Biblical Worship Leader 101

Biblical Worship Leader 101:

If you have a passion for leading in worship, there are some important things you need to know before you stand in front of a congregation and start leading them. Most things that I read about worship leading is how to improve your worship service by doing some kind of  a five or ten-step process. The problem with this is, very seldom do I see a biblical approach to leading in worship. Most the time it's about improving the staging or the light system. There's nothing wrong with having a lot of cool gadgets to work with, but don't let that be your main focus when you are planning a worship service. The best way to prepare a worship service is to start with prayer and letting the bible be your source of inspiration.

Worship leaders have a lot of hats to wear. They have to plan the service from start to finish, plan extra rehearsals, find and recruit other people, practice and listen to the music beforehand, etc.
When I was in college, the joke around the school with the biblical study majors was, the music majors don't know their bible. All laughing aside, this wasn't a stretch of the imagination. Going into college I felt that I had a good head on my shoulders and knew a thing or two about the bible. I soon found out that I, like a lot of my fellow colleagues, didn't know as much as I should.

In class, my teachers always knew more than me, which didn't bother me, but I did feel like I knew a lot about music and the bible already. I wasn't the smartest of students to go through college, but it did help me stay in the word of God and challenge my thinking everyday. What I learned in college wasn't what you would expect or perceive. I did like everyone else, have to do my homework, do reading assignments, take tests, etc. What I really enjoyed the most about college was the fact I could go anywhere on campus and pray and read the bible without hardly any distractions.

As a worship leader, we face all kinds of distractions. Life can really throw some curve balls at you. A worship leader has one of the hardest jobs to do. The pastor might be in charge of a lot too, but a worship leader is supposed to prepare the hearts of the people before the message. I tend to think that most people undermine the responsibilities of a worship leader and don't realize all the responsibility there is. The most spiritually attacked position in the church isn't the pastor or youth pastor, it's the worship leader. If Satan can get into the mind of a worship leader, he can control the overall worship service without having to do much.

The only way to defend yourself from Satan and his plan is to use the word of God. Starting with prayer and God's word is the only answer we have to defeating Satan's attacks. The power of prayer in your music ministry is the most important aspect. You should take time to pray before and after rehearsals and before the worship service. Playing the wrong note or singing the wrong lyric of a song might be distracting, but not as distracting as a worship leader who isn't in tune with the things of God.

Most people will overlook or won't notice a slip up during a worship experience. That shouldn't be the main focus at all anyways. The right way to lead worship is by being sensitive to God's guidance.
Many times a song or scripture will come to mind that hasn't been rehearsed. What do you do when that happens and you want to share this with the congregation. The right thing to do is ask God if it's something that should be shared. This is where worship leaders get in trouble. It's either not prepared well enough or it could throw everyone off if you choose to do a song that hasn't been rehearsed.

How do you know when the right time is to say something? I've always been a fan of the worship leader saying something in-between songs or praying. Remember, you are not the pastor, so it doesn't have to be long to get your point across. The best thing to do when you feel God telling you to do something is to let the musicians and pastor know beforehand that you might say something or go a different direction if the Lord leads. Most people don't like this approach, but it is essential if you want the spirit of God to show up in your worship services.

The reason for this is to make people more sensitive to God's spirit. The last thing you want is the spirit to be quenched because you have to do everything that the bulletin says. That is not as important as feeling the presence of God. Our focus has to be set on worshiping God and not on all the things that we have to do in the bulletin. Getting away from a bulletin format is probably a good idea if you are going to change things in the service anyways.

What I do is have some songs already prepared in advance, so that if you want to change something the band and praise team can go ahead and have the music in their folders. The important thing to remember is this doesn't have to happen every service, but you should be prepared in case the spirit is moving.

Being biblical in worship is a lot harder than you think. You can choose the coolest song on the face of the planet, but if the message is wrong, it does no good for your congregation. Finding songs with the gospel message is very important if you want your congregation to have a healthy worship experience. So many new songs are straying farther from the truth. It's become more about the production than about if the song has a good message. Some songs can even leave you confused and frustrated with your worship leaders' decision making.

Worship leaders need to pick out songs that are rich in the bible. Holy is the Lord or How Great is Our God are great examples of biblical songs that aren't hard to play or sing that has shown to be effective songs for worship. Picking out the right songs for worship can be tedious and tiring sometimes. The worship leader is responsible for the overall flow of the music, so picking out the songs and putting them in order correctly is essential.

I won't go into detail of how to pick the music yet, that will be for next time. The main thing I want all worship leaders to know is being biblical is very important for your music ministry and congregation. Everything should start and finish with prayer. Praying and reading God's word together with the band and praise team is the best thing to do if you want God's presence in your worship experiences. Don't let the music and technology get in the way of what real biblical worship is all about.

I will leave you with a scripture to tie all this together:
Colosians 3:16- Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.