I've been spending a lot of time with my guitar lately. Last month I led worship at a church in Michigan and it reminded me how important worship leading is. I was reading an article today and I thought Rob Still had some great points that I wanted to share with everyone! Sometimes it's so easy for us to get wrapped up in the band, or which songs, or even whether or not we like the singer's voice, but it's so much deeper than that. As a worship leader, you are called to lead everyone not only musically but also spiritually. It's a big challenge!
~Tony
1. Leading worship is … primarily a spiritual activity.
”God is spirit. He is looking for worshipers in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
“Worship of the true and living God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible” David Peterson, Engaging God (20, 283).
2. Leading worship is secondarily a musical activity. Nevertheless it is to be done skillfully (Psalm 33)
3. The leadership aspect varies according to your role. Not only do you lead with your instrument or voice, you also lead with your whole countenance and how the congregation experiences you.
4. Leading Worship is a combination of art forms requiring skill, talent, aptitude, knowledge, understanding, insight, wisdom and discernment.
- Music is an art.
- Leadership is an art. So is preaching of the word.
- Leading Worship is a unique art form converging these aspects with spiritual sensitivity and “anointing” – that is, the power God to do His work, His way.
5. As a leader of worship therefore, you are called to a lifestyle of personal spiritual growth and maturity that is, discipleship.
- No, you don’t have to suddenly become “super spiritual”. You do however, need to understand that your role is much more than learning and playing music.That’s where this is going. Leading worship is primarily a spiritual activity.
- There is grace for you to start as you are, where you are, right now. You just have to be headed towards growing in the Lord.
6. To lead spiritually therefore, by definition, you can not take people where you have not gone yourself. So you have to lead yourself deeper spiritually in order for people to follow your leadership.
- You lead by the overflow of your heart. (Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45)
- David is a primary example of a heart that pleases God. He is a “man after God’s own heart” and is commended as a model to imitate (Is 55:4). Therefore we will reference regularly how to cultivate a heart of worship like David’s. This is the type of heart God is looking for.
Rob Still is a worship leader, artisan, instructor and blogger in Nashville TN. He teaches at conferences and extensively on the mission field in eastern Europe – and blogs atRobStill.com.
