing on. God is using you.

Let’s not view our worship ministry as a global enterprise to our own gifting. Let’s get behind the vision of our senior pastors, invest our heart and soul into the church family, disciple musicians and worship leaders, be patient with our volunteers, and raise up an army on-fire for Jesus.

Last night at our weekly worship nite we had a special guest worship leader Aaron Schweinberg with us. Aaron was the worship pastor at APC a number of years ago before I was here. I actually used to play drums for Aaron back in the day. Let me just say it was an incredible evening. The presence of God was so strong as God’s people declared truth and lifted up the name of Jesus. Powerful.

As I was worshiping last night, I was observing how Aaron led worship. The entire night was pretty spontaneous, except for maybe a few opening songs. Aaron is a master of flow. He has an incredible amount of music memorized, a diverse repertoire of song styles, and has really learned how to flow with what the Holy Spirit is doing in the moment. He also has one of the best voices I have ever heard in my life, which makes each song he does even more intense and powerful. It was awesome and I just soaked it up.

This brings up a question in my mind.

How do we balance spontaneity and preparation? Are we supposed to have just one or the other? Allow me to outline the pros of both approaches:

PROS OF SPONTANEITY

• A healthy dose of spontaneous worship is an important reminder that worship is not just about executing hit songs. Each worship service is unique. The Holy Spirit wants to breathe upon each of our gatherings in a fresh way.
• It’s difficult to just ‘go through the motions’ if worship is spontaneous. In a love relationship, it’s the spontaneous times that can create the best memories.
• Spontaneous worship will push your musicians to become better at ‘flowing’. I think less experienced musicians are too ‘into the chart’ that they don’t look up or really focus on what God is doing. Teach them how.
• When you as a leader are led by the Holy Spirit and begin to flow into a string of songs that have a particular theme, momentum is created. Aaron did a great job connecting one song to another that was similar in theme.

PROS OF PREPARATION

• When you prepare your worship team and a culture of excellence and discipline is created, the music enhances rather than distracts. Sometimes when everything is totally spontaneous, each member of the band does whatever they want and it can create confusion, unless your playing with pros.
• Preparation leads to more effective spontaneity. The more disciplined your team is, the better they will flow when the moment comes.
• Preparing arrangements is a great way to teach your musicians the dynamics of playing in a band. Less is more. Each instrument has their part which contributes to the whole. Sometimes that contribution should be to not play. I have seen firsthand how this discipline has helped raise up some great young musicians in our church.
• Preparation helps you as the leader focus on what really matters in a worship service – ministering to the Lord and leading your congregation to do the same. Executing arrangements and leading the band MUST come secondary to those goals.

Bottom line: strive for both. Dive into the tension and raise up a worship team that plays great music but also knows how to flow as the Holy Spirit leads.