The Servant Worship Leader
At a recent conference I attended, one of the artists compared the worship leader to a waitress or waiter; another artist said in a royal court, the worship leader would be the court jester, there to entertain the King; I’ve also heard the role of worship leader compared to an usher or a tour guide. While each of these comparisons needs a bit of explaining to comprehend the full meaning, the intent is clear – the worship leader is a servant – there not to fulfill his own personal needs, but to help others behold and lift their praises to the King.
At first, this role of a servant worship leader may seem a bit counter-intuitive. Isn’t the worship leader there to lead, not to serve? Did God really call us into this position just to be a servant to others? What about getting to be up in front of the congregation to lead my songs? But, as you study Scripture, you realize that Jesus puts a high value on being a servant, especially for those in leadership.
Matthew 20:26 says “But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,” and again in Matthew 23:11 He says “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.” What does it look like to a worship leader who is a servant? It needs to be lived out in all areas of your ministry, but let’s take a look at just a few – being a servant to your pastor, the team you lead and to your congregation.
Having a servant’s heart and attitude is perhaps nowhere more important than in the relationship between the worship leader and the senior pastor. The worship leader should constantly be thinking, “What can I do in this situation to help put the senior pastor in the best light possible?” Pointing out his flaws or idiosyncrasies to others will not only make him look bad, but it will tarnish your role as a servant leader. One of the best ways to be a servant to your pastor is to know and implement the vision of worship established by the leadership in your church, being flexible to those last minute requests, and making it your goal to go above and beyond what he expects from you.
How can you be a servant to those who serve alongside you in the worship ministry? It’s important to set the example, and let others see you being a servant. Are you willing to put your time in the nursery? To show up for the work day at church? Help set up the sound and projectors? Set up chairs for rehearsal? Try to make it your goal to make it as easy as possible for others in the worship ministry to do their job. Give them all the tools they need to do their job well. Be prepared for rehearsals and don’t waste their time.
Finally, being a servant to your congregation may be the most challenging aspect to fully grasp. Being up in front week after week, it’s very easy to let the lights, the applause, the excitement, the positive feedback pull your heart away from being that of a servant. How can you best serve your congregation as a worship leader? Make sure you are spending time on your own before the Lord in worship before Sunday morning. You are most able to serve them and meet their needs if you come with a full heart. Also, know your congregation – what songs will best allow them to express their praise to the Lord. It may not be your favorite songs. Being a servant means putting their needs ahead of your own.
Whether you see yourself as a waitress, an usher or a court jester, as a worship leader you are first a servant. Greatness, in the eyes of the Lord, is not determined by your guitar playing or vocal skills, how many songs you’ve written, or how much applause you receive. In order to be great, you must first be servant to all. We have the greatest example of this in Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself, became a servant, and gave His life for all the world.
-Barry Westman
Barry is a member of the All About Worship Team and the Worship Pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Wisconsin.
Video Interview w/ Dustin Smith, Part 1
Here’s part 1 of a recent interview we did with worship leader/songwriter, Dustin Smith. We’ll be featuring the interview on our podcast this month!
TSC Episode 14: Phil Sillas of Song DISCovery – Show Notes
Welcome to the March 2012 episode. We are excited to bring you an interview with Phil Sillas (pronounced “see us”), the A&R Director of Worship Leader Magazine’s SongDiscovery service. His role with SongDiscovery and experience as a songwriter provide Phil with significant exposure to the songs and songwriters that are driving modern worship music today. Phil shares his experience each month evaluating the hundreds of songs he receives, the importance of worship songwriters, and his opinion on what songwriters today are both getting right and wrong.
We also…
-Share the theme of our March song challenge (Holy Week and/or Easter)
-Talk about where you’ll be able to hear the great songs from our just completed songwriting contest AND…
-Drop hints about our next songwriting contest, tentatively scheduled to kickoff in April.
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A Leader of Worship
The hardest thing about being a worship leader isn’t trying to come up with a musically dynamic set list. It’s not working with a band or figuring out the dynamics of a worship team or learning how to dance with church leadership.
In my opinion, the hardest thing about being a worship leader is remembering that you are not just a song leader or a service leader; you are a leader in worship.
Anybody can sing a song (well, almost anybody) and it’s not hard to find someone to lead a service. Now, their skill level may determine the quality of the event, but it’s not hard to find someone to fill the spot.
But leading worship is not about performing a function; it’s about embodying a way of life.
If you think that worship is a song or a service, then you will have trouble understanding this concept. If you approach Sunday morning or any other regular service with the idea that this event is worship, then you no longer become a worship leader; you become a service leader or a song leader.
Being a worship leader has little to do with performing a primary service function on a Sunday and everything to do with embodying a lifestyle and permanent expression in response to God’s grace on our lives. Our lives are the expression of worship. Every moment of every day we embody what true worship is and the whole world looks at us to see if it’s authentic. How do they love their spouse, what kind of work ethic do they have, what kind of things do they talk about, do they live in accordance with the message they preach?
The way I always describe worship is this; worship is a life lived in response to the worthiness of Jesus as King. That’s a mouthful to chew on, but that is what true worship is.
When you apply this to a musical expression, you become acutely aware that worship has little to do with the four chords that I play or even how well I play them. If worship was excellence in music, then we would all put on Adele’s CD during our services and lift our hands in wonder and worship (forgive me those of you who don’t like her music. It’s not an endorsement, it’s just an example. She did sell almost 6 million of her 21 album last year).
Worship as a musical expression is more than just excellence and skill. While they are important, they alone do not make a song “worship”. And that is the thing most easily forgotten as a worship leader.
The hardest thing about being a worship leader is remembering that you are a leader in worship, not just a leader in music and song. While you can be a worship leader and be excellent in music, you cannot be excellent in music and assume that qualifies you as a worship leader.
John Piper says it like this:
“All of life is the outshining of what you truly value and cherish and treasure. Therefore all of life is worship. Either of God, or something else.”
If you desire to be called a leader in worship, then make sure your life is lived as worship to God before you step on stage. Then your worship will be a result of the life you live, not the song you sing.
-Ben Woodward
Ben Woodward is an award winning singer/songwriter and worship leader who travels all over the world teaching on worship and prayer. His new worship EP entitled The Worship EP is available from www.somethingelserecords.com or on iTunes.
Exclusive Interview with Sarah Lavigne
Wisdom Moon, founder of All About Worship, recently had the opportunity to interview up-and-coming worship leader/songwriter, Sarah Lavigne, about her life and music ministry.
Tell us about your personal journey of becoming a worship leader/songwriter.
Most people do not know this but I have only been leading worship for less than a year. My journey of
becoming a worship leader and songwriter started about 15 years ago. A believer since childhood, I went to a large christian high school where I started leading worship in our morning chapel services. It was here I started to see the calling God had on my life. I found myself writing songs and learning every worship song out there.
At 19 years old, after a missions trip to Kenya, which had me fighting for my life from malaria and typhoid fever confining me to a “hospital” in a refugee camp, I walked away from God. I was left wounded from the experience and confused about God’s involvement in my life and it settled into a gaping hole in my heart.
There followed years of absolute terrible behavior and bad decisions resulting in me being in a place I loathed…where I was physically, mentally and spiritually. I found myself laying on my Toronto loft floor, suicidal and desperate. It was then that I encountered God. He audibly spoke, softly saying, “I would have come if only for you.” It was there the song, “No Sweeter Name” was birthed. My Father reached down and loved me back to Him and saved my life. It wasn’t fast or quick, but, slow. He took His time as He walked me through all the twisted paths to forgiveness, restoration and healing.
Through that time I wrote many songs that brought healing to me and now hopefully will do the same for others. For it was truly my heart to God. I don’t want to ever forget that intimate time with my Heavenly Father as He gently took care of me. Without going into every detail about the years I spent away from the Lord, I realize now that those years held so much meaning and reasoning to where I am today.
Thank goodness the Lord factors in all my mistakes when He called my destiny. About six months later an opportunity to go to the Bethel School of Worship out in Redding, California became available to me. There I had more encounters with the Lord. In truth we all have encounters when we are His children, but I had now learned to recognize them and listen as Jesus spoke into my life.
I dove back in and passionately sought after God with everything I had. My past showed me truly that He was the only true and best thing ever to be found in this life for me. He saved me. It has now been a year and half that I responded to the Lord who was desperately working on loving me back to Him.
Who are some of your musical influences?
It is really hard to answer this as my influences are so wide. I really love everything from jazz to country to hip hop – though none are my personal style of music!
I would say though that Amanda Falk, A Canadian Artist who I’ve loved for years and had the opportunity to become friends with at the Bethel School of worship, would definitely be a big influence. She is an incredible singer/songwriter who inspires me. I absolutely adore this woman inside and out.
Daniel Bashta – He has something new and fresh which I truly believe is something our generation is looking for. His music stirs up something in my heart. His music is deep and not fluff! If that makes sense. I also love John Mayer, Anberlin and Coldplay to name a few. What can I say? These last 3 artists are simply a talented bunch I appreciate.
You’re good friends with Dave Fitzgerald. How did that friendship come about?
Dave and his wonderful wife Christy are two of the closest friends that my husband Seth and I have. Dave and I obviously connected first through music. It was at Bethel actually, where he recorded his record Hope of Heaven. Get his record if you don’t have it!
Dave and I have connected quite a bit this past year doing some worship and co-writing together. He may not know this or even realize it, but it is because of him that a lot has happened for me. He really invested in me and he is absolutely an inspiration and brings some great guidance to me.
You currently have a Kickstarter campaign going to raise money for a full-length album. What led you to pursue recording an album?
I recorded my first self-titled EP last year and did not have a whole lot of intention of recording a full record. It was just a thought sitting quietly in the back of my mind. I was working on getting married and immigrating to the U.S. as my husband is American. In our first few months of marriage I found myself holed up in Cato, NY.
Newly married and living on 20 acres in the middle of the forest far from anything. Due to not having a working visa yet, I had nothing to do but spend time in The Word and …..write, write and write some more. This was an interesting season that birthed new songs. Through all this writing I had done, it surprisingly began to open doors of opportunity to lead worship in different places.
Then, Dave Fitzgerald put me in touch with Conrad Johnson of Inertia Sound Studio in Lakeland. One thing led to another and it was very clear it was time to release these songs on a full length record.
What can we expect from the album?
What I want to happen on this record is for God encounters to take place in peoples lives. One thing I do NOT want is for this to be just another album on people’s iTunes playlist that does not change people’s lives.
I believe you can expect true and honest songs that have come from a place of desperation and hope and then healing. A real revelation of God’s pursuit to invade your soul and bring you into your destiny. Yup, it’s a pretty high expectation I have for this record. I am super stoked to have Conrad Johnson and Dave Fitzgerald along with some other amazing musicians and songwriters involved in this project.
How can our readers pray for you and get in touch with you?
Well, first pray that my Kickstarter campaign is successful! Also, pray that we put together production and continue to write and finish up songs for the album that will hold a clear direction and a road map that will reveal what the Lord wants to do with this record.
And finally, your readers can get in touch with me via my website at www.sarahlavigne.com and also my facebook page Sarah Lavigne Music!
Episode 61: Interview with Brian Doerksen
On This Episode, we:
-share a feature that our sponsor, WorshipPlanning.com, offers that allows you to see the most used songs at your church.
-feature an interview with Brian Doerksen – worship pastor and Integrity Music artist.
-have a visit with Ben’s assistant, Marie King, about her role.
-talk about the webinar on songwriting with Dave Fitzgerald coming up on Feb. 22nd at 8pm CST. Visit thesongwriterscafe.com for details and to register.
-share about the All About Worship Retreat coming up May 19-21 with Brenton Brown, Pocket Full of Rocks, Sarah Reeves, Dave Fitzgerald, and others. Visit worshipretreat.org for the details.
-feature a song by Brian Doerksen – “Enter The Rest of God”.
A special thanks to Brian for being our featured guest and Integrity Music for allowing us feature one of his songs. Also, a special thanks to our sponsor, WorshipPlanning.com.
QUICK LINKS
- Hosts: Wisdom Moon & Ben Abu Saada — check out their blogs
Connect with us:
- Comment Line: 913.735.4229
Stream or download this episode:
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Look At Them (worship leading tip)
When it comes to the role of a worship leader in any given church, we don’t all have the same philosophy of ministry. The job descriptions are as varied as doctrinal statements. And, so are the personalities and preferences of the worship leaders themselves. Some approach the role as “I’m standing up there to set an example of worship.” An extreme example of this is the leader who runs through song after song with his eyes closed, not giving any attention to the rest of the people in the room, and just hopes that they want to do what he’s doing. Others approach it with the thought “I’m up there to lead others in worship.” An extreme example might be the pro-active leader who tells everyone, every Sunday, to raise their hands in a song that mentions this expression of worship… or clap in a fast song… or… well, you get the picture.
With either mentality, we can not separate our role from the people we are responsible for leading. We have a primary responsibility to effectively engage others in worship – to set a tone that is hospitable, safe, and inviting.
We must remember that the overwhelming majority of those gathering in our buildings on Sunday mornings are not professional musicians. They are not soloists. They are not confident in their vocal abilities. And, yet, in order to fully participate in worship, we ask them to sing – like they mean it – loudly enough for their neighbors to hear them. (Can you feel them cringe when they walk in the door?)
How can we make this a pleasant experience? How can we encourage them? How can we better invite them in?
One small thing that will have a huge impact on our congregation, is eye-contact.
I recently had the opportunity to be a guest worship leader at a church I’d never stepped foot in before. Without having been introduced to the congregation, I led two of the songs in our worship set. I was aware of the fact that the church body had no idea who I was or why I was a part of the team that day. Even though I didn’t go through the “During this song, I want to invite you to…” spiel, I deliberately made eye contact with every corner of the room as we all sang the first song together. I looked at them. All of them. Of course, their eyes were on this stranger standing in front. They watched me. And, I took every opportunity to smile back, as if to say “I’m glad I’m here and I’m so glad you’re here with me. Let’s do this together.” I needed them to know that I wanted to connect with them. That I wanted them to participate. That I wanted to serve them. That I wanted to help them worship.
So, I looked at them.
By the time we began the second song, they were trusting and ready to deeply engage in worship with me. They didn’t know my name. They didn’t know where I lived. They didn’t know why I was there that day. But they knew, for that brief moment, that I was leading them in worship. And they followed.
Let me encourage you, whether you’re the head Worship Leader at your church or an alto in a choir of 80 members, look at those that you are asking to follow you. Let them know that you are aware of their presence. Connect with them. Invite them in. They will better follow. They will better worship. And you will better lead.
===
written by Mandy Thompson
This article was originally posted on TheWorshipCommunity.com
What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree?
Kari Jobe :: Kari Jobe (10 Second CD Review)
This is called a 10 Second CD Review, because it will only take you about 10 seconds to read the review. The ratings below are out of 5, with 1 being poor and 5 being outstanding.
PRODUCTION: 3
(quality of production)
LYRICS: 3.5
(theological accuracy, fresh lyrics)
MUSIC: 3
(composition)
VOCALS: 3.5
UNIQUE/ORIGINAL: 3.5
USABILITY: 3
(usability of songs in congregational worship)
OVERALL: 3.5
SONGS THAT STAND OUT: I’m Singing, Everyone Needs A Little, Beautiful
Don’t just take my word for it. Listen for yourself and leave a comment here.
Review by Wisdom Moon
Where Faith Comes From :: Jared Anderson (10 Second CD Review)
This is called a 10 Second CD Review, because it will only take you about 10 seconds to read the review. The ratings below are out of 5, with 1 being poor and 5 being outstanding.
PRODUCTION: 4.5
(quality of production)
LYRICS: 3.5
(theological accuracy, fresh lyrics)
MUSIC: 4.5
(composition)
VOCALS: 3
UNIQUE/ORIGINAL: 4
USABILITY: 3
(usability of songs in congregational worship)
OVERALL: 4
SONGS THAT STAND OUT: Pleasing To You, Glorified, Promises, Beauty of The Lord
Don’t just take my word for it. Listen for yourself and leave a comment here.
Review by Wisdom Moon
Vicky Beeching Is Multi-Talented
Here’s Vicky on a TV program playing the guitar and the harmonica. Click here to read her blog post about the All About Worship Podcast.
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