Leading – Page 43 – Worthily Magnify

How to Ask Your Congregation to Stand Up

pews In the more informal services at my church, the worship leader is usually the one who invites people to stand at the beginning of the service. In other churches or in more formal services, either the church’s pastor will do this, or the first hymn will just start and signal that everyone should probably stand up.

I’ve seen worship leaders invite their congregations to stand in some pretty funny ways.

Some are timid or nervous and don’t quite know what to say. They might say something like “uh, hi everyone, please find your seat, uh, please stand up, and please, uh let’s sing this first song ‘How Great is Our God’”.

Well, if you say so.

Some are overconfident and come across like they had a bit too much coffee to drink. “Hello everybody! I said hello everybody! Alright, that sounds more like it. Now let’s stand to our feet and worship the Lord! I said let’s stand to our feet and worship the Lord! Are you with me? Yeah! One, two, three, four!”

I think I might have a headache.

Others just say random things like “get on up!” (reminds me of a James Brown song) or “please rise” (reminds me of a legal proceeding).

When it comes to the very first thing a worship leader says in an entire service, it’s important that they not come across as nervous, annoyingly enthusiastic, flippant, or robotic.

Just relax, make eye contact, and say something simple like “good morning everyone, why don’t we stand together and sing to the Lord”. It’s confident, simple, and clear. Or “let’s stand together this morning and proclaim God’s glory as we sing”. It doesn’t need to be fancy or eloquent. It shouldn’t be more than a sentence or two.

It’s not the most difficult thing in the world – and it may come easily to many worship leaders – but it’s easy to overlook until you get onto the platform on Sunday morning. Just treat your congregation like your family and kindly invite them to stand. An awkward start is just plain awkward. A smooth start makes things easier.

Oftentimes at my church we’ll start playing a few measures of the opening song, and then I’ll ask the congregation to stand before we start singing. Here’s an example of how I did that a few months ago before singing “Praise the Lord” by Bob Kauflin and Doug Plank from Sovereign Grace Music (it’s on their Psalms CD). You’ll hear people chattering at first, and even a bit during the first verse, but slowly people join in, and by the chorus we’re all singing together.

Where’s the Passion?

dance In 2 Samuel 6, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought back into Jerusalem, David “danced… with all his might”. Take that description literally and just imagine how David looked. Undignified enough to draw the mocking of his wife Michal – but not nearly undignified enough for David to think about pulling back.

In Mark 14, a woman pours perfume on Jesus’ head. This perfume is expensive (worth “…more than year’s wages…). She didn’t hold any back (“she broke the jar…”). She drew the mocking of those around her (“they rebuked her harshly”). But Jesus was honored enough to say “she has done a beautiful thing to me”.

When I stand in front of a congregation to lead them in worship, do I resemble David or Michal? Am I worshipping “before the Lord” or too worried about my dignify? Am I willing to become “even more undignified” or do I look upon such behavior as worthy of contempt?

When I leave a service on Sunday morning, can I look back and say that I “broke the jar” – giving my all to worship Jesus? Did it cost me anything? Or did I hold back for fear of rebuke or for fear of giving up too much? Do I resemble Mary, whose worship was “beautiful” to Jesus, or the people who look upon such extravagant worship with suspicion?

Where’s the passion when I lead worship?

God deserves my whole-hearted, enthusiastic, God-glorifying, genuine, and even full-bodied singing.

The congregation is served by my example of a David-like abandon and Luke 14-like devotion.

I become a more effective worship leader when my passion for the glory of God is contagious and spreads into the congregation.

Where is your passion on Sunday morning?

If your passion is the music, it will show. You’ll contribute to a music ministry that exists to perform and a congregation that exists to hear and critique music.

If your passion is perfection you’ll contribute to a music ministry that exists to impress and a congregation that exists to applaud.

But if your passion is the glory of God, you’ll contribute to a music ministry and congregation for whom God’s glory is the goal and delight.

It’s not enough to be a good musician. Break your jar every Sunday, worship with all your might, and do it all “before the Lord”.

Handling Awkward Moments: Leading Songs After a Lousy Teaching

word I am incredibly grateful to serve in a church where, week after week, God’s word is preached strongly by those who tremble at it, and where the teachings are consistently biblically sound, convicting, and Holy Spirit-empowered. In this environment, the songs I’m choosing and leading are helping people hear and respond to what God is saying through his Word and by His Spirit.

In contrast, many worship leaders serve in churches where the teaching is weak and ineffective, or worse, heretical and unbiblical.

What’s a worship leader to do in that environment?

I recall one occasion when I was asked to lead worship for an event held somewhere away from my church. I felt I knew enough about who was hosting the event to feel comfortable saying yes, so I did. I prayerfully chose the songs, prepared for the event as well as I could, prayed a lot, and rehearsed with the worship team. The event finally arrived, the opening time of singing went really well, and then the teaching came. It went on for over an hour, and, as my British father-in-law so kindly described it, it was “diffuse”. I might describe it as “lousy”.

Leading songs after a lousy teaching can be awkward. Here are some ideas on how a worship leader can handle it, particularly if it’s unexpected.

Pray
If you’re listening to the teaching and beginning to realize it’s going off-track, pray and ask God for wisdom about what to do. Especially if your songs come immediately after the “teaching”, how you respond will be critical.

Ask for advice
If you’re near anyone you know you can respect as someone who loves God and his Word, just ask them: “what do I do?” I did this at the event I mentioned above, and the advice I received was the way God chose to answer my prayer for wisdom.

Be prepared to call an audible
In American football, the quarterback will call “an audible” (a last-second switch to a new play) when he sees that the play he had originally chosen just won’t stand up against the defense’s formation.

If you’re leading songs after a lousy (i.e. weak or heretical) teaching, you’ll most likely need to call an audible. You’ll need to communicate this to your musicians, the lyrics operator (if you’re projecting them), and the congregation (more on that later).

Proclaim Truth
You have an opportunity to infuse the truth of God’s word into a service in which it’s lacking. You do not want to do this in an arrogant and preachy way, but in a humble and gentle way. I would gravitate towards songs that preach the Gospel. Some ideas are “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand”, “In Christ Alone”, or “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”. Anything that presents the Gospel clearly would be one of my first choices.

Hopefully, by responding to a lousy teaching with Christ-centered, God-glorifying songs, I can help people walk away from the service with at least some measure of truth being planted in their hearts.

Do it pastorally
When I stepped onto the platform after the “diffuse” teaching I mentioned, I looked out on a congregation that looked really confused. It would have been the worst idea in the world to say what I was thinking, which was: “how in the world did (so-and-so) let that just happen?” Instead, I said something like: “We’re going to spend some time now responding to God by singing to Him, and celebrating what he’s done for us in Christ. Our ‘hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness’, so let’s stand and proclaim that together.”

It’s easy to call this kind of audible when you’re projecting lyrics and you have musicians who are comfortable being spontaneous. If you don’t have either of those things, you can still infuse God’s truth into the service by turning to a different hymn in the hymnal (just call out the page number), singing a song of response all by yourself, encouraging them to a simple (but truth-filled) song sing from memory, reading from scripture, repeating a good song from earlier in the service, or just continuing on with what you’ve planned.

(If you serve in a church where this is a weekly occurrence – not just once in a blue moon like it is for me – plan ahead and choose music that will subtly yet clearly, correct error in the teaching. Also, check out this clip of John Piper answering a worship pastor’s question along these same lines.)

Ten Questions for My Worship Team – Pt. 2

growth2 Yesterday I shared the first five questions I asked the worship team at my church in order to challenge all of us to continue growing, stay focused on God’s glory, and not wind up an unhealthy and dry worship team one year from now.

Here are the last five questions I asked:

Am I a foot trying to be a hand?
“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body” (1 Corinthians 12).

Paul is making the point that every member of the body is equally a part of the body. No part is more or less important than another. But, every member has a different role.

This worship team will get into trouble if we start wanting to play different roles than God has assigned. Play your role as healthily as possible and rejoice at how God has arranged the other members of the body. A healthy body rejoices in the varieties of gifts displayed, all empowered by the “same Spirit”.

Am I more eager to play music than I am to lead the congregation?
In order for us to be a team of worship leaders, and not just musical back-up, we have to share the same passions and priorities when we gather together. I suggest this order:

(1)   God’s glory
(2)   The congregation
(3)   Our skill

When our skill helps the congregation encounter God’s glory, we are an effective worship team. It’s OK to be eager to play music – but make sure your priorities are straight.

Am I at a loss for words when I’m asked to pray before a service begins?
I long for our times of prayer before and after rehearsals and services to be characterized by specific and heartfelt participation by the whole team – not just one or two people. If we are not able to articulate prayer for God’s guidance and anointing, it may be an indicator that we are not aware we need it. These prayers don’t need to be eloquent or verbose. If you’re not comfortable praying out loud, ask God for boldness. No one is forced to pray. Not everyone has to pray. But this is area in which we can and need to grow.

Has my skill improved at all in the last six weeks?
This is an easy one to answer. If your skill as a worship leader and musician doesn’t improve, the worship team won’t improve. Be a good steward of the gifts God has given you and never settle for getting stuck.

Am I relying on my own talent or on the power of the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is passionate about revealing the glory of Jesus Christ. If we’re filled with and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, this will become our passion too. A lack of passion about God’s glory reveals a lack of reliance on the Holy Spirit. Every day, every rehearsal, and every service, we need the Holy Spirit to help us point the congregation to the glory of God. Without the Holy Spirit, our natural and sinful inclination will be to point the congregation to our talent. Not only will we become arrogant, but the worship team will become proud, and our services will become dry. Friends, “…be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

It’s important for anyone in ministry to regularly step back for a period of honest and prayerful evaluation. These questions are not exhaustive, and may not be applicable to every worship team at every church. But there are some good questions here for our church and our worship team as we seek to be a healthy body that exists to serve the congregation by leading them in “worthily magnifying” our glorious God.

“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”
(Psalm 145:3)

Ten Questions for My Worship Team – Pt. 1

growth This past Monday night the worship team that I have the privilege and joy to lead at my church gathered for our October “tune-up night”. We typically begin at 7:30pm with pizza, drinks, and snacks, and then around 7:45 move into a time of extended and unhurried singing and prayer. After that, I’ll share some thoughts either on the practicalities or principles of worship leading, and then we’ll close by praying for our ministry together. We’ll wrap up by 9:15 and people will hang out for a while afterwards.

We started these meetings about three or four years ago and they have made a tremendous difference to our effectiveness as a worship team. It’s taken me a while to figure out how best to lead them, what night to have them on, what time they should be, what room to have them in, and how to structure them – and I’m sure they’ll keep evolving – but overall, they’ve been crucial to our growth and maturity as worship leaders.

I’ve learned that only the worship team that worships together is able to lead worship together.

For this reason, I expect every member of the worship team to make these “tune-up nights” a priority. Occasionally, because of work or family commitments, sickness, or travel, people have to miss them, but if someone is committed to serving on the worship team, their regular attendance is the primary way of displaying this commitment.

Last night, after our time of singing and prayer, I asked each member of the worship to share how and when they came to The Falls Church, when they joined the worship team, and why. It was great to hear from everyone, and I expressed my genuine appreciation for their humility and passion for God’s glory, and my gratefulness for the health of this worship team. I meant it! Then I said I wanted to challenge everyone – and I meant that too.

If we’re not intentional about growing in our gifts, dealing with our pride, and prioritizing God’s glory, we will just spin our wheels as a worship team over this coming year, and slowly lose effectiveness. We’ll go through the motions when we lead worship, our services will feel the same, the songs will feel the same, our tune-up nights will feel the same, we’ll eventually burn out, and our worship team will become unhealthy. I don’t want to see that happen, so I posed ten questions for everyone to seriously consider. If a particular question made someone uncomfortable – that’s fantastic. If not, that’s fine too.

Here are the ten questions I asked the team (this is taken from a summary I emailed to the worship team afterwards):

Do I see myself as a worship leader – or backup to Jamie?
I am not interested in leading worship with musical back-up, but with a team of worship leaders. Each member of this worship team should think of him or herself as a worship leader. This will radically change the dynamic of our team and the services in which we lead. Our priority and passion must be, along with the congregation, magnifying and encountering the greatness of God. If you’re on this team just to play music, you’re in the wrong place.

Do I sing?
This is a direct, but loving, challenge for every instrumentalist, every sound engineer, and every lyric operator on the worship team – particularly the men. If you’re consistently not singing, you’re inadvertently sending two messages: First, singing is for girls. Secondly, what we’re singing isn’t important. Shame on us if we’re sending any of those messages. We need to be sending a message, loud and clear, that we are here to proclaim and celebrate the glory of God in Jesus Christ, and that what we’re singing about has changed our lives.

I know it’s hard to sing and play an instrument at the same time. There may be times, during a particular section of a song, when you have to stop singing in order to concentrate. I understand. But try to grow in this area, however incrementally. If it means we are a little less “tight” musically for a time, I’m happy with that.

Ultimately, don’t sing because I’m making you sing. Sing because “(God) has done marvelous things!” (Psalm 98:1)

Are there physical expressions of worship encouraged in scripture that I do not display? Why?
I first heard this question phrased this way by Bob Kauflin in his seminar at the 2008 Worship God conference titled “Praising God with the Psalmist.” It’s a good and necessary question to ask. We don’t want to elevate physical expressiveness to the point where it either becomes an idol or a gauge of whether or not someone is worshipping – since we know God is first and foremost concerned with the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). But we also don’t want to ignore the overwhelming biblical support of expressiveness as being normal, appropriate and healthy as if it doesn’t matter to us at all. It does. Each one of us needs to grow in this area. If we don’t, neither will the congregation we serve.

(For your own personal study, here are some helpful scripture references dealing with different physical expressions of worship.)

Clapping: Psalm 47:1, Psalm 98:9, Isaiah 55:12
Lifting hands: Nehemiah 8:6, Psalm 28:2, Psalm 63:4, Psalm 134:2, Psalm 141:2, Lamentations 3:41, 1 Timothy 2:8
Dancing: 2 Samuel 6:14, Psalm 30:11, Psalm 149:3, Psalm 150:4, Ecclesiastes 3:4
Kneeling/bowing: Genesis 24:26, 48, 52, Nehemiah 8:6, 2 Chronicles 20:18, Psalm 5:7, Psalm 22:27, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 72:11, Psalm 95:6, Matthew 2:11, Revelation 5:8
Lying prostrate: 1 Kings 18:39
Shouting: Joshua 6:20, 2 Samuel 6:15, Ezra 3:11, Psalm 20:5, Psalm 27:6, Psalm 33:1, Psalm 33:3, Psalm 42:4, Psalm 47:1, Psalm 66:1, Psalm 71:23, Psalm 81:1, Psalm 126:2, Psalm 126:5, Psalm 132:9, Isaiah 12:6, Matthew 21:9
Smiling: Psalm 34:5
Jumping: Acts 3:8

Do I base my value as a person on how often I’m scheduled on the team?
If you’re not scheduled to sing over a four week period, do you feel crushed? If you’re scheduled to play an instrument every weekend, do you feel puffed up and validated? If the answer is “yes” or even “sort of” to either of those questions, it might be a sign that your understanding of who you are is frighteningly tied to how often you’re asked to serve on the worship team. Read through Ephesians 2 where Paul tells us how we were once “dead in (our) trespasses and sins”, “children of wrath”, “without God”, and “strangers”, – “but God… rich in mercy… lavished his grace on us.”

Our identity and value has nothing to do with how often we’re asked to serve. It has everything to do with how God gave us Jesus Christ who bore our sins, died our death, and raised us to life, and sealed us with his Spirit.

Am I comfortable (and faithful in) attending services of The Falls Church at which I am not scheduled to be on the team?
When members of a worship team begin to think that they belong on the worship team to the point that they are uncomfortable not being scheduled – or to the point that they won’t attend services unless they are – the worship team ceases to exist to serve the congregation and begins to exist for its members’ personal gratification. A worship team will only remain as humble, Christ-centered, and congregation-focused as its members.

I’ll post the last five questions tomorrow.