Why Be Sly?

I really enjoy watching other churches’ worship services online. It might sound a little weird but it’s true. Sitting at my desk, I can visit churches all over the world, without having to pay for airfare or a hotel. It’s great. It bores my wife to tears, but I think it’s fascinating to see how other churches do things, how their worship leaders lead, what kind of songs they’re singing, how their services are structured, and how the congregations seem to respond.

I have to be careful not to be overly critical of the churches I watch online – since it’s easy to criticize when I’m watching a service on my computer screen – but I have to say that there are far more things I see that concern me than encourage me.

By far, the most common criticism I would have is that worship teams seem to be much more interested in performing songs and putting on a show than they are in leading people to exalt and magnify the greatness of God. I get the feeling I’m watching a Disney production – slick, overly rehearsed, and seamlessly choreographed. And I can’t quite understand why worship leaders and their vocalists stare into the congregation, scanning from left to right, with a smile on their face at all times, with an occasional head-nod or finger-point.

But that’s not my main point. One other common criticism I have is that churches, and specifically their worship leaders, seem either incapable or unwilling to make the truth of the gospel plain in the songs they sing. They’re sly about it. Under the guise of creativity, the clear message of the good news of Jesus Christ gets covered over by confusing lyrics, subtle references, and sparse objective biblical truth. Everything is foggy.

I’m reminded of a quote by Northrop Frye, a literary critic, who said in reference to the writings of Jacob Boehme, a 17th century German theologian: “…his books are like a picnic to which the author brings the words and the reader the meaning.”

The same could be said about the songs so many churches are singing. The time of singing is the picnic, the worship leader brings the words, and the congregation is asked to deduce the meaning on their own.

Why be sly? Why “beat around the gospel bush” as Bob Kauflin puts it. Why would we, as worship leaders, squander any opportunity to present people with the glorious truth of the Gospel? It doesn’t make any sense and it’s tragic.

A large church in Indiana opened their Easter service with the song “When the Morning Comes” by OK Go. Here are the lyrics to the first two verses:

You know you can’t keep lettin’ it get you down
And you can’t keep draggin’ that dead weight around.
If there ain’t all that much to lug around,
Better run like hell when you hit the ground.
When the morning comes.
When the morning comes.

You can’t stop these kids from dancin’.
Why would you want to?
Especially when you’re already gettin’ yours.
‘Cause if your mind don’t move and your knees don’t bend,
well don’t go blamin’ the kids again.
When the morning comes.
When the morning comes.

What does this have to do with Easter? What does this have to do with Jesus conquering death and being raised to life? I don’t get it. And my guess is that a lot of people that morning didn’t get it either. 

While this is one of the more egregious examples of a song that, rather than making Jesus plain, is murky and lightweight and confusing, it isn’t too far off from the kinds of songs other churches are singing.

They might have great melodies, be in the CCLI top 25, be really modern, have a great groove, or be a congregation-favorite. But is the message clear? And what is that message exactly?

Paul said in Romans 1:16: “…I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…”

If the power of God is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, then let us not be ashamed in making that gospel clear every single Sunday, every single service, and every single song. Let’s not be sly or subtle about it. And try to stop scanning the room and nodding your head if you can help it.

Are You a Worship Diva?

Last Saturday as I was driving to church for our afternoon rehearsal and evening service, I was listening to an interview with Ricky Gervais (creator of “The Office”) on National Public Radio’s show “Studio 360”. At the very end of the interview, Ricky was asked what he thinks about his critics. His answer was striking. Here’s what he said:

“I’ve only ever tried to do one thing – and that’s please me and no one else in the world. I don’t care if anyone else likes anything I’ve ever done. I don’t care about critics. I don’t even care about the audience that I never see. I only care – did it turn out exactly as I wanted it? And if it is, I’ve won. You’re bulletproof. I don’t care about ratings or awards. I don’t care about box office. I’ll do this until someone says ‘you can’t have any more money to do stuff. No one cares. Everyone hates you.’ Bob Dylan said: ‘a man can consider himself a success if he wakes up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between he did exactly what he wanted.’ And that’s what I do.”

In other words, “I don’t care about pleasing anyone else other than me. I’m happy as long as I can do exactly what I want to do.”

I might be tempted to laugh at Ricky’s brazen self-centeredness if it weren’t for the fact that I think the same exact thing from time to time. Or every day.

I want what I want, I want to do it the way I want to do it, I want it to go exactly like I want it to go, I want to be pleased with what I did, I want to win, I want to be bulletproof, and I don’t want to hear any criticism.

That’s the flesh talking – which is why we can all recognize its voice as not being Ricky Gervais but just our sin nature. It’s ugly and it’s toxic. We need the Holy Spirit to fight it. And for those of us who lead worship, if we don’t fight it, we can quickly become worship divas.

I want to do the songs I want to do. I want them to sound like I want them to sound. I want the service to go exactly the way I want. I want a nice office and I want an impressive title. I know what I’m doing and I don’t need anyone’s suggestions or criticism. I’m happy when things go my way, and I like when I look good. As long as I can do what I want to do then everything is fine.

We all have that diva inside of us – Paul calls it “the works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19 – and the only way to keep it from being let loose is to “walk by the Spirit” (5:16). Every week, every day, and especially every time I stand before a congregation to lead them in singing, I need the Holy Spirit’s help to keep me from wanting to get my way. With the Spirit’s help I’ll want his way.

Worship divas exist to serve themselves and their ego for their glory. Worship leaders exist to serve their church for God’s glory. Which are you? 

Leading Worship When it’s Early

How early is too early to sing?

11:00am is a pretty good time to sing in “the morning” since it’s almost afternoon.

10:00am is doable.

9:00am is on the early side, but still doable, especially for the ones who have had a cup of coffee or two.

8:00am and below is when you start getting into tricky territory. It’s early, people are moving slowly, and except for that rare morning person who is perkier than should be allowed, most people aren’t in the mood to break into heartfelt song.

So if you’re fortunate enough to be asked to lead worship at a service when it’s early in the morning, you’ll need to lead differently than you would later in the day or in the evening when people are actually awake.

Gentler
If you come across like an annoying alarm clock, blaring “wake up! Wake up! This is the day the Lord has made! He is worthy of your praise! Put those hands together! Alleluia! Woooo!!!” then people are either going to be tempted to hit you in order to press “snooze” or decide to sleep in next week. No one likes a rude awakening.

Be gentle. Be encouraging and enthusiastic, but allow people to wake up and warm up.

Slower
I probably wouldn’t start a 7:30am service with Tim Hughes’ “Happy Day”. I might close the service with it if by that point we had been singing for a while and people were more awake and engaged, but at the very beginning of a service early in the morning, it’s probably a good idea to learn more towards slower, less aggressive songs

Lower
Use keys that are in the lower range for most people. If you normally sing Chris Tomlin’s “Holy is the Lord” in G, you might want to move it down to F. Move your songs down a step or two and it will make it more comfortable for people to sing.

Most people who come to an early-morning service have used their vocal chords very little, if at all, by the time they get to church. The first time they make a sound may very well be when the first song starts. If the song is too high or too fast, or if you’re expecting too much, they might just give up and not try. But if you’ve chosen songs in good keys, lead in a pastoral and gentle way, and help people lift their eyes to the glory of God, your congregation might actually sing! 

Pre-service Huddle

The worship team at my church is made up of about 20 – 25 instrumentalists and singers. Each weekend, about six people make up a team – on drums, bass, electric, acoustic, keys, and vocals. Some weekends it’s bigger and other weekends it’s smaller.

I send the songs out to each weekend’s scheduled team on the Thursday before. We meet to rehearse on Saturday at 3:00pm, lead the music at the 5:00 evening service, and then come back the next morning to lead music at the 11:00am service.

Since there is a 9:00am service that has music led by the choir and organ, and we’ve already rehearsed and led a service the previous day, we usually meet around 10:00 or 10:15 to talk about any changes that have come up, any tweaks we need to make, and to pray together.

This morning we talked about a change to the chord progression in “Crown Him with Many Crowns” (we used a version inspired by Enfield), I gave out some corrected chord charts, we clarified who was playing certain parts and how we were starting off a song, and then were able to get a sound check and quick run through before the service started.

Here’s a clip of what it looked like this morning. Just four or five guys in a circle. Not very exciting, but hopefully helpful.

Get Off Your Perch

This morning I was asked to spend an hour leading and teaching on worship for a women’s retreat in Bethesda, Maryland. And this evening I’ll be sharing the same teaching with my church’s men’s ministry. It makes for a long day and a lot of hearing myself talk and sing, but having gone through the songs and teaching once this morning, I feel prepared and excited about this evening.

Over the last week or so I’ve spent a good deal of time preparing for the hour-long teaching I’m giving twice today, and I’ve been freshly reminded of my pride in one particular area (and it’s a safe bet a lot of worship leaders struggle with this too): thinking that teaching is easy.

Maybe it’s because I listen to a lot of sermons (sometimes three or four per weekend) and I can start to think it can’t be all that hard.

Maybe it’s because I assume that since I can choose, arrange, and lead a 25 minute block of songs with reasonable skill then it must mean I can give a 25 minute talk. Right?

Or maybe it’s because I think that if God has gifted me in one area (music) then I must be gifted in other areas (teaching).

Whatever the reason may be for thinking that teaching is easy, the problem with all of them is the same: arrogance.

Teaching is not easy. It is a serious responsibility and burden that God calls serious people to take seriously. Flippant worship leaders who sit on their perch Sunday after Sunday thinking otherwise are mistaken. And I’m afraid I might be sitting on that perch more often than I’d like to admit.

So my encouragement to myself and to other ways is to pray for your pastor, pray for those who stand before you to teach God’s word, be gracious and understanding towards them, and don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you’re a worship leader it means you’re also fully equipped to teach. Maybe you are. But maybe you aren’t.

I’m grateful that yesterday afternoon as I sat with a blank legal pad on my lap, lamenting the fact that I had 16 hours to go until I had to get up in front of the women in Bethesda and still had no idea what I was going to say, the Holy Spirit convicted me of my foolishness, and made it clear I needed to confess it and ask for help. I’m excited about what God has given me to share.

I also hope that I’ve learned this lesson… If not, I pray that God will keep pointing out my foolishness.