Tag: Leading

“Let’s Stand Together and Worship”

Romans12A few years ago, I realized I had developed a bad habit of saying “let’s stand together and worship” whenever I got up to lead some songs. It didn’t matter if it was the beginning, middle, or end of a service. It was what I said to get people to stand and sing after a time of prayer, the sermon, announcements, etc.

Someone finally pointed out to me that by saying “let’s stand together and worship” I was unintentionally sending two messages. First: worship is only singing. Second: what we have just been doing is not worship. Neither are true, of course, but you wouldn’t be able to tell I thought so if you listened to what I was saying.

I was also leaving off one important detail: who we are standing to worship. “Let’s stand together and worship” is not only inaccurate but it’s incomplete.

I can help the congregation see the whole service as a time of corporate worship and be reminded to whom we’re directing our praise by choosing my words carefully even when I’m just asking them to stand up. Here are just four examples:

  • “Let’s stand together and continue worshiping our great God.”
  • “Let’s stand and sing together to declare what Jesus has done for us.”
  • “I’d like to invite you to stand as we respond to God’s word by singing this song of thankfulness.”
  • “As we continue in worship by hearing God’s word read, you can be seated.”

Notice I use the word “continue” a couple of times. This is a gentle reminder to the congregation that “worship” doesn’t stop when the songs stop.

I also try to keep the fact that God is the object of our worship from being assumed. We can very easily just say things like “we’re going to worship” or “you all are really worshipping!” without realizing that we’re subtly teaching that God is a spectator of our worship rather than the receiver.

While the sermon topic may vary from week to week, the worship leader is teaching the congregation how to think biblically about worshipping in song every Sunday. Even the seemingly innocuous wording used when asking the congregation to stand conveys a message and shapes the congregation’s thinking.

Even the title “worship leader” misses the mark. I use it because, like it or not, it’s now a part of the lexicon and is generally understood to refer to the person who leads the singing. But while the title may be inaccurate and a tad misleading, our words don’t have to be!

Hand Signals

signalsIt’s not always possible to nail down in rehearsal exactly how you’re going to do a song in a service. We might realize as we’re singing a song that we need to cut it short, extend it, go back to a previous verse, or repeat a section. We might sense that God is prompting us to do something we hadn’t planned at all. The worship leader needs to be able to clearly communicate these changes in direction with the worship team. Without using words.

Here are a few hand signals I’ve found helpful for communicating with the worship team non-verbally.

Raised clenched fist
We’re ending. Be sure you give the team a measure or two of notice – you can’t throw up your first on beat three and expect them to stop on four. Think ahead a few bars so you can come to a nice smooth landing.

Pointer finger swirling in the air in a circle
We’re going to repeat this section again. You don’t need to make this very dramatic. Subtle enough that the congregation doesn’t think you’re doing arm exercises but clearly enough that your team can see it.

Raise one finger
Go to verse one. Raise two fingers for verse two, and so on.

Hand curled in a “C” shape
Go to the chorus. Looks like you’re holding an invisible baseball.

Point at one musician
Everyone stop playing except this person. I’ll use this if we’re going into a chorus and I only want the drummer to play, or if I’m going to say something to the congregation and I only want the pianist to play. Don’t point at them like you’re accusing them of something – but so they get the point that you want them to keep playing. Accompany this with a slight nodding of your head so they get the point. Make sure you have eye contact with them.

Outstretched hand in a “hold it” position
Stop playing. If you’re playing guitar or the keyboard, lower your hand like you’re petting an imaginary dog slightly behind/to the side of you. If you’re sitting down at the piano, stretch the palm of your hand out to them. Again, not too dramatically.

A repeated downward pat
Quiet down. Don’t accompany with a scowl. Accompany with a smile to lessen the impact.

Upward fanning motion
Don’t hold back. Accompanied with an encouraging look on your face, this will help a shy musician know they have your permission to be a bit more bold.

Pat your heart with a closed fist
Thank you. Mouth the words “thank you” as you do this. Helpful for communicating your gratefulness to your volunteers if they’re all spread out on the platform and it’s noisy.

Point at an instrument and then point up or down
I need to hear more/less of them in my monitor. For communicating with your sound engineer. Try to do this sparingly as it can be distracting to the congregation. Make sure your sound engineer is looking at you.

There are many more hand signals that are effective, I’m sure. These are just a few examples. In your specific context, just take some time to talk with your team about what your hand signals mean so that they don’t have to guess. They might even have some good ideas and suggestions for how you can clearly communicate with them. I’ve been told on numerous occasions that my hand signals were confusing, so I’ve tried to make them clearer.

If you’re leading from the guitar and your hands and taken up, you can use the neck of the guitar to communicate basic signals such as: the song is ending, everyone drop out, and everyone come in. Point the guitar back and they’ll know something is up. Odds are they’ll be able to guess what you’re trying to communicate if you’re at least trying. Better to give a poor signal than no signal at all.

Feel free to share any other hand signals you’ve found helpful!

Checking for Ticks

tickYou may not know this, but it’s a fact that those of us who lead worship are targets for ticks. Without realizing it, ticks can latch on to us and survive unnoticed for years.

There is a wide variety of tick species to look out for. Check yourself before you lead worship next time for any one of these:

Here we go!
One of the sneakiest ticks around, it causes a worship leader to exclaim into the microphone something more appropriate for the beginning of a road trip to Yosemite than the transition into the bridge of a song.

Come on everybody!
The brother of the previous tick, its victim unwittingly uses a crowd-rousing technique first developed by Richard Simmons in an attempt to infuse enthusiasm into a service.

I just really want to…
Native to youth groups, this tick has spread into a wide variety of settings. The afflicted worship leader begins any personal word with this preface, followed by sentences of varying levels of competency, depending upon the amount of preparation devoted.

Yes Lord!
A difficult tick to remove once it has become attached – the “Yes Lord” tick presents itself before, during, or after songs, oftentimes with a high number of repetitions. While a declaration of agreement and affirmation may be effective and appropriate on occasions, this tick causes the statement to become so common that it is ignored.

Sing it like you mean it
Native to Sunday school and VBS, this tick is able to multi-task by being patronizing, insulting, distracting, and counter-productive all at the same time.

Amen
This is perhaps the most common species of tick to attach itself to worship leaders, Amen?

Put your hands together!
A potentially dangerous tick. An infected worship leader could cause mass confusion. “OK, I put my hands together… Now what do I do with them? Can I take them apart yet?” Unfortunately, the worship leader is not thinking about what he or she is asking the congregation to do. Very sad.

Oh, oh, ohhhhhhh!
Rearing its ugly head in between lines of a song, this tick causes a worship leader to employ a vocal flourish more suited for a 1980’s power ballad. Severe cases have been reported in which worship leaders attempt the highest note they can hit before fainting for no apparent reason.

Mmm, mm, mmmmmm
The descendent of “oh, oh, ohhhhhhh”, this tick has slightly different characteristics. While still rearing its head in between the lines of a song, the resulting vocal flourish is more suited for a 1960’s sappy love song. Most common to worship leaders who forget the lyrics to the second verse.

If you ­­­___ then let me hear you ___
The distant cousin of the “sing it like you mean it” tick – this species causes its host to insert any combination of words, resulting in groans and rolled eyes in the congregation. “If you love Jesus, then let me hear you shout!” “If you came ready to worship then let me hear you sing it loudly!” Swift action should be taken to remove this tick before its host is harmed by angry church members.

Ask trusted friends to examine you for any evidence of these ticks or any mutation. Long-term infection is unwise. Recovery time is quick for the former host and enjoyable for the congregation.

Save Your Best for Sunday

congregationworshippingI live in Northern Virginia – one of the most expensive, pressure-filled, busy, and traffic-riddled areas of the country. The millions of people who live in Washington D.C. and its suburbs have become accustomed to a pace of life that says: never slow down, never take time off, and pride yourself on working as hard and long as humanly possible. Even though right now we’re in the middle of summer, that sense of busyness and burden of pressure is still there. I feel it – even though I try to resist it – and it’s exhausting. Weeks are long, commutes are slow, mornings are too early, and vacation is too far away.

You may not live in an area like Northern Virginia/Washington D.C., but it’s a pretty safe bet that you know what I’m talking about. We all have busy and tiring weeks, crowded schedules, full inboxes, long to-do lists, evening meetings, and the ever-present traffic.

Those of us who lead worship, whether we’re full or part-time, paid or volunteer, know how it feels to wake up on Sunday morning with no desire or energy to rehearse the band, lead the congregation, handle the unexpected, have conversations, or do anything other than to just roll over and go back to sleep. The previous week has left us wiped out and drained. We arrive at church on an empty tank.

It’s a familiar and unfortunate scenario. How do we avoid this as worship leaders? How can we make sure that we’re not only prepared to lead worship but also enthusiastic about it?

Depend on the Spirit
In John 7:37-38, Jesus says: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”. Verse 39 tells us that he was talking “about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive…” There is no reason for us to go on feeling drained and exhausting, allowing the busyness of our lives to dry us up and leave us feeling empty. We may have long weeks, but because of the Holy Spirit, we can have “rivers of living water” flowing out of our hearts. Depend on the Spirit. Every morning, every night, every day – pray that your thirst would be quenched. He’ll answer your prayer and you’ll be able to tell a difference.

Resist the Devil
While it’s natural to feel tired after a 12 hour day of meetings and more meetings, our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Peter 5:8). We’re encouraged in James 4:7 to “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Seeds of discouragement, burn-out, and just plain tiredness – if not resisted – can be used by Satan in destructive ways. While “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” Jesus “came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Resist Satan and keep Jesus central and you’ll be able to lead worship out of abundance, not an empty tank.

Keep the Congregation in Your Heart
I have a blown-up picture of our congregation from a few years ago (shown above) in a time of corporate worship at our 11:00am service on my wall in my office. I have it there on purpose. During the week it’s very easy for me to get caught up in a whole host of things that end up distracting me, whether it’s the day-to-day responsibilities of emails, phone calls, meetings, planning, and work or other things like difficult conversations, unexpected interruptions and managing volunteers. If I’m not careful – I can go days without remembering that I’m here to serve the congregation. The picture in my office is one way I remind myself why I come in to work every day. Try to foster a love for your congregation in your heart. While you’re at work during the week, think of them and pray for them, looking forward to being with them on Sunday. Stay focused on loving and serving your fellow sheep.

Take Care of Your Soul

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” (Psalm 62:1-2)

Long weeks, busy days, and full schedules are inevitable. Being exhausted by the time Sunday morning rolls around is not. Take care of your soul by waiting “for God alone”, “in silence”. Don’t wait until just before the service to have a quick time of prayer. If you do that – you’ll almost certainly show up feeling frazzled and hectic and unprepared. Be intentional about having quiet time with God before you lead worship.

Take Care of Your Body
This sounds simple – but you’re not exactly setting yourself up for success if you only get 4 hours of sleep and skip breakfast before you come to lead worship. It may mean leaving a Saturday evening dinner party early or missing a movie with friends – but try to make plans to be at home at a good hour on Saturday night with time to get good sleep. And while a donut or two on Sunday morning tastes good – leading worship can be a lot of work. Feed your body with good sleep and good food and your congregation will be grateful that you’re not cranky.

Have an Enthusiastic and Supportive Team
Do all that you can to foster a worship team that is not just there for musical back-up, but for passionate and heartfelt leading of God’s people in worshipping Him in song. When you have energy – they’ll be right there with you. When you’re a bit worn out and needing a vacation – they’ll be there to support you and you’ll be glad you can lean on them.

When we look out over our congregations this coming Sunday, we will be looking at some people who are well-rested, happy, fresh from vacation, and ready to encounter God. Others will be tired, discouraged, needing vacation, and feeling far from God. Some might not even know how they’re doing – they’re just at church. We will not serve our congregations well if we stand before them exhausted, unprepared, and counting down the minutes until the service is over so we can go home. Save your best for Sunday morning. With the Holy Spirit’s filling and power, we’ll serve our congregations with God’s joy as our strength.

Acoustic Guitar Tutorial

worshipcentralWorship Central has posted a really good acoustic guitar tutorial video on their website. One of the best I’ve seen.

David Clifton, the music director at Tollington Parish in North London is the teacher. Great tips on how to lead well on the acoustic guitar – especially when you’re all by yourself.

Check it out.