Leading a congregation – Page 24

The Difference a Few Words Can Make

What’s the difference between saying “let’s clap our hands” and “let’s celebrate God’s greatness by clapping our hands together”?

Just a few words.

And a big distinction.

In the first case, I’m asking people to respond to my desire for them to clap – by clapping.

In the second case, I’m asking people to respond to the greatness and glory of God by clapping.

Would most people notice the difference? Maybe not. Is it a huge difference? No. But do those few words make any difference? I would argue that they do.

The scary reality is that if a worship leader asks a congregation to do something, a good majority of people will do it. For example, if I got up on Sunday morning and said “let’s kneel as we sing this song”, then most people will kneel. Will they know why I’m asking them to kneel? No. They’re mainly kneeling because I asked them to.

Some worship leaders get used to this power, and get in the habit of giving short posture instructions every know and then. If you’re really brave you’ll say something like “let’s lift up a shout!” and maybe some brave people will.

We don’t often get the opportunity to give lengthy exhortations and/or teachings on the topic of physical expressiveness in worship. Sometimes (most of the time?) all we get is those five seconds in between a chorus and a verse. If we beef up those few-seconds-long exhortations with a bit more God-centered truth, the cumulative effect over a year could be substantial.

I encourage all of us to look for ways to add context to our brief exhortations, if and when they occur. Instead of “let’s lift our hands” try “let’s exalt our Savior with our bodies and lift our hands in praise”. Instead of “clap your hands everybody!” try “In Psalm 47 we’re encouraged to ‘clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!’ let’s respond to God’s glory by clapping our hands together.”

It might feel clunky and unnatural at first. You’ll definitely revert backwards once in a while. But stretch yourself and feed your congregation, a few words at a time.

Here’s an example of how I did this a few Sunday mornings ago at my church while leading Matt Redman’s “The Glory of Our King”.

Don’t Teach Too Many New Songs During the Summer

It’s summertime. In Washington D.C. that means two things: First, it’s ridiculously hot. Secondly, everyone goes on vacation.

This is the time of year when people take advantage of the kids being out of school and the weather being warm to get away. Especially in the nation’s capital, when congress isn’t in session, people scatter. It’s amazing how much shorter my commute is to and from work!

During the first couple of summers at my church I made the mistake of introducing too many songs. I began to realize that, especially during July and August, a larger percentage of people are missing on Sundays than usual. So when I was introducing new songs, it took them longer to catch on since they were newer to more people for longer.

In the months of the year when most people are in town, it might take a song two or three Sundays to get familiar. In the summer months, it might take four or five. It depends on the song, of course.

It’s good to keep your repertoire from getting stale and to introduce new songs – but during the summer months you might want to slow the rate down. Introduce a new song and then wait three weeks to introduce another one. In the interim, if you’re desperate for something fresh, pull out an older song you haven’t done in a while and change up the arrangement. Or find a hymn your congregation doesn’t know very well and use it. A critical mass of people will have heard the hymn before and they’ll help you carry it.

You never know how many people are going to be away on a Sunday. Some Sundays are more full than usual, and then other Sundays you wonder where everyone went. You’re probably better off leaning towards more familiar songs in either case and introducing new songs more slowly. Make sure you get a vacation too!

What To Do With The Fourth of July

In case you haven’t noticed, the fourth of July falls on a Sunday this year. As a worship leader, what do you do? It can be an awkward Sunday to know what songs to pick, how much attention to pay to the fact that’s Independence Day, how much weight to give to people’s preferences, etc.

Here are some brief thoughts on what to do:

Submit to your pastor. Ask him what he has in mind. If you disagree, communicate that with him in a godly and humble way. But at the end of the day, you won’t be honoring God by dishonoring your pastor.

Choose songs wisely. I would strongly encourage you to stay away from most, if not all, patriotic songs in church. I think these songs are fine to sing at BBQ’s and fireworks shows, but not in the context of corporate worship. You want to avoid songs that sing to America or about America. Songs that pray prayers for the world, our nation, and/or our cities are more appropriate.

If your pastor wants you to lead a patriotic song and you’re uncomfortable with it, I’d suggest you do two things: First, see my first point. Communicate with him beforehand why this makes you uncomfortable, and propose a different song you think would be more effective. Second, if your pastor listens to you and still asks you to lead a patriotic song, then submit to him and do it.

When and if you have to lead a patriotic song that your pastor requests, then you might consider introducing the song on Sunday morning by saying: “Our pastor, (insert his name here), has asked that we sing this song together. So let’s stand and sing.” This way the congregation knows this is something their pastor has asked for, not you. Don’t do this in a subversive way. And ask him if he’s comfortable with you doing so.

Or better yet, ask your pastor to introduce the song himself. Tell him you respect his decision and will plan on using the song, but that since you’re uncomfortable with it, you’d really appreciate him introducing it.

Find ways, other than singing, to recognize and celebrate God’s good gift. Devoting a good portion of the service to praying for this world, this nation, our communities, the military, and our leaders is a good way to recognize that it’s the fourth of July. We don’t want to ignore the fact that it’s Independence Day. We just want to avoid the temptation to do so at the expense of the firm centrality of the gospel in our weekly meetings.

Worship God freely. God, in his sovereignty, has placed those of us who live in America in a country where we can worship him freely. By singing songs that magnify his glory and his grace – we are exercising that God-given freedom. So it’s good and appropriate to thank God for this country, thank all the men and women who have fought and died to protect our freedom, and pray for our leaders. But it’s even better to use that freedom to thank God for the victory he’s won for us through his Son. That victory is what we’ll sing about for all eternity!

The Wonderful Relief of Not Having to Dress Cool

I only own one plaid shirt. And I feel silly wearing it. Sort of like a farmer but for some reason farmers can actually pull it off. Oh, and cool people. Sure, I know plaid shirts are “in” but I just can’t do it.

And tight jeans? The jeans that make your legs look like twigs? No way would I ever even try those things on. I can tell you right now I’m not cool enough to wear them.

Last July, when the national worship leader conference was taking place in Kansas City, I remember following what was happening at the conference on Twitter and seeing a slow but steady stream of comments on how many worship leaders were wearing plaid shirts. Someone referred to them as the “staple of the cool worship leader uniform”. That and thick-rimmed glasses.

And for a moment, I found myself thinking, “I don’t dress like a cool worship leader”. And I was right. I don’t. And I felt self conscious about it. For a few minutes.

There is a wonderful relief that comes from not having to dress cool. A pair of khakis and a blue shirt never get old. Nor do jeans and a polo shirt. Hey, I’ve even been known to wear crocs to a Saturday evening service from time to time. They’re comfortable. Horribly ugly, but comfortable.

By the way, I was roundly mocked by members of my worship team for wearing socks with crocs. Apparently that is not cool. I did take their advice on this one.

In the words of my old youth pastor, I say all of that to say this: worship leaders shouldn’t feel the need to dress cool. Once you start down that road, it never ends. There will always be a new fashion trend, a new shirt you have to buy, a new pair of cool shoes, a graphic tee, glasses frames, and maybe even a tie if you’re fancy. And it’s not worth it. Who does it impress? And why does it matter? Why spend all the time and energy on something so fleeting?

(Caveat: being too far on the “un-cool” side of things can be just as great a distraction as being “too cool”. Rocking a Santa Claus sweater at Christmas time, sporting a nice pair of knee-high black socks with flip flops and jean shorts, or showing off your 1970’s era orange bell-bottoms might not be a good idea either.)

I would argue that worship leaders should be comfortably neutral in what they wear. Be yourself, be modest, be mindful of your context, and beware the temptation to “dress to impress”.

If I accomplish “dressing cool”, but in the process cause the man in the third row to be distracted by trying to read what my shirt says, then I’ve failed. I’d rather fail at dressing cool and succeed in not getting in the way of God receiving people’s attention. Khakis and a blue shirt. You can never go wrong.

When to Give Verbal Cues – Pt. 2

Yesterday I shared some examples of when it can actually be helpful, and not annoying, for worship leaders to give verbal cues (i.e. say the upcoming lyrics before they’re sung). When it’s just a bad/nervous habit, it can be distracting and irritating. When it’s done sparingly and necessarily, then it can actually serve people.

Here are some more instances when you might want to give a verbal cue to the congregation:

When it’s not clear when they should start singing again
Most people know that after you sing the first half of a line, you immediately sing the second half. They don’t need your help to figure that out. But occasionally there might be an instrumental interlude, or a longer-than-usual pause, or a non-congregational portion of a song. It can be helpful to cue your congregation that you’re about to start singing together again, especially when that entry-point might not be so intuitive for the average person.

When the next line is the key line
Since people can easily tune out and be thinking about what’s for dinner instead of what’s coming out of their mouths, it can be helpful to draw their attention to a key line of a song to help draw their attention to it. If done sparingly, this can be effective. If done too frequently, it’s not effective at all.

For example, if I’m leading “How Great Thou Art”, I might jump in on the second verse and say “…my burden gladly bearing…” just before we sing it. It helps underline that what was accomplished on the cross was that Jesus took my burden on sin upon himself.

When a cue helps emphasize Gospel truth, it’s an effective cue.

Try to think carefully about when and why you give a prompt of upcoming lyrics so that they’re as effective and helpful as possible. Just put yourself in the shoes of the congregation and be as mindful as you can of doing practical things to help lead them, in a clear way, in magnifying and exalting the glory of God.