I have read many articles that have the title “How to become a great worship leader” but I found them lacking in what I was really trying to find. The common factor I found, with all of them, was that they all had some 5–10 point to-do list, that will help you become a better worship leader in a practical sense. Which is great to a certain point, but I feel that being a great worship leader begins with a few things I like to call “heart stances.”
What do I mean by this?
Psalm 4:23 challenges us in this way: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
So if leading worship begins with our heart stance, what are some stances that we should position our hearts in before leading our next service?
- The Great Opportunity
As Worship Leaders, we have a great opportunity before us each week:
“The platform is a great opportunity to display God’s glory not showcase our talents”
You may have an awesome voice, or you can play guitar like a pro, or without your drumming it just wouldn’t sound the same. But let us not forget the One who gave us these gifts. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we no longer are our own. Everything we do, everything we say should be for His glory. We died to ourselves and we were bought at a price. Therefore, the platform is not only an honour but a privilege because we are being used by God to showcase His glory.
King David was a great example of this heart stance. He was a mighty king and great worship leader but he never mistook himself for The King.
2. Push don’t Pull
“Don’t start where you want to end up.”
I learnt this principle from a great leader, Jeremy Riddle. He was speaking in the context of a worship set, that it’s all about perspective. We have to realize, that the people walking into the service may not be at the same place spiritually as us. We forget that we have prepared our hearts to worship throughout the morning. The framework for our worship sets should be from getting people from one point to another.
Someone once said, that we are meant to be carriers of His presence but sometimes we are meant to carry people into His presence. We are there to lift the atmosphere, to sing over people when their circumstances seem overbearing, in the hope that their hearts will change and they will begin to worship God, despite their circumstances.
3. It Begins with You
A big challenge to me personally was when I heard this principle:
You can’t expect to lead people in worship, if you don’t lead yourself in worship.
Worship isn’t just music, it’s a lifestyle but right now I’m speaking in the context of music.
How this plays out in my life, is that during my quiet times in the morning, I try to always put on some worship music and worship God in the privacy of my room, whether I feel like it or not. God deserves my praise despite my moods or circumstances. And believe it or not, when we worship God despite our circumstances, almost, always the atmosphere changes.
Our circumstances don’t always change, as God doesn’t want this to become an excuse for us to only worship Him, so that our circumstances may change. However, our circumstances may change as a result of us worshipping Him, without the expectation of Him changing our circumstances. Mostly, we will receive a renewed strength to face our circumstance because ultimately, He is where our strength lies and He is bigger than our circumstances. When our focus is on Him and not the giant in front of us, we can face anything.
….
This isn’t the entire answer on this topic and quite frankly I don’t think we are meant to find the entire answer. We are not meant to be perfect as worship leaders or anyone who follows Jesus for that matter. The very fact that we are on that stage is a testament that God takes broken, imperfect people and uses them for His glory.
Let us take up this position with humble hearts and continue to allow God to use us to impact lives and give Him glory through our songs of praise.
