Author: Jamie Brown

How Long Does Your Sunday Service Last?

It’s Monday afternoon and the Sanctuary is empty. The lights are off, the microphones are put away, the guitars are in their cases, the projectors are powered down, and the room is totally quiet. The people who just 24 hours earlier had filled the room are now scattered around the city – at their jobs, in class, at home, in their cars, at the Doctor’s office, in court, at an airport, in meetings, or maybe sitting on the couch.

We sang a handful of songs yesterday morning. We heard God’s word read to us and preached to us, we prayed together, and we shared the Lord’s Supper. From beginning to end the service took a little over an hour and a half. But for those people who are now scattered around the city, did it last any longer than that?

I ask myself: for the man who left his house at 5:30am to beat the traffic on his way to a job that he hates, or the Mom who couldn’t get any sleep because the stomach flu has now struck all five children, or the guy who left church yesterday afternoon and proceeded to get drunk at a downtown party that lasted until 3am – might the songs that we were singing just 24 hours ago have lasted into today?

It’s easy for worship leaders to get caught up in what they’re seeing in the room as they’re leading. Do people look engaged? How many hands are raised? Are people clapping? Is that guy scowling at me? How does it sound? Did people like that last song? Can anyone hear the electric guitar? On and on the questions go.

Sure, we should be concerned that people are engaged with God as they sing to him, that expressiveness is encouraged and modeled, and that the musicians lead effectively and skillfully. But it is possible to get so concerned with the here-and-now “how is this service going right at this moment” questions that we forget to ask ourselves the questions that matter more.

Are we singing songs that feed people with God’s truth? Am I seeking to point people to the glory of God in Jesus Christ? Are we, in our planning and in our leading, dependent on the Holy Spirit? Was Jesus made central today?

The fact is that very few people can remember a single song we sang yesterday. Even fewer will be able to remember them the next day. By the end of this week, hardly anyone could name a single song we sang this past Sunday.

This always amazes me, by the way, since I could probably tell you what songs we sang on a particular Sunday a couple of years ago. I think about songs a lot – which ones to sing, where we should sing them, how we should respond to a particular sermon most effectively, etc. –  and for some reason, I am able to remember them for months, if not years, later. Most people (thankfully) are not like this.

So on a Monday afternoon, a little over 24 hours since our Sunday morning service ended, it’s good to ask myself “how long did that service last?”

I want to plan services and choose songs that will feed people long after they go home, long after they get to the office, and long after the lies and deceptions of the world start grabbing hold.

For the woman who has lost all hope – she needs to know that “on Christ, the Solid Rock, I stand, all other ground is sinking sand…” not that I pick the newest and coolest songs.

For the man who is seeking pleasure from the world – he needs to know that “wonderful, so wonderful is (Jesus’) unfailing love” and that Jesus’ “cross has spoken mercy over me…” not that my bass player and drummer are totally locked in together.

This is incredibly freeing for worship leaders. And it’s incredibly serious.

Choose songs and plan services that will last longer than an hour and a half, and longer than Monday morning. Use every opportunity you have to point people to the glory of God and the truth of his word which never passes away.

It’s All About Jesus

As a full-time worship leader at a church with multiple weekend services, I planned a lot of services, picked a ton of songs, ran a bunch of rehearsals, and led a good amount of singing in 2009. I made plenty of mistakes, learned important lessons, and hopefully grew in my gifting.

Personally, it was an amazing year of preparing to be a father to Megan, and continuing to learn how to be a husband to Catherine. I love my family, love my church, and love my job. There were seasons of trial and testing, but God proves himself faithful and trustworthy time after time.

Looking back on the year, most weekends, song lists, and rehearsals kind of blend together. Certain services stand out, like the one when I was fighting the stomach flu and had to throw my guitar to a vocalist while I ran to the back room to vomit during the Lord’s prayer. (I made it back out just in time for the next song.) Or there’s the time we had someone disrupt a worship service to the point where the police had to handcuff them and lead them out. But over all, it was a year of just seeking to be faithful to God and his church, and trusting that by the work of his Spirit there was slow but steady growth taking place.

The one worship leading experience that stands out the most was when, in April, I was invited by my pastor to join him in leading a Good Friday service at the CIA, organized by a group of faithful Christians there. Obviously, this was not a setting in which I was familiar operating, but I was thrilled to go and grateful for the opportunity.

I remember praying and asking God how I should lead, what songs I should sing, what the response would be, how I should prepare, etc. I heard God say to me, plainly, “point them to the cross”.

So, at a noon Good Friday service in a conference room on the first floor, I sat at a keyboard and led a group of people in singing songs about the cross, and about what God had done for us in Christ. I will never forget it.

While that experience stands out above the rest as I look back over 2009, my job at that service was no different than a typical Saturday night service in June, or a Sunday morning service in October. And as I look forward to 2010, with at least two services per weekend, retreats, and other settings (familiar or not) in which I will be asked to lead, my marching orders are just as plain. To point people to the cross.

One year from now, when I look back on 2010 – at the services, the song lists, the planning, and the rehearsals – most of which will likely blend together, my prayer is that I will able to say that in every five, fifteen, or thirty minute slot I was given, I pointed people to the centrality of the cross, to the glory of God’s grace, and to the risen and exalted Savior.

This is the job of every worship leader – in a small church meeting in someone’s living room, a big church meeting in a large room, or in a Good Friday service in a Langley conference room – to point people to the cross. It’s all about Jesus. Happy New Year.

Things to Keep in Mind When Leading Worship on Christmas

Churches all around the world will meet several times over the next few days – for Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and then the weekend after Christmas. For many worship leaders and music ministries this is one of the busiest times of the whole year. Extra services, concerts, rehearsals, new arrangements, long days, late nights, and a lot of little details.

I’ll be helping to lead the music at a number of services at my church starting tomorrow. I thought it might be helpful to share a few things I try to keep in mind this time of year.

There will be more non-believers in the room than usual
I’ve already received a number of emails from people in the congregation who are bringing their non-Christian family members to our Christmas services. This is incredibly exciting, and my sincere prayer is that these people will not leave the building without having heard the Gospel clearly presented to them through every part of the service.

With a good number of non-believers in the room, I need to be aware as I’m leading that I am going to be looking out at some people who really want to be there, some who don’t want to be there at all, and some who are really nervous about what their brother or sister is thinking of the whole thing. My confidence is not in my ability to change people’s hearts or get a certain reaction – my confidence is in the power of the Gospel and in the work of the Holy Spirit (however obvious or hidden it may be).

We will be singing songs full of rich Gospel truth that people hear while shopping for shoes
“God and sinners reconciled.” “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.” “Come and behold him, born the King of angels.” “He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found…” Does Wal-Mart have any idea what amazing bible truth it’s playing through its speakers as people shop for the latest flat-screen TV? Probably not. Do most people give a second thought to the idea that God has reconciled us to himself through Jesus as they sing this song for the hundredth time? Probably not.

Do whatever you can to help people see and celebrate the truth we’re singing. Either by you or your pastor saying something very briefly, or more likely through yours and your worship team’s visible and genuine engagement with God as you sing, you can help these great songs not seem so much like harmless little jingles.

People are more emotionally charged at Christmas time than they are the rest of the year
Family is flying into town. Where will Uncle Steve sleep? Do we have enough ham? Will it feel less awkward this year than it did last year? Why did I put so much on my credit card?

I wish I had a family. Should I invite myself over to someone’s house? What will I say when people ask what I did for Christmas? No one loves me.

Every single person who steps onto this campus tomorrow night will have their own joys, their own sorrows, their own emotions, and their own secrets. I will never know even a fraction of what people are experiencing, whether joyful or difficult.

As a worship leader, it’s good for me to be aware of this for two reasons: First, I’ll lead more effectively and with more sensitivity if I’m seeking to care for and feed my fellow sheep. Secondly, I’ll be more eager to point people to Jesus – Immanuuel – God with us – the one who bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Keep Jesus central
Shame on any music ministry or worship leader who set out to dazzle with their creativity, impress with their musical polish, delight with their pomp, or entertain with their talent. They’re like a grand canyon tour guide who can’t stop talking about his shiny name badge. He distracts from the main attraction and reveals his own vanity. Compared to the splendor of the grand canyon, his name badge is nothing. People come to the grand canyon to see the grand canyon, not the tour guide. An effective tour guide points people to the main attraction and steps out of the way.

This Christmas, and all year round, point people to the greatness of God as revealed in his Son Jesus Christ, and then step out of the way. O come, let us adore Him.