Every church needs to be training up new worship leaders. But what does that mean?
Here are some things we will want our trainee worship leaders to learn, and to keep in mind….
- Have a progression in your plan from (say) declarative to heart-response; start with objective truths about God
- Build on the Bible
- Promote an awareness of God’s presence early in the meeting
- Get people actively engaged early in the meeting. (Singing can do this, but there are other ways)
- First giving, then receiving; find ways for people to give/minister to the Lord as the prime objective. (As against consumerism and “us feeling good” as the prime objective)
- We need accessibility to a range of temperaments
- Worship in Spirit and truth, truth including common sense (ref. the meanings of some songs!)
- 1 Cor 14:24-25 is one indicator, though not a goal, of ‘good’ worship: ` if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”
- Worship should bear fruit in stronger commitment to the Lord and his mission, and not tend toward passivity
- Each service should be in the context of the ongoing life of the whole church and what the Lord’s doing among us
- Liaise with the preacher
- Don’t undermine the sermon’s message
- Liaise well with the band
- Avoid gloom (though tears and repentance have their place)
- Avoid triumphalism (though there is triumph, joy, celebration, confidence etc)
- Don’t jerk people around rapidly from one ‘mood’ to another
- Be ready to deviate from your original plan
- Learn the practicalities of taking contributions from the floor
- Bless people on their way out
Have a look at http://nextlevelworship.com/ and http://www.worshipteamtraining.com/. And a few weeks of watching pastors.com will be well worthwhile!
(Note: This is a guest blog for which I’m grateful to a friend who wants to remain anonymous, but is the best worship leader I’ve ever worked with, and from whom I’ve learned a very great deal…)
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