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- Obey What You Sing – If your songs speak of singing, shouting, dancing, kneeling, and lifting hands, model that. Don’t be afraid to step away from the mic and do what the song says. It speaks volumes to a congregation when their worship leader actually worships and leads the way not just by telling them to worship, but by modeling what that looks like.
- Speak With Honesty – When the time comes for you to speak to your people, don’t just blabber Christian cliches and trite phrases. It’s a turn-off. People know when you’re reading a script or speaking from your heart. Speak to the struggles people are experiencing. Speak to the confusions they may be feeling. Talk like you would be if you were at Starbucks with a friend. Your congregation will appreciate that.
- Do All You Can to Avoid Stressful Rehearsals Before Service – It can really be an “authenticity-killer” if you stress yourself out up until the time service starts. I know this from too much experience. At times it just cannot be avoided, but do all you can. Rehearse well on a separate night. Spend the 15-20 minutes before service in prayer and fellowship with your team. Pray out loud. Sing a song together. Remind yourselves why you are there.
- Engage in the Mission of Your Church – Too often the worship team is viewed as a “gig” for the musicians. We need to capture a sense of “local church mission” within our teams. Challenge your team to listen to the sermon. Talk about it together. Apply it to your personal lives and to your team. Don’t view your team as a separate entity but as an extension of your senior pastor’s vision.
- Allow Space Between Songs – This requires wisdom because you don’t necessarily need 10 minutes of spontaneous flow between every song. A worship service seems to lack authenticity when it’s a non-stop train ride from song to song to song. When you’re on a date with the person you love, you don’t pull out a script and quickly move through your points. You enjoy the moment. You enjoy spontaneous conversation. You look for adventure. Pursue that in your worship services.
So You Want To Use Your Computer Live?
May 18th, 2011
Reposted with permission from Aaron Hein who blogs about technology and worship at inheinsite.blogspot.com.
With everything getting faster and cheaper these days it’s easy to think that if you just dust off that extra computer you have laying around the house then you have what you need to use it in a live application. Let me just say that if you have to dust it off it’s unlikely it will be able to perform the way you need it to and even if it can it is only one piece of the puzzle. So the question I want to answer in this segment is:
“What do I need to use my computer live in an audio application?” Read the rest of this entry “
Review: Love Shine Through by Tim Hughes
April 27th, 2011
Thanks to TWC member, Terry Timm, for providing this review!
I have been awaiting the new release from one of my favorite worship leaders, Tim Hughes called “Love Shine Through” with a great sense of anticipation. Released in the US until April 19, I have listened to it quite a bit and I am finding it extremely engaging. Tim is first and foremost a worship leader; his day job is the director of music for his church, Holy Trinity Brompton, an Anglican community in central London and as such he writes songs for the church to sing and express their worship to God through music. Tim’s songs help give voice to what is in my heart. Read the rest of this entry “
Review: Laura Story’s Blessings
April 13th, 2011
Thanks to Melanie Siewert for providing this review for The Worship Community!
Laura Story’s latest album, “Blessings” (released April 12, 2011), has a sweet and tender feel to it. Each song expresses a heart after God’s own heart in a posture of praise and worship. Following the successes of “Indescribable” and “Mighty To Save,” this latest release has some potential of use in worship gatherings. Laura’s style of music in this release has more pop with some piano-driven instrumentation. Although the style falls a little short of the more popular “worship styles” of today, her lyrics in every song cut through with messages and expressions of encouragement, healing, reflection, praise and worship. Here is a break down of each song: Read the rest of this entry “
How To Pursue Excellence AND Authenticity in Worship
March 30th, 2011
Reposted with permission from www.davidsantistevan.com. Part of a very insightful series entitled: Tips For Taking Your Worship Team To The Next Level.
Imagine with me. The sound is perfectly mixed. The lighting mood is sublime. The band is grooving. The crowd is enraptured. We all idealize the perfect worship environment.
But how do we pursue excellence in our performance while remaining authentic in our worship?
I’ve been in too many worship services where the worship leader and band performed well, yet their heart for true worship was seriously lacking. Quite a turn off, in my opinion.
First of all, what is authenticity? I define it as the ability to blur the line between WHAT YOU DO and WHO YOU ARE. As worship leaders, we have a lot to do. We need to prepare the band, worship God, engage the congregation, sing on key, play the right chords, stand up straight, sing the right words, brush our teeth, etc.
An authentic worship leader does those things but also displays who they are – a worshiper of God. Singing well is not enough. A tight band is not enough. Their own heart is hungry for God and they long for his glory to be seen, experienced, and cherished in the heart of every person in the room. I crave that sort of authenticity.
I remember experiencing a worship service with Matt Redman for the first time. I think Matt is a very authentic worship leader. He’s anything but flashy, borderline boring to watch. He wept, jumped, knelt, and shouted to God in a way that impressed me and drew me into the presence of God. He practiced what he sang. I left that service thinking about God.
So how can we pursue a deeper authenticity in our worship? I think there are at least 5 things we can implement TODAY:
Questions: Do you feel this is important? How have you pursued deeper authenticity in your worship leading? Answer below in the comments section.
Dealing With Conflict
February 14th, 2011
With eight years of experience as a worship leader at four churches, you could conclude that I don’t know how to hold down a worship leader position. But when you consider that I was always hired to be a change agent, usually hired to modernize the worship style from more traditionally rooted churches, you can imagine the risk that this presents in shortening the lifespan of any worship leader’s tenure.
I have certainly made mistakes but I have not wasted them through a lack of learning. What I have learned in dealing with conflict, I would like to share. Read the rest of this entry “
Lessons Learned From 4 Great Songwriters
December 29th, 2010
Reposted with permission from DavidSantistevan.com the worship resource site of David Santistevan.
I’m of the belief that the best way for you to become better at what you do is to seize it. Don’t wait for a mentor to approach you, seek out your mentors. As a worship songwriter, I always observe other writing styles – what melody works, what doesn’t, what lyrics are unique, which aren’t, etc.
In this post I just wanted to outline a few worship music songwriters that I admire and what I’ve learned from them. My desire is that you use the same curiosity with the music you like and apply what you learn from them. And also, study these guys. They’re the best. Read the rest of this entry “
Worship Leaders: How Not To Be A Jerk To Your Family
October 8th, 2010
Reposted with permission from EncouragingMusic.com (the worship resource site of Rick Muchow)
Multiple weekend services can be physically and emotionally draining! All of us may face this problem from time to time. We want to do our best for Jesus. Our work is important. Honestly, I have a lot to learn on this subject. I have to continually cut back and say no to good things as well as to things I already know I don’t need to get involved with in order to guard family and personal time.
What should you do after you’ve completed multiple weekend services? The Greek word for this is “nap.” We have to schedule in rest after the weekend marathon run.
We Are One – A Church Story
September 13th, 2010
Reposted with permission from The Gospel Coalition.
Today was a monumental, historic day at Coral Ridge.
For many years Coral Ridge had two very distinct worship services–one contemporary and one traditional. The result was the unintentional development of two different churches under one roof. It wasn’t healthy. So back at the end of Spring we started talking about what we could do to unify our one large church.
Given our desire to re-plant Coral Ridge around a holistic and comprehensive understanding of the gospel we concluded that we needed to make a change. After all, since the gospel is the good news that God reconciles us not only to himself but also to one another, the church should be breaking down walls, not erecting them. God intends the church to be demonstrating what community looks like when God’s reconciling power is at work.
The Elephant In The Room – Should Worship Leaders Be Paid?
August 30th, 2010
Re-posted with permission from Brenton Brown.
I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice that there’s definitely an awkward incongruity with the genre of music we call ‘worship’. My job as a worship leader, my primary purpose – really the only purpose – is to lift the name of Jesus above every other name and to help others do the same. To lift His name above all the other names and words and tasks and things and people that clamor for our attention in this world. As worship leaders this is our task. We are to simply lead others and indeed even our own souls in the worship of God. Read the rest of this entry “
What is Visual Worship?
August 16th, 2010
As I’ve been on the road having conversations with pastors, worship leaders & techies who are all trying to figure out how creativity works in worship, I have had a growing burden to gain a clearer understanding of what true, biblical worship is. I have much to learn and more scripture to dig into than i can comprehend. Here are some of the main things that have stuck with me, and here are some questions I’m asking myself in hopes of finding the answer to “What is Visual Worship?”.
