Integrity in Worship Leading

Adapted from an article by Scot Longyear.

by Rev. Brian Ranjan, Senior Pastor of Putera Aman Assembly, Seri Kembangan



I would like to share some thoughts on worship leading, borrowing from Scot Longyear's article on 'Worship Leading Essentials' and making it relevant for us in Malaysia.



Worship Leaders Lead Worship

The road to 'true worship' begins with a right attitude to worship. For the worship leader, daily time with God is a non-negotiable. Your spiritual base is more important than your vocals and your leadership ability. Worship leaders lead worship. They don't lead music. So where are you when it comes to your spirituality and worship leading? Here is a good test. Listen to the things that you say before a set or a song, or listen to the prayers that you pray during a set. Are they words that are coming from your quiet time? Are they the same old tired things that have been overused and are simply not authentic? This can become a checkpoint for us. We hear phrases like, 'We love you God, We praise you, You are good' but they are borrowed rather than being original. There is simply no substitute for connecting with the One we have given our life to. Stand as an authentic worshipper of God, connecting daily to the word, letting the Holy Spirit shape your life like Christ.



Letting Go

Is my guitar in tune? How is the tempo? Is everyone participating? Sounds like the keys missed a note. Are the vocals loud enough? What is the next song? I think I forgot the transition coming up . . . . The list never ends. The real question is: How do we deal with all the details and actually worship while we are leading? Close your eyes. Sometimes we have to close our eyes just to shut the room out and focus our singing and playing towards God. Our eyes can find too many distractions, which sets our mind running ('Is that guy leaving or going to the bathroom'). When we close our eyes, we hear and feel the music, concentrate on the words, focus our attention on God and it sets an example to the people we lead. People see that we are not focused on the music, but on God and they are visibly encouraged to do the same.



Open Your Eyes Too!

It's a delicate balance. Part of being a worship leader is 'to be lost in the worship.' Let's not go so far ahead of people that we leave them in the behind. When we are not paying attention to the people's response, we can actually overlook the people who are praying or crying. How can we define a successful worship gathering? I'm sure you've heard members say "... that was bad worship." We can define a successful worship by answering this simple question: Were people able to connect with Christ? At the end of the day our purpose should be to draw people to God and to experience the touch of God. The truth of the matter is that you are not in control; God is. And He is bigger than anything that might happen. Do your absolute best and have fun. If you enjoy leading, it will tell through your face. Get so lost in worship that you naturally draw others along with you and God finds your worship so appealing that He can't help but show His pleasure, and you can't help but smile.