You have a fan club, whether you realize it or not.
Maybe it’s small. A few old ladies who think you’re just adorable and ask when you’re going to make a CD.
Or maybe it’s larger. Gushing Facebook posts, lots of Twitter followers, people recognize you at the grocery store, and your church bookstore carries your very own CD.
Most worship leaders are somewhere in between. You don’t have a CD to sell or Twitter followers of any substantial number, but you do have a significant number of people at your church who see you up front regularly, have an affinity for you, and think you’re much more terrific and wonderful than you actually are.
In any case, it can be tempting to start to believe the hype that naturally surrounds anyone who stands on a stage in a position of leadership and possesses musical gifts. Before you know it you’re demanding only Evian bottled water, yellow M&Ms, and the auditorium a constant 72.4 degrees (that’s in Fahrenheit for my European friends).
Don’t believe your own hype. It’s a slippery slope to arrogance and pride and there is nothing that will hinder your effectiveness in ministry more. God isn’t exaggerating when he warns us that he “opposes the proud” (James 4:6).
Here are three practical ways you can keep the “hype” around you in check.
Be approachable Avoid the temptation to cloister yourself away in a back room before and after the service. Rock stars do this. Worship leaders shouldn’t. Be available and approachable before and after the service. This is an easy and tangible way to demonstrate to your congregation that you love them, and to deflate the inflation of your ego.
Be humble For anyone seeking to pursue humility, C.J. Mahaney’s book Humility: True Greatness is an absolute must-read. You can read it in one evening, but if you’re smart, you’ll take some time to read through it and allow the Holy Spirit to convict you and help you see where you need to grow.
It’s easy to say “be humble” but it’s hard to do. “Pursue humility” is a much better way to phrase it. Every morning, every day, and every night, resist the fleshly pull toward pride. Laugh at yourself. Encourage and honor those around you. Remember your sinfulness. Rejoice in Jesus’ work of redeeming you and covering you with his blood. That’s the only thing worth boasting in.
We start to believe the hype when we believe there’s something about ourselves that’s worth boasting in. Unless that “thing” is the cross of Christ, we’re off base.
Be cross-centered Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1-3,
“…you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
You. We all. Our. By nature.
Verse 4:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
But God. Two of the greatest words in all of scripture.
The hype tells us we’re wonderful and adorable and a really big deal. The cross tells us we were children of wrath but are now objects of God’s mercy.
As a worship leader, to be effective you have to be deflective. People will sinfully want to praise you. You’ll sinfully want to receive it and believe it. Don’t. Deflect the praise of man and direct your own need to make much of something great onto the One who is rich in mercy and worthy of every bit of hype we can muster.
I’ve had several people email me and/or leave a comment asking for the lyrics and chords to the song I mentioned in my last post, “Beautiful Baby Boy”. I’m happy to offer both below.
I wrote this song last year during the Christmas season. I was (obviously) inspired by our daughter Megan who had just been born, marveling at her beauty and preciousness. When Jesus was born I’m sure Mary marveled at the same things. He was a real baby with a pudgy face and soft little lips, after all!
But he was more than a beautiful baby. He was the perfect Lamb of God who, one day, would be offered as a sacrifice in our place, securing our eternal peace with God.
Beautiful Baby Boy
His tiny little hands will be nailed to a tree
His precious little feet will be pierced through for me
And his soft little lips will bless and forgive
Oh beautiful baby boy
His tiny little chest will be whipped and flogged
His precious little head will be stained with his blood
And his soft little cry will beg for my life
Oh beautiful baby boy
Oh beautiful baby boy. Oh holy Lamb of God Away in a manger lies our perfect sacrifice Oh beautiful baby boy
His tiny little eyes will seek out the poor
His precious little arms will welcome the whore
And his soft pudgy face is the image of grace
Oh beautiful baby boy
And we were dead in our sins, and we were lost on our own
And we were children of wrath, and we were all without hope
But God rich in mercy, but God great in love
But God full of kindness gave us His only Son
UPDATED: 11.27.12. This post details the songs I chose for this service in 2010. I’ve added the changes I made in 2011.
This past weekend at my church, our weekend worship services were services of Lessons and Carols. These might be my favorite services of the year when we hear the story of redemption all the way from the fall of Adam in Genesis 3 to the Word made flesh in John 1. After each reading we either sing a traditional carol or sing a special (not congregational) song.
Here’s how we described this service to our congregation in the leaflet:
The Service of Lessons and Carols had its origin at Truro Cathedral (England) on Christmas Eve, 1880, when the Bishop of Truro, F.W. Benson, developed a service of scripture readings and supporting carols.
Some 38 years later in 1918, this format was adapted for Christmas at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, England. The BBC broadcast from King’s College helped to popularize the Service of Lessons and Carols, which Cathedrals and small churches throughout the world quickly duplicated.
The heart of the service continues to this day – that is, the retelling of the Christians’ story of faith from the fall of Adam to the coming of the Word Incarnate.
I thought you might find it helpful/interesting to see the order of this service (we’ve adapted it a bit) and what songs we sang:
Once in Royal David’s City Traditional carol. There are a lot of versions of the wording of this hymn out there. Some good, some not so good. For instance, in some versions, the closing line of the hymn says that one day in heaven, “all in white shall wait around”. Since I don’t think that captures the wonder of heaven, I opted for a different version. I also wrote a middle verse that talks about what Jesus accomplished on the cross. If you want to see the text I used, click here.
Welcome
Bidding Prayer
Dear People of God: In the season of Advent, it is our responsibility and joy to prepare ourselves to hear once more the message of the Angels, to go to Bethlehem and see the Son of God lying in a manger. Let us hear and heed in Holy Scripture the story of God’s loving purpose from the time of our rebellion against him until the glorious redemption brought to us by his holy Child Jesus, and let us look forward to the early remembrance of his birth with hymns and songs of praise. But first, let us pray for the needs of his whole world, for peace and justice on earth, for the unity and mission of the Church for which he died, and especially for his Church in our country and in this city. And because he particularly loves them, let us remember in his name the poor and helpless, the cold, the hungry and the oppressed, the sick and those who mourn, the lonely and unloved, the aged and little children, as well as all those who do not know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, let us remember before God his pure and lowly Mother, and that whole multitude which no one can number, whose hope was in the Word made flesh, and with whom, in Jesus, we are one for evermore. And now, to sum up all these petitions, let us pray in the words which Christ himself has taught us, saying:
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Leader: The Almighty God bless us with his grace; Christ give us the joys of everlasting life; and to the fellowship of the citizens above may the King of Angels bring us all. Amen.
The First Lesson: Genesis 3:1-19. Adam and Eve rebel against God
Song (2010): So Long Moses In order to fill in the gaps between the Genesis reading and the next (Isaiah 9) reading, I thought singing Andrew Peterson’s song “So Long Moses” would help. This song masterfully tells the story of Israel’s longing for a king, the joy of a good king in David, their longing for another king who would rule with the sword, and the prophecies that told them their true King would actually be “rejected, despised” and be pierced for his people. This is a challenging song with several time signature changes and an alternate tuning on the acoustic guitar. But we practiced, had the help of a click track in our ear monitors that was in time with a video one of our volunteers made to help illustrate the lyrics, and was an effective way of using a non-congregational song to point people to Jesus. You can purchase the song here.
In 2011 I used another song from Andrew Peterson’s CD called “Passover Us”. It fills in the blank between the Genesis reading and the Isaiah reading. Before the song I introduced it by saying that this is a song that helps us hear how even in the next book of Exodus, God was preparing his people for their Messiah, by saving his chosen people through the shed blood of an innocent lamb.
The Second Lesson: Isaiah 9:2-7. Christ’s birth and role of peace and justice are foretold by Isaiah
Song (2010): O Come, O Come Emmanuel
I wrote a new arrangement for this familiar carol that had the first two verses/refrains in a driving 6/8 feel, the third verse in the traditional 4/4 feel, and the final verse and refrains back in 6/8. It seemed to work (it took the congregation about half a verse to get used to it) and was a nice change from how we’ve done this song for years and years.
In 2011 we sang the hymn “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”. We gave it a good groove, pretty percussive, with majestic organ at the end, and it really seemed to work. You can see my chord chart for it here.
The Third Lesson: Isaiah 11:1-9. The peace that Christ will bring is foreshown
Song (2010): Lo He Comes with Clouds Descending
I love this hymn. You can read the text I used for this hymn by clicking here, and you can listen to a recording of how we played it below.
In 2011 we sang “O Come O Come Emmanuel” in this spot.
The Fourth Lesson: Micah 5:2-4. The prophet Micah foretells the glory of little Bethlehem
Song (2010): O Little Town of Bethlehem
We sang verses 1, 3, and 5 of this hymn and you can hear a bit of the feel we gave it below.
In 2011 we sang “Lo He Comes with Clouds Descending” in this spot.
Then right to another song, as the service transitions from the Old Testament to the New.
Song (2010): Matthew’s Begats
To help transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament, I sang Andrew Peterson’s musical adaptation of Matthew chapter 1. I gave a short introduction to help people understand why this song could be helpful. I memorized this song a few years ago and have sung it a couple of years at our Lessons and Carols services and it’s actually seemed to be helpful for people. This is the same album, “Behold the Lamb”, that “So Long Moses” is on. Great CD.
In 2011 I wrote an instrumental of “We Three Kings” that we did here. Looking back, it wasn’t the best choice, since that song is more of an Epiphany theme.
The Fifth Lesson: Luke 2:1-7. Saint Luke tells of the birth of Jesus
Song (2010): Beautiful Baby Boy
We sang a special song here that I wrote last year about how the beautiful baby boy, Jesus, would one day be nailed to a tree and crucified in our place. You can listen to it below (or see this post for a chord chart).
In 2011 we used Andrew Peterson’s “Labor of Love” here. This is one of the most beautiful modern Christmas songs ever written.
The Sixth Lesson: Luke 2:8-20. The shepherds go to Bethlehem
Song: Angels We Have Heard on High
We used the same king of feel that Chris Tomlin gave this song on his Christmas album, but sang it much lower than him, using the key of E.
The Seventh Lesson: John 1:1-14. The Word became flesh
In 2011 we sang “O Come All Ye Faithful” here. I think we did 3 verses.
Message
Song (2010): Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Maybe the best Christmas carol ever written. Such amazing truth captured in three verses: “…mild He lays His glory by, born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth”.
In 2011, since we inserted “O Come All Ye Faithful” before the message, we omitted this carol here and went straight into the prayers.
The Prayers
We had a short time of corporate prayer, thanking God the Father for giving his Son, and praying for those who need to hear this good news.
The Offering (2010): My Soul Magnifies the Lord
During the offering we learned this great song from Chris Tomlin’s album and the congregation stood and joined in at the end.
In 2011 we used Bob Kauflin’s “In the First Light”. I took Travis Cottrell’s version of it and made an arrangement that was slightly less complicated.
The Blessing
Song: Joy to the World
We were again inspired this year by Chris Tomlin’s arrangement. We didn’t do the chorus he’s written, and took it down several steps.
In 2011 we sang “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” here.
One reason why I like this service so much is because it’s a challenge each year. How do we help people hear this familiar story like it was the first time? How can we use congregational songs, carols, and special music to underline, fill in, and help people respond to the good news of the Gospel? This is our challenge every week, but particularly at Christmas. Hopefully some of these ideas are helpful to you – and if you’ve ever done services like this, I’d love your ideas too.
Worship leaders face a lot of temptations this time of year.
Sentimentality There’s a great temptation to embrace the sentimental elements of Christmas. Snow falling softly while the fireplace roars and children laugh while eating warm apple pie that Grandma made while singing “Silver Bells” on top of a reindeer. This makes us feel all warm inside but makes no lasting difference to our lives.
Creativity Creativity for the sake of helping people hear and celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ in a fresh way is a good thing. But creativity for the sake of saying we’re creative is most certainly not a good thing.
It can be easy to get carried away with trying to be creative this time of year. A Christmas pageant with a real live baby Jesus, surrounded by live animals, standing on hay, surrounded by a choir of angels suspended from the ceiling illuminated in bright light, while the choir sings a Christmas anthem accompanied by a 16 piece string section while a video plays and dancers dance and everyone in the congregation holds pretty little candles.
This might really impress people, make some people cry, and be more elaborate than any other church in town, but when we place creativity as the highest priority on our lists, it usually comes at the expense of the simple and powerful clarity of the Gospel. If creativity serves the goal of making the Gospel as clear as possible, then go for it. But if it gets in the way, avoid at all costs.
Tradition Christmas can bring out the traditions like no other season. Traditions can be very good and helpful. But they can also be boring and stale and ineffective. Just because your church has always done it a certain way doesn’t mean that’s the best way.
Oh, if it were only so easy as telling people this and convincing them to try something new. I know it’s not.
If you’re serving in a church with a lot of traditions that you think could use some reevaluating, my advice to you is to tread slowly and softly. You’ll probably have to live with a lot of those traditions you’re not crazy about for a long time. But build trust with people and you’ll earn some capital you can spend on convincing people that there might be a better song than “Come On Ring Those Bells” to open a Christmas Eve service.
Satan hates this time of year when Jesus’ birth is being proclaimed around the world and in the songs being played in the department stores. It’s no wonder, then, that those songs are increasingly watered down and Jesus made to seem incidental rather than central. Sadly, the church too often goes with this flow. Let’s push against it and proclaim with boldness the good news – the best news – of the coming of Jesus Christ.
One large, two-topping pizza from Papa John’s: $10-12.
A worship team that isn’t hungry: Priceless.
Sometimes taking care of your worship team isn’t so complicated or expensive. It’s as simple as picking up some bagels and coffee before a long morning of rehearsals and services or ordering a pizza for a late evening meeting when people are coming straight from work.
This shouldn’t come out of your pocket. If you oversee a budget of any kind at your church, designate some funds to be used for food for your worship team over the year. Make sure there’s enough for a nice meal for everyone who attends a worship conference, for a Christmas party and end-of-year cookout, and other things in between.
But if your church doesn’t have money for that, devote some time and energy to getting people in your congregation to cook meals and bake goodies and brew coffee for you and your volunteers on long mornings or late evenings.
You don’t always have to provide food for your worship team. Obviously, people can take care of themselves and remember to eat something before they come to church!
But I have been amazed over the last year or so at what a huge difference it makes to team morale and energy level when there is something to munch on and something to drink.
We’ve installed a little refrigerator in our back room and keep it stocked with mini-soda cans. We also have some bite-sized candy and breath mints in bowls on a counter-top. On Sunday mornings, we’ve contracted a local bakery to deliver a little tray of food on Sunday mornings at 8:30am. It changes a bit every week, but usually has an assortment of cheeses, crackers, fruit, pastries and bagels. The musicians and pastors who are serving on a Sunday morning now swarm the food tray and devour it in a matter of hours.
When we gather as a team for a mid-week meeting in the evening, I’ll do my best to make sure food (usually delivery pizza) is provided, since this will sweeten the deal for people coming straight from work.
You might be surprised by how much providing a little bit of food and drink seems to honor people and keep them fresh. Sometimes leading and feeding a worship team can be hard work. But other times it’s as easy as pie. Literally.
You have a fan club, whether you realize it or not.
I’ve had several people email me and/or leave a comment asking for the lyrics and chords to the song I mentioned in my last post, “Beautiful Baby Boy”. I’m happy to offer both below.
Worship leaders face a lot of temptations this time of year. 
A dozen bagels from Panera: $8-12.
Worthily Magnify 