Tag: Ministry

Where is Your Confidence?

Do you feel panicky when you’re not as rehearsed as you’d like to be? Do you feel anxious when you see a really full room looking back at you (or empty chairs)? Does your heart start racing before the service is about to start? If you make a mistake (say something dumb, forgot to take your capo off, mess up a song) do your agonize over it for days and replay it in your head?

If you’ve never experienced these sensations while serving as a worship leader, you’re not normal. But if scenarios above describe a regular experience for you as a worship leader, you’re missing the point. God very kindly allows us to feel all of these things – panicky, anxious, nervous, obsessive and embarrassed – so that we cease to seek our confidence in ourselves.

God is all about revealing the idols of our hearts and mercifully taking them away from us. For worship leaders, a common idol is self-sufficiency and self-centeredness. Feelings of anxiety are good for us because they serve a purpose: they remind us of our utter need for God.

The temptation is to think that if you’re panicky, you should have rehearsed more. Or if you’re anxious, then you’re not a good enough worship leader. Or if your heart is racing, you’re not ready for the big leagues. Or if you made a mistake (by the way, every worship leader in the world makes mistakes every single Sunday) that you ruined the service. None of these are true.

Maybe you should have rehearsed less, not more. Maybe you’re a great worship leader and you just need to relax. Maybe God has prepared you for this exact moment and you need to trust in him. Maybe your mistakes are helpful reminders to you (and your team and your congregation) that you’re a real person.

In all cases, and for all worship leaders, God is consistently reminding us that our confidence can’t be in rehearsals, polish, skill, or experience. All of those things are good things and you should pursue them. But none of them should be where we find our confidence. Our confidence is in God.

This might sound trite to you. It’s not. It’s the first building block of worship leading and if this one gets shaky, then everything else does too.

Allow God to humble you. Allow God to remind you that you need Him. Relax on Sunday morning and don’t stress over all the details and transitions and notes and chords and people and pressures. Fix your eyes on Jesus and you won’t sink. Look away from him and you will. He is our confidence!

Your Left-Overs Might Be Useful to Someone

A few weeks ago I left my house for work and passed a discarded kid’s basketball hoop on the side of the road. You can see a picture of it above. It was in great shape except for the fact that it was missing its hoop and a little dirty. It was in front of a nice house, and the owners had put it on the curb to be picked up by the garbage truck. I got it before they did and I took it home for my little girls to enjoy.

For the people in the nice house, this basketball hoop was a left-over, useless thing that belonged in the trash. For my girls it was a fun new toy.

This made me think about what things I consider useless that might actually bless someone else. And I remembered how, a month ago, I had a surprising experience:

The healing ministry at my church was having a weekend retreat about an hour away from here. I had asked about 12 different volunteers if they could lead worship for the retreat, and all of them had said no. I finally just told the healing ministry team that I would just record myself leading 4 short sets of worship songs, give it to them on a CD, and they could play it through the sound system at the retreat center. This was not an ideal solution but it was our only option.

So one afternoon I quickly recorded myself leading these 4 sets and burned a CD for them. It didn’t sound very good but it was the best I could do in a short amount of time. I gave them the CD, apologizing that I couldn’t find them a real-life worship leader, and off they went for their retreat.

I was surprised at how many people came up to me after that retreat and told me how much the worship at the retreat had blessed them. They said it was just the right fit. They said it didn’t feel artificial at all. They said it sounded wonderful. I was shocked. Were they really talking about my little thrown-together recording? Yes they were.

If God has placed you in a worship leading role, whether it’s paid, volunteer, up-front,

behind the scenes, regular, or seldom, let me encourage you to never consider the gifts God has given you as useless. You never know how God will use you to bless people. Look for places to serve, look for ways to give of yourself, and don’t be afraid to offer what you have. What’s the worst thing that can happen?

The Main Thing

Not once has anyone ever come up to me and remarked on how much they were affected by the copyright dates on the songs we sang at a service all being after the year 2000.

No one has ever told me how much they were really ministered to by my new guitar.

I’ve never heard someone say that their life was changed by the new chord progression we used on the second verse of “Here I am to Worship”.

I haven’t heard of anyone seeing Jesus as more precious because of the new drum shield/acoustical panels we bought.

No one has ever been impacted more by the Gospel because we played a song almost exactly like the recording.

We got in-ear monitors a few years ago and I don’t think the Holy Spirit came down in tongues of fire that first Sunday. I think I’d remember that.

And it’s not like using in-ear monitors, drum shields, new progressions, new songs, and good arrangements is a bad thing. It’s just that they won’t change anyone’s life. Only Jesus will.

The assurance that “my shepherd will supply my needs: Jehovah is his name…” brought peace to a new widow and now single mother.

The truth of the Gospel that “from life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny…” comforted parents who had lost their infant son.

The good news that “…he must win the battle” assured a congregation after learning they will probably lose their building.

The grace of God that “breaks the power of canceled sin and sets the prisoner free” reminded a man lost in sin that there is always freedom in Christ.

I’m sure the equipment we used, the arrangements we rehearsed, and the time we put into choosing these songs all contributed to helping people sing these words. But the widow, the bereaved parents, the shocked congregation, and the lost man found no comfort, no hope, no peace, and no life in what we had to offer. Jesus is who shined through, and Jesus is who they encountered.

I think way too many worship leaders, worship teams, creative teams, video producers, choirs, and choir directors get lost in a sea of creativity and artistic expression and classic works and new songs and great equipment and fresh arrangements and ten rehearsals and burn themselves out trying to make great music. I love Bob Kauflin’s line that “music is a great tool but it’s a terrible idol”. Indeed.

All this is is a simple reminder that we have a great Savior and he is the one who will change people’s lives forever. Great music for the sake of great music is a waste of time and people’s tithe money. Great music to present our great Savior who is the hope of the world is why we (should) do what we do.

The Power of Worship in the Midst of Trials

A few weeks ago my church got word that we will most likely lose our building. This means we’ll give up our Historic Church (“the” Falls Church, after which the city was named), our offices, classrooms, meeting space, fellowship space, and Main Sanctuary (built in 1992, holds 900 people, 3 services per weekend) and all property acquired prior to January 30th, 2007, to the Episcopal Church (from whom we separated five years ago).

You would think that on Sunday mornings the congregation would be fearful, anxious, discouraged, or downcast. Not so. Since the ruling, our times of worship have been vibrant, heartfelt, and Christ-exalting. I haven’t seen this much freedom in worship in my 7 ½ years here.

We know we have difficult days ahead. The prospect of losing our campus and our property, relocating to temporary worship and office space, and perhaps building a new building is exciting but also daunting. I’m sure the excitement might wane after a few months (years) of not having a permanent space. Many of you reading this blog deal with this every week and I now have a new appreciation for you.

But this time of uncertainty (and others that our congregation has weathered over the years) has reminded me of the power of worship in the midst of trials. The words on the screen now become the cries of our hearts. The Jesus about whom we’re singing is now our very present help in time of trouble. The Gospel that we’re declaring is now our common assurance and defense. The Holy Spirit in whom we believe is now actively pointing us to Jesus and giving us peace.

Rahm Emmanuel, a former congressman from Illinois, White House Chief of Staff, now the mayor of Chicago, and an infamously shrewd politician is notorious for his statement, “never let a good crisis go to waste”. This is the unspoken creed of most politicians.

Overlooking the sneakiness of that statement, I see a morsel of truth and a lesson for worship leaders who serve churches experiencing crises or trials. Don’t let a time of trial go to waste. It is an opportunity for your congregation to experience so much more of the power of worship to point us to the glory of God in Jesus Christ. This can be taught, but it takes a while. In the midst of trials it can be caught, and this doesn’t take as long.

I’m not suggesting that you pray for a crisis for your church so that they can grow in worship. It’s also probably not a good idea to covertly create one.

But when trials come to your congregation (and they will), don’t pick phony triumphalistic songs, or pull back and treat Sunday mornings like they’re funerals, or ignore the elephant in the room. Follow Rahm Emmanuel’s advice to “never let a good crisis go to waste”. The power of worship in the midst of trials to point individuals and a congregation to Jesus can transform your church’s time of singing.

And whether we stay in this building or worship in a barn, we’ll keep exalting Jesus higher and higher. The power is in his name, not in our trappings.

Give Yourself a Break

For many years, too many years in fact, I led worship way too often.

Starting in the Fall of 2006 when my church started a Saturday service, I was the primary worship leader for the Saturday 5:00pm service and the Sunday 11:00am service. Two services a weekend. I would get a free Sunday the weekend after Easter when our student worship team would lead, and I would take two weekends off somewhere in the summer. Three weekends off per year.

So, I was picking songs, leading rehearsal, up front, and leading worship 49 weekends a year. And since we were doing two services each weekend, that means I was leading worship 108 times a year. This doesn’t count monthly healing services, Wednesday staff meetings, and other services and events. But you get the idea. It was way too much.

It was unhealthy for me. It burns you out after leading that many times in a row. You don’t feel fresh anymore. You don’t lead fresh anymore. Everything starts to blur. You get tired of choosing songs. You get tired of leading rehearsal. You lose energy. You fall into ruts. You get predictable. You get safe. Worst of all, you start thinking that your church would fall apart if you were to leave.

It was unhealthy for my worship team. It didn’t give other worship leaders in the church a chance to lead. There might have been an occasional spot for them for a men’s or women’s ministry event, but I wasn’t giving people an opportunity to get experience leading worship in the context of a service. I was hogging 108 opportunities all for myself.

It was unhealthy for my church. Whether they realized it or not, I was fostering an unhealthy dependence on me leading worship, so that when I did rarely get a service off, it was more disruptive than it should have been. If I really did mean what I prayed – that I would decrease and God would increase – then why wouldn’t I take a very practical step toward decreasing and get myself off of the platform more often?

I have resolved to push other worship leaders in my church into at least half of the 108 yearly opportunities. I lead worship very seldom on Saturday nights now. Other worship leaders take turns, sometimes by themselves, and sometimes with a band. I lead healing services very seldom now. Other worship leaders get experience by leading those. I still lead most of the time on Sunday mornings, but this year I’m planning on taking at least 6 off.

You can’t do this if you’re insecure. If you think your church really needs you, or if you’re concerned that if someone else leads worship then your congregation might forget about you, then you’ve fallen into unhealthy thinking. You have to be secure enough to step back and push others into the spotlight, so to speak. It’s more healthy for you, for your team, and for your congregation.

And you can’t do this if you’re needy. Without realizing it, you can begin to need to be needed, and if you’re not leading worship you feel like you have no purpose. This isn’t a good thing.

I remember meeting a worship leader at a church I visited while on vacation a few years ago (during one of my two weekends off). After a brief conversation with him, I said “I hope you get a couple of weekends off this summer”. Sadness fell over his face. He said “I wish”. It turns out that he was allowed – maybe – one weekend off per year.

For your sake and your church’s sake, make sure you’re getting regular breaks from worship leading. Even if you’re not going on vacation, schedule yourself to get a break. Your substitute might not be as polished, or they might even be better!, but just do it. It will keep you from getting burned out and it will keep your congregation from getting too dependent on you too.