what makes a worship Leader?

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Permalink Reply by Martin Cliffe on September 12, 2008 at 12:09pm

I believe to truly be comfortable as a worship leader, you need to be respected both as a Christian and (to a lesser degree) as a musician by the others in the worship band. You need a regular, interactive walk with God, spend time in regular prayer and devotion (both personally and collectively) and live out your life as a child of God. Worship leading is certainly not about being a great musician, although that certainly helps! You need to be able to lead not just music, but worship, which is a collective outpouring of praise and devotion to God, and for this you need to balance the confidence to lead with the humility to realise that it's never about you, and always about Him. I don't consider the need for formal qualifications, although some training can certainly help you along the way - far more important is to live a life that shows His glory to those you meet.

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Permalink Reply by martyn burt on September 12, 2008 at 2:04pm

Following on from all the good things that have been said so far you need to be a 'leader', someone who people can follow. Someone who models not only good lifestyle, but also has God at the centre. Spiritual heart is most important as is a passion for musical worship. However, from a practical point of view the leader needs to be able to 'lead'.

I have played with many different leaders in my time and some have bben great; however, some you have not got a clue where they are going as they are so lost in their own worship! A leader needs the musicians around him/her to be able to go with him/her. For example, to learn adequate signs, signals, musical clues that others know mean certain things. The worst I have encountered was one person who used to wave their arm around in a circular motion at certain times - did it mean get louder, get faster, go round that bit again, or wind up (finish) the song, or might it have been they were just worshipping themselves, we never knew!!

Also to have the trust and support of your church leader is essential so they can uphold you if there is any criticism (there will be!).

Finally, I have also heard it said that a church/music group cannot go anywhere that you have not been or are not prepared to go yourself. So if you have never led singing in tongues and are reluctant to do so, it is highly unlikely to happen, even if your church want it to!

(NB although i am a WL in my church I could never be the worship pastor which is a different thing entirely and involves a caring heart. I am too bolshy for that and have even been know to say 'we do the song the way I want and you follow me....'!! We are not all perfect!!)

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Read on September 14, 2008 at 5:55pm

I'd agree with pretty much all that has been said above (but did you ever meet a person with ALL of that nailed ?!?) - but certainly those sort of things are important, and in most churches qualifications are not. I don't even have grade 1 in anything.

One thing not been mentioned, possibly implied though, is servanthood. You need to be a servant to God, a servant to the church leader / pastor, and a servant to the congregation (they rely on you to lead them into the presence of God).

I'm not sure I completely believe the idea "that a church/music group cannot go anywhere that you have not been or are not prepared to go yourself", though. There may be some truth in it, but it's not by any means an absolute rule.

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Permalink Reply by Gav on September 14, 2008 at 8:42pm

i'd say Jesus is the best example of a worship leader. he led people to worship God and was humble, servant-hearted, spirit filled, relevant, thought provoking, encouraging, challenging and passionate etc. wow not too hard to emulate then!

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Permalink Reply by Rick Redmond on September 14, 2008 at 10:55pm

I would initially say that it depends upon your context. In today's church, corporate worship gathering revolves around the arts and around artistica expression. As we all know, the arts are probably the most subjective element of entire universe. Unlike inspired, biblical truth, they are not absolute with regard to "how it's done". Most worship leaders are artists, at least to some extent and are therefore subject to the onslaught of criticism that comes with the territory.

Hence, the key question. Does the worship leader understand a clear and biblical definition of "worship". Does he/she understand the difference between private/personal and corporate worship? Do they have at least the beginning of an exploration of what worship looked like in the Old and New Testaments and especially when God was prescribing it's form and order (He, of course, was the content Himself)?

Perhaps this sounds boring and academic. But as I continually rediscover and understand it, this is the place to start. Worship in a general sense is 24 & 7. I like Dr. Harold Best's description of God as a "continuous outpourer" of Himself upon creation. He described us in like manner as continuous outpourers as we reciprocate God's outpouring (blessing) upon us in worship of Him in everything we think, speak and do at every moment. Is that a lot? Yes! But it's the meat of the Christian life for the believer and especially the Worship Leader. Whatever happens on Sunday morning is a direct reflection and out flow of what happened (or didn't happen) during the 6 days prior.

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Permalink Reply by Rick Redmond on September 14, 2008 at 10:59pm

By the way, I agree with Daniel Read. Reality is that we are all hacking away at it day to day; stumbling along like a baby learning to stand and walk as, each time we fall down, Jesus reaches down in love and grace, embraces us and then makes us try all over again.......and again.....and again.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Stoakes on September 21, 2008 at 9:31pm

Paul,
I for one dislike the term "Worship Leader", and for the moment, we don't seem to have too many churches in this country that elevate the musicians up at the front into celebrity status. (Those that could be, are very down to earth and grounded in their own fellowships)
I have just read another thread on this site from “Rick Redmond” and I think I can see where this term "Worship Leader" is transforming into “Pop Idol” and “Worship” has become to mean “Worship Music”, a wholly saleable business commodity.
Try and not think of yourself as a potential “Worship Leader” but as just a humble servant of God, who given time and encouragement from your church community, is able to be up front, not attracting too much attention to themselves, but worshipping God and that will be the lead for others to emulate.
I thanks God that I am able to do what I do in my church, unpaid and stressed on occasions, but with the love, blessing and encouragement of the rest of the church.
Paul, just pray and be what God wants you to be and don't get hung up over titles. If people ask me what I do at church I tell them that I play the guitar and sing a bit and that's enough for me and “God” knows what my motives are.

God Bless .... Paul

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