Female worship leaders

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Permalink Reply by Pete Collins on 5 October 2007 at 9:31pm

Personally, I fully support any lady/girl/woman who wants to be a worship leader.
Men are great, but God has gifted many of the female species with amazing voices, and great talent.

You can have the same problems with it as you do with men, for instance idolising the worship leader, a la Tim Hughes. And obviously, men are less mature than women, so it may be more of a hindrance.
But it is the worshippers responsibility to edify the worship leader by supporting them, acting appropriately and focusing on God, whether they're men or women.

Problems: Women are pretty to look at.
Strengths: They're pretty to look at.

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Permalink Reply by Diane Luna on 29 May 2008 at 10:24pm

Yey Tim!!!

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Permalink Reply by Steve Lane on 29 May 2008 at 8:21am

Hi Amy

I know this is quite an old discussion now, but as Tim has found it and resurrected it I have just seen it so will add my two penny worth.

I have played alongside a young lady in our church (early 30's) who was very good in leading. By that I mean she was very much in tune with what God wanted to do at a particular moment and could cofortably move where she was being led. The only difficulty that she had (and this is not a generalistaion) was that she found it very difficult if someone made a suggestion for improvement or change (and I guess we are now bordering on criticism). She would really end up taking a back seat and not wanting to lead which I always told her was a waste and tried to encourage her to continue. She and I could always talk and if we discussed a praticular aspect of leading worship she was able to accept what I was saying even if it was a way of improving. (I'm the old man in the team at 46 LOL)

There are some very good female worship leaders, singers and songwriters and I think that there should be room for all styles of leading worship and at the same time we should have both male and female.

So good on you girls keep up the good work.

God Bless Steve

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Permalink Reply by Wulf Forrester-Barker on 29 May 2008 at 10:24am

Is gender an issue? In general, women will find it easier to sing in a lower key (at a higher octave) but, unless leading a gender-specific meeting, the worship leader will need to consider songs that will work for both men and women.

Wulf

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Permalink Reply by Mark Kendal on 29 May 2008 at 4:43pm

My wife's one of our worship leaders and I think she's brilliant! (not that I'm biased!)

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Permalink Reply by Diane Luna on 29 May 2008 at 10:24pm

Yey Mark!!!

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Permalink Reply by Diane Luna on 29 May 2008 at 10:23pm

I agree with this - I have most songs figured out somewhere that both men and women can sing comfortably - and then at a womens retreat I transpose them to something easier for women. I do find there really isn't a perfect answer because men and women vocally are created different - and then within the genders they are even more different (soprano v/s alto, etc) and lots of songs have the melody of the chorus written higher than the melody of the verse. For those types songs I usually make sure the chorus is singable for all, even if the guys have trouble singing the verse with me because it's too low. Plus if I put it where the chorus is too high for ME, then I can't sing it properly with emphasis on the chorus.

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Permalink Reply by Anita Seals on 6 July 2008 at 8:52pm

I am an occassional music leader, and find it harder to lead when the full-time leader is playing, than when he isn't, as he tends to do things his way and forgets to let me lead! However, I feel that leading can be done by a woman, just as well as a man. I sing high, but obviously have to go with what is most comfortable for the congregation. I feel that the more I lead the music, the easier it becomes, but I can understand how stressful it can be, when things outside of your control go wrong, like the sound desk, powerpoint etc,, you have to have a good team of people working in all areas and I always try to thank everyone for their participation, and foremost I enjoy the worship, as , afterall that's what we are there for!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Read on 6 July 2008 at 10:05pm

"as he tends to do things his way and forgets to let me lead!"

She is right. I am guilty as charged.

Also, on the topic of the main discussion, I am willing to be educated here, and not much good at music theory, but I always reckoned that if you keep things as much as possible between the B just below middle C and top D (and then try not to have sustained notes around the top end), then most people will cope. Certainly the principle of pitching the songs for the congregation, rather than for the leader, is the correct one. There are songs for which this is not possible and I consider that to be a problem with the song and not with the worship leader: if you are writing songs for performance then you can do what suits you but if you write songs for congregations to sing it is another matter.

What has this to do with female worship leaders? Everything and nothing - I don't think there are different rules for men and women here, but if someone is gifted to lead worship, whoever they are, they are there to serve the congregation and they need to find the best way of doing this within their own vocal range and talents.

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Permalink Reply by Julia Chantrell on 6 July 2008 at 9:45pm

I don't think gender is an issue - what can be an issue is what one plays! I've also been on the leading rota at St. John's, but I usually play the flute, and it's very awkward to lead with a wind instrument - because I can't sing / speak and play at the same time...

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