Being a worship leader is an interesting role to be put in. Regardless of how big or small the church, the worship leader tends to be a little bit of a celebrity, primarily because he’s seen on stage every week. Matt Redman says that he never liked the title of worship leader because it puts the spotlight on one or a few people. He prefers to use the word “lead worshipper” because the emphasis and focus is on what/who is being worshipped instead the person leading the worship. I think that this has been a problem in the western church for a while now. With the rise of popular worship bands such as Hillsong United and Jesus Culture has come an obsession with stadium style worship. This is not to minimize the effect these ministries have had or to challenge their heart for God, but simply to say that this obsession is a by-product of a celebrity driven culture.
We love our celebrities.
We can’t get enough of our celebrities.
It’s only natural for worship leaders to emulate the most popular worship bands, but when the definition of success is whether or not we look like or sound like (you fill in the blank) we’ve failed already. Kari Jobe said, “Comparison (in ministry) will be the number one thing that keeps you from doing what God’s called you to do.” It’s not a competition. We should not be Hillsong cover bands. Worship music should be about releasing a sound from the depths of your heart in grateful worship of God and everything he’s done for you. Worshipping leading is about enabling others to do the same.
I recently had the opportunity to lead worship with some close friends of mine at the Awaken the Dawn Conference put on by the Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace here in Virginia. This was honestly the biggest event I’ve ever been privileged to lead worship at and I was pumped. Before we left for the conference a friend of mine was telling me how jealous of us he was and how events like this are every worship leader’s dream. We went through the weekend and lead worship on the Sunday morning service at the end of the conference, and I didn’t really think about what my friend had said until after it all. It struck me later that just like non-worship bands strive for success through popularity and fame, worship leaders can just as easily get caught up in similar thinking. Knowing several worship majors during my time at Liberty it’s a fair assessment to say that many of them dreamed of one day being a part of a big time worship band that toured and led thousands upon thousands of people in worship. This is not necessarily a bad dream to have and I think that God definitely leads people into that direction in ministry, but that is the exception to the norm and I think worship leaders that only participate in that form of ministry are missing a big part of what worship can be.
I lead worship for a church of about 100, consisting mostly of younger families and college students. It hasn’t been easy going in the 3 years since I became the worship pastor. When I started it was just me and my guitar leading for around 35 people. God has blessed our church and been faithful to provide both talented and passionate worshippers to share the load of leading worship with me, but it hasn’t been easy along the way. Every time another mic stopped working, or our power amp blew, or we messed up simple songs, it was easy for me to daydream about being called up to “the big leagues” of Hillsong, where nothing ever goes wrong and your hair always looks amazing no matter how many days and nights you’ve spent on the road. I’m obviously being sarcastic, not to poke fun at Hillsong, but at how we tend to think of what their ministry is like. The reality is, I would rather be here, at my church than touring the country as a worship band, no matter how many big venues we’re playing.
Why?
Community.
Community in relation to church is something that is brought up when we talk about our small groups or what a loving community our church has that so-and-so is giving up their day to help so-and-so. That’s generally our take on church community. What gets left out and overlooked is the idea of a worshipping community. My friend Emaurie says that he thinks every church/congregation has their own voice. I think he’s absolutely right. When I first started leading at my church in 2009 I wouldn’t have understood what that meant, but having been there, day in and day out for the last three years I finally see it. As our church has worshipped together consistently, we’ve grown together in our worship. It’s hard for some of us to see when we’re so close, but if we step and look at the difference in our worship services, there’s a depth to our worship that was not there three years ago. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve probably grown more than anyone else. There’s a depth to my worship that I didn’t know existed three years ago and hopefully I’m still growing deeper, but I don’t think I would have ever experienced that growth if I wasn’t a part of a worshipping community.
When we see growth in the people around us, we are challenged to grow.
When we see freedom in worship in the people around us, it moves us towards freedom in worship.
Worship is not about a talented singer teaching other people how to sing certain songs. It’s not even so much about a worship pastor teaching appropriate worship (although that is definitely important).
Worship at its heart comes out of a community thankful for God’s presence and desperate for more, individually and as a family.
To worship leaders: beware of the subtle thought that you are God’s gift to your church. Work to create a community of worship.
To everyone else: don’t come to church waiting to be lead in worship. Come to church expecting to meet God and then go after Him.
“What would our worship services look like if people walked in the door ready to encounter God from the very beginning?” – Kim Walker-Smith
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” – Psalm 95:6-7
jeremy stone 