cultivate

In my 8 years of leading worship, I’ve learned a lot, primarily through mistakes and failures, about the process of choosing the right songs for corporate worship gatherings. In the beginning, my philosophy was simplistic – “what can I play?”  This eventually moved into the less simplistic philosophy of “what do I like?” I then moved forward a step or two to “what will they like?” Back then, I lacked wisdom and understanding not only about leading worship, but about worship itself.  I have come to learn more and more over the years that the way we understand worship must be the foundation of how and why we choose the songs we do.

The word “worship comes from the old English word “worth-ship,” which denoted the worth of someone or something, typically a noble or king. To say you are worshiping is essentially to express the worth of something or someone. To put it simply, worship is responding to the worth of God. Tim Keller takes it a step further by saying that worship is (a) seeing what God is worth, and then (b) giving Him what He is worth.

Singing Songs vs. Leading Worship

So as we lead a congregation or people in worship, our aim is to proclaim to the worth of God, and within this to invite people to appropriately respond to God in light of His worth.  One without the other leads to a lopsided worship experience.  In understand this, we choose songs that both proclaim the greatness and worth of God (which is why songs with good theology are important) and are accessible – in that they invite and allow people to respond to God in song.

But we also know that worship is not an isolated, musical event. Worship is an all-encompassing act of declaring the highest worth of God. This includes, corporately speaking, other elements in the service, including the preaching/teaching time.  Because of this, leading worship must be collaborative, especially between the worship leader and the pastor/speaker. When the musical worship and the message move together to (a) proclaim the worth of God and (b) invite response, we are left with a cohesive and effective worship experience, where both music and message proclaim God and invite response to Him. For me personally, I feel it’s my responsibility to have an understanding of where the pastor/speaker is going with the message in order to choose songs that help reveal God and respond to Him.

This is precisely why we cannot choose songs based neither on our own preference and feelings, nor those of the congregation. It’s not enough to simply peruse the “greatest hits” catalogue for what will garner the biggest response. Choosing songs must be an intentional, pastoral act of revealing God and inviting response to Him. So in that thought, here are some questions to help guide us in our song selection:

1.    What is this song saying about God?

Is it theologically sound? Does it reveal God in the manner that you intend?

2.    Is the song accessible to the congregation?

Is it too wordy? Is it sing-able (too high, too low, too fast, too slow)? Is it easy to understand? Can you sing it?

3.    Where is the song taking people?

Is the song effective in where you are intending to lead people (intentional, pastoral)?

Don’t Over-Think It!

            While choosing songs for congregational worship should be an intentional, pastoral act, it certainly shouldn’t be a rigid, lifeless, over-calculated process. Ultimately, we rely on the Holy Spirit to lead both us individually and our church as a congregation. It is the Holy Spirit, and He alone, that is able to reveal God through our music and song. We are facilitators of God revealing Himself through song and Word. No amount of our talent, intellect, and best intentions will reveal God – only the Holy Spirit through these elements. The other ditch in which we often swerve is the “just-go-for-it-and-let- the-Holy-Spirit-do-whatever” philosophy. I argue that this isn’t much like worship at all in that it requires very little of our actions and intentions in honoring God as leaders. We aren’t called to simply worship, but to lead people in worship. This should engage our hearts pastorally to lead people to know and respond to God in music and in life.

A Foot in the Past and in the Future

Another temptation that is easy to fall in as a worship leader is to get stuck in a rut by choosing songs from the same writer (Tomlin, Redman, Crowder), Church/Ministry (Hillsong, Vineyard, Passion),  or time period (hymns, Maranatha, 90’s Vineyard, progressive-modern). Many times we identify a particular style, period, or songwriter(s) with a time in which we experienced God in a deep way. In turn, we project our preference and style onto others unintentionally by trying to lead them back to the place of your worship. What we fail to understand often is that God is not bound in a particular style, period, genre, or time. For me, I believe we are most effective when, musically, we delve deep into both the past and the future. We honor the hymns of the past with their rich and vibrant theology, even using them as a foundation for present and future songwriting. We seek musical/spiritual innovation and growth of the future. In the tension between the past and the future, we find a fresh and vibrant present, in which we engage and respond to God in the here and now.

Don’t Be Afraid!

            In conclusion, don’t be afraid to dream, to take risks, and to fail. As I said at the beginning, most of what I’ve learned and continue to learn is from mistakes and failures. We will try and fail and make plenty of mistakes as we continue to lead, and that’s fine, because God uses these moments to shape us both as worshipers and leaders. Go confidently in your calling as a worship leader, and as you – yourself – see God’s worth, I pray you respond to Him by giving Him everything He deserves – your song, your giftings, your life.

I ran into an old friend today who is a very talented musician. He plays for the most part, if I understand right, outside of the church. He was asking about the music at my church, and in the middle of me trying to describe it unsucessfully, he said, “Like U2?”

He’s not the first person I’ve heard who assumed our worship music to sound like U2. It got me thinking about how much  worship leaders of today rebel against the “status quo” of so many churches who settle on musical styles that would have been appropriate in 1983. My question is this: Are we becoming the very thing we hate the most?

The truth is, we do try to sound like U2, like 99% if every other worship band out there. It’s what we feel comfortable with. For the most part, almost all of the more “famous” worship leaders and songwriters have exactly the same sound that I’ve described: four-on-the-floor, driving, ambient pop rock. There’s nothing wrong with this; it’s fun and lively and engaging. But for how long?

At what point, as leaders, do we forge new ground musically? I think it depends on whether or not we intend (consciously) to be ahead of the “status quo” or behind, or if we are even paying attention at all. It is far more comfortable to stay in a style that’s more comfortable, but it’s far more missional to stretch ourselves as worshipers and leaders by being willing to step out from behind trying to constantly duplicate “Where The Streets Have No Name.”

As for me, I’m in the process of selling one of my acoustics and buying an electric and some gear. I’ve been leading from electric (with borrowed gear) a lot more lately, and it’s really been energizing. Hopefully we can grow our music into a style of our own, that’s both congregational and missional in style and purpose.

Any thoughts out there?

Justin

I’ve been leading worship now for almost 6 years, and about 5 of those years have been in some sort of capacity within a local church; this, of course, along with several years of traveling with a band leading worship for conferences, retreats, youth groups, etc. When I began to lead worship, I could never have imagined all the places God would take me. I don’t say this as a point of arrogance, but sincerely as a point of broken humility. As I grow and mature as a worshiper and follower of Jesus, I look back at these years thankful for God’s grace and goodness towards me, because there were certainly many occasions when the attitudes and actions of my heart did not glorify the One I claimed to worship. Countless times my pursuit was my own “selfish ambition and vain conceit” as described in Philippians 2. For years I allowed the comfort of talent to proceed the call of character in my own life and in those whom I led with. I allowed relational issues to proceed the desires of God. In essence, I move forward as a leader having learning some very painful lessons about what it means to be loyal to Christ before I am loyal to my career.
As I’ve moved ahead as both a leader and follower, I have noticed that there are essentially 2 paths a leader, especially in worship, can take.
The first path is the ladder. In this path, you see God’s gifts and talents that He’s given you as a means to further your position or agenda. This is a very subtle path and is often taken with the best of intentions. Often we firmly believe God has given us a vision for the life we desire, and we let nothing stand in the way of climbing and reaching this vision. If asked, very few leaders will claim they’ve been or are on this path. It’s so easy to always look for the next step up, whether that be a better job, a record deal, a better schedule, etc. Unfortunately, this path upward gets our head in the clouds, where the lines between our vision and God’s will get blurred and we ultimately glorify ourselves above God.
The second path is the cross. In this path, the gifts, talents, and vision God has given us is not a means of our own empowerment, but an altar for our own sacrifice. The path of the cross is marked by a heart to serve rather than be served, even if the gifts and talents we’ve been given are not the focus. In fact, the vision God has given those of this path remains true whether or not the gifts and talents are even present. Their vision is Jesus, pure and simple. And it’s in that vision that they marched forward, often unnoticed, to the place where they might give everything that they are away on cross, just like the One they follow.

I say this looking back at the last few years, knowing God is in the process of pulling me down off the ladder and leading me to the cross. It’s not been easy and it’s been painful at times, but with every step towards the cross, the vision of Jesus becomes all the more clear. I pray now, that in God’s goodness, He might continue to lead me off the ladder and onto the cross, because this, according to Romans 12:1, is what it means to worship.