Vineyard East Worship

In this short article on the how and the how not’s of worship leading, I am not trying to reinvent the wheel or introduce some new or powerful way of doing this. God knows, there is more than enough great material out circulating the globe from other worship leaders with much greater depth and understanding then myself.

Having said this, I do want to approach worship leading from a different angle that stems from a servant leadership principle, and not merely from a: “worship leaders” or even as Matt Redman put it; “Lead worshipper” perspective. In short, we are servant’s first and worship leaders second.

Finally, I want this to be both theological and practical in our approach in leading (serving) people into a relationship with the triune God.

1. Putting the term “Worship Leader in perspective

I have always wondered, where did the term: “worship leader” derived from? Even from a careful search, I can’t seem to find it anywhere in scripture. Lord, help me, I can’t find it anywhere! You ever thought that one? You’re not alone. The closes we come to the word would be found in some of the Psalms at the headings: “ To the director of music” (Psalm 4,5,6,18 and many others. See Hab 3:19). Probably a liturgical notation, indicating either that the Palm was to be added to the collection of works to be used by the director of music in Israel’s worship services, or that when the Psalm was used in the temples worship it was to be spoken by the leader or the Levitical choir, or the choir itself. Either way, in this liturgical activity, the Levites functioned as representatives of a larger picture of the worshipping community. This we can clearly see with David, Asaph and others.

Now hold on a minute, you’re probably thinking; come on Jim, worship leader, director of music, they both sound the same! They do sound similar but they couldn’t be further from truth and meaning. Remember, what director of music to them meant, (in that culture) and where we are today, is vast indeed. In the heading of Psalm 18 we can unravel a huge clue to where I am going with this. It states; “For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord”. The title designates David in his royal office as, in effect, an official in the Lord’s own kingly rule over his people as were Moses (Ex 14:31, Joshua 24:29, Elijah, 2Kings 9:36; Jonah, 2Kings 14:25; Isaiah 20:3: Daniel 6:20. Each one of these scripture constitutes a single message and that being; God is King and I am his servant! Hence we lead by serving God through the worshipping community.

The Levictal order or priestly function was to serve or minister to the Lord day and night which would be a lasting ordinance; Exodus 29:1-9, 40:15 and see 1Peter 2:5, 9.

2. New Testament Worship leading; what does it look like?

Here is where we run into much vagueness on the subject matter, worship leader, because to put it quite bluntly, there is no such term in the N.T. Yet, there is a huge amount of worship language being modeled and demonstrated in the N.T. Plus, the N.T. does tie in the concept the O.T. service and worship. One thing is for certain, Jesus had a lot to say about servant hood and this is where the concept of leading worship or servant leader kiss and unite. If you look at some of Paul’s letters, you will see some of his prologues begin with; “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus; Romans 1; Philippians 1; Titus1; Philemon 1. You even read this in James gospel; James1 and in Peter’s account; 2Peter2: 1. You even find it in Jude’s book; Jude 1.

Why is there no subject matter on “worship leading” yet much about worship? I don’t think I can honestly answer that question but I can answer the spiritual leadership aspect of it. You see, Jesus demonstrated true worship by “making himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” before the father and giving himself up as the ultimate obedient sacrificial Lamb for all mankind for all time.

When he said,” it is finished” (John 19:30) he completed the task the Father sent him to earth to fulfill: to reestablish the original purposes of God chiefly, restored relationship. Everything we say and do in this life, as a Christian is a direct result of that act upon the cross and his subsequent rising from the dead. This in essence is where true worship lies and servant hood expounds! Worship then, is a lifestyle that reflects who Jesus is and what he did and continues to embellish in this day and age.

I think this is what Paul meant in Romans 12 1:2; “Therefore, I urge you, brothers & ( sisters), in view of God’s mercy (He is alluding to the previous 11 chapters) to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God__this is your spiritual act of worship” (or service).

So we see here two words that really define our present day vernacular: sacrifice and service. Servant worship leadership can be define as one who sacrificially serves for the greater good; Something much larger than the one individual could ever do alone. This in turn leads me to the third and final segment of this subject; “Servant Leadership.

3. Practicality, Servant Worship Leadership

In there book: Spiritual Leadership, Henry & Richard Blackaby describe leadership as; “Moving people on to God’s agenda”. Andy Park in his little nugget; “To Know You More” states: Becoming a worship leader isn’t about the pursuit of a ministry or a career; it’s about the pursuit of a person. Out of knowing God, we make him known—we are first worshippers (servants: my italics) and then worship leaders”.

You might say, wait a minute, I am not a pastor just a worship leader. Hey aren’t leaders those people who get paid to do the stuff they preach and issues that they deal with day in and day out? Yes they are, but in my estimation, anyone who stands up in front of people or directs people will have some amount of authority or sway on those listening. A few years ago my wife and I were attending the west coast worship leaders conference up in Big Bear, Calif. Bill Twyman who was the pastor at the inland vineyard church of Corona a few years back was the guest speaker the first evening. I remembered him as saying that, the majority of people in his church on any given Sunday morning probably won’t remember what I say, but they will remember what you sing!

What we present with our offerings (songs) has tremendous influence on those who hear. Again in there book on spiritual leadership Henry & Richard Blackaby write: “Finally, spiritual leaders do not try to satisfy the goals and ambitions of the people they lead but those of the God they serve”.

Here are three practical steps to leading your worship team & congregation.

1. Do what Jesus did. (John 13:12-17)

You know the saying, what would Jesus do? Humility of the heart is an extreme valuable tool. If Jesus saw the importance of serving us (and he being God incarnate) how much more should we serve one another in the modeled way he demonstrated?

One thing I cannot tolerate in the whole realm of worship leading and worship band leading is what I call;” Stupid Stuff”. Stupid stuff is the unteachable spirit that refuses to do what Jesus did (let alone what the worship leader wants) and does what the flesh desires they are disruptive and full of pride and envy. It is more concerned with self and promoting one’s own agenda (remember Peter’s response in John 13)? “No, said Peter, you shall never wash my feet.” And in the next breath, Jesus fires on Peter with a pretty harsh rebuke and sets the stupid stuff straight. “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” As worshippers, service must take precedent as to not disrupt the promptings of the Holy Spirit. God was preparing Peter and the others for the coming move of God’s Spirit on the church. As stated earlier in Philippians 2:7; “but made himself nothing”, Jesus took on the role of the suffering servant. He came to serve not to be served.

It is also extremely important to get the mind, the pulse and the vision of the senior pastor. Serving the greater leadership releases great power of the Holy Spirit. We are not the pastor ( I know there are Pastors who lead worship out their) the pastor is the pastor.

A. Private before public (Matthew6: 6)

One way to truly measure the barometer of our service to the Lord and to get a feel for where the congregation is is to spend time with God first! Conditioning our heart in prayer with the Lord is paramount to our relationship with him, our worship team(s) and the congregation. I (We) really don’t have any business doing what I am doing unless this model is in place. Worship band members take notice! Private before public! He will reward you.

2. Give It Away (Luke 6:38)

Early on in my worship experience, I remember the Holy Spirit speaking to me in the context of not judging people and reproducing yourself in others. The word’s “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”. That very evening I was attending a worship and ministry conference. The pastor asked people to come forward for prayer. I was asking God what the word he gave me that morning was all about. The couple that prayed for me looked right at me and they said, “We have a word for you”. Luke 6: 38 came forth like a lightning bolt from their hearts. They told me that I have it and I now needed to give away the gifting God has blessed me with. They just kept repeating to me; “Go give it away, go give it away; you will not be able to contain what God will pour back into your lap”. I new immediately what I was to do. I have been giving it away ever since!

We can’t out give or out serve God. Over the years I have had the privilege of multiplying myself many times over through many a good worship personnel who in turn, have done the same thing.

3. Worship Leaders Help Facilitate Peoples Gifting (Proverbs 20:5)

One of the great earmarks of a worship/servant leader is being able to identify the gifting that the Holy Spirit is doing in your band members especially, those who have not been around all that long.

One of the tendencies we look for is how well the person might sing or play his or her instrument. Don’t get me wrong, these things are crucial but not pinnacle, to our approach to the throne of God. In other words, if people have some sort of musical ability or maturity and are teachable, they can be a very huge overall addition to any team.
An example to this would be this story. We have a gentleman who has been apart of our church for quite a while and has even served on the worship team. One practice night we had no bass player so I asked him if he wanted to give it a whirl. To my surprise he conceded and said yes. He hopped up to the bass and actually was able to somewhat handle it. With a little practice and helping him along (in a very short time) he actually played a set for Sunday morning. He was anointed for sure. We need to encourage and make a place for those with willing hearts to serve. Proverbs 20:5 states; “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out”.

I like approaching this scripture from a perspective of seeing someone who has tremendous gifting (worship) but know one to help him or her facilitate it to fruition. Kind of like the man at the pool of Bethsaida who had no one to help him in the pool. Then Jesus came along and helped him out.

I have found through trial and error over the years to look for the very best in people especially the one’s whom someone might not bother with and discard. I don’t get it right all the time but I am trying. My team gives tremendous input into our practices and I learn tremendously from them. They know I am there leader without me needing to assert my authority. Serving is, looking for Jesus in everyone.

I will summarize in short here about servant leadership. The goal is to bring a group of people outside the center zone and bring them into the center where God’s throne is firmly established. We want to build a bridge that can move people not from our agenda but on to God’s agenda where Jesus dwells, on the throne. I am not minimizing the term “worship leading”, only trying to maximize the importance of service first, worship leading second. God is the worship leader we just need to stay humble, seek his face, serve others and then get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit move.

Jim Gaunder