What Makes a Good Worship Leader?
Is it a degree in music?
Is it dynamic stage presence?
Is it mindblowing vocal ability?
What is it that makes a good worship leader?
Good question. I think worship leading is such a unique gifting. A combination of some different skill sets. and character traits. You have to have the ability of a rockstar, the heart of a shepherd, the awareness of a counselor, capacity of an administrator, and the depth of a pastor. These individuals are hard to come by. I'm sure we've experienced the WL with the heart of a shepherd but lacking in ability. Or the phenomenal musician that is lacking humility or spiritual leadership.
I do believe there is an anointing from God on this role. Of course all things are from God and I'm convinced we can do nothing apart from him. But there are some WLs that have that mysterious quality about their leadership that draws people into the presence of God, that others do not have. I also believe there is a learning process where growth and maturity in worship leadership happens. But inbetween the spiritual and the practical, and besides living a holy and pleasing lifestyle, there are some qualities that need to exist. When I look for worship leader candidates, there are three competencies I look at for them to function well in thier role. These are things they must have ability in, or the ability to grow in because they will be doing them a lot.
They must have the ability to plan a worship journey.
They must have the musical tools to execute.
They must be able to Tour Guide.
Planning the Worship Journey
The term “worship journey” is a bit mystic, but the concept is a good one. We’ll define it as: the flow of worship in the corporate setting. It’s more then just the songs in the set, but how everything fits together and the destination it takes us to. There are a few things that happen when we gather together to worship God. God is glorified, Community is encouraged and strengthened, and we experience personal interaction and edification. You might define it as: the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual process where we interact with God, our community, and ourselves. But who can define worship? It is different for everyone. Worship is ultimately not about us, but about God and his glory. Yet in his goodness, he has opened worship to be pleasing to us and to others around us. It is in this journey that we meet God, and hopefully get to that point where he begins to clear away the fog of life, and reorient ourselves to him. One of my favorite hymns is Turn your eyes upon Jesus. The last line reads “and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.” This is part of the worship journey.
I want to emphasize the job of a worship leader is not simply picking songs and playing them. When I first began leading worship this was one of the concepts that I did not grasp. I would just pick my 6 favorite worship songs of the moment, practice, and rock out on Sunday. Most of the time they were great songs and very worshipful for me personally to play them, but there was no unity or flow. This did little justice to the worship journey. I paid little attention to the mood and theme of the gathering. I didn’t sit very long with the set and really think about what we were singing, why we were singing it, and where it would take people. I learned it took a lot more thought and planning on my part to craft the worship journey. Many times this came at the price of playing my current favorite song.
It takes vision on the worship leaders part plan the journey; vision to be able to see into a service and craft the flow. This aspect of a worship leader’s job is, in theory, to look inside of the service before it takes place. To visualize those elements in a service that will bring unity to one another, dynamic highs and lows, and key worship moments. This is an ability that comes with practice, usually trail and error. You learn what doesn't work before you learn what works. Unfortunate, but true.
Musical Tools
Another competency for a worship leader is having the musical tools to execute. Bottom line: they need to be nice to listen to. They need to have a nice tone to their voice and be able to sing on key. They need to understand their instrument and be able to play it well. How many times have you heard someone play or sing badly in public? They may have a great passion for it and give it their all, but most everyone in earshot is thinking the exact same thing, “I feel awkward and I can’t wait until this is over.” Every time that happens I just feel so bad for them!
I think many worship gatherings can be like that when we have the wrong people facilitating. Instead of focusing on God, we spend that time feeling bad for the leader, and trying to get past the bad music to connect with God. As leaders we want to create a distraction free environment. I like to be invisible when I lead worship. We will draw attention to ourselves by our poor musicianship. We take peoples focus off of God and onto our playing or singing. On a side note, the same thing may happen if we overdo it, showing off our musical prowess during a set. When it comes down to it, the music is a second thought during the worship set. It is merely a platform for expression. Our real goal is to be invisible on stage so that others might see God and focus on him. A humble excellence in our music will set the stage for invisible worship leading to happen.
Attached to this is the importance of being able to direct your team to create the sound you desire. You need to be able to grasp the big picture musically and know how each instrument and voice fits into that picture. This takes discipline to pay attention, not only to your own instrument, but to every instrument and voice on the team. You need to be able to hear if the drummers beat is wrong, one of the harmonies are out of tune, if instruments are playing on top of each other, etc. If you don’t do it, you need to have a sidekick on your team that can do it for you. This is a discipline that Is essential for the worship leader.
Tour Guide
I’d like to make the distinction between a song singer and a worship “tour guide” on stage. A song singer’s focus is on executing the song well and making a good sound. This is a good thing! We want to be excellent. But a song singer will miss the importance of engaging with their congregation. They are not aware of what is happening in the room spiritually, or if they are aware, they do not adjust to cater to it. A song singer will place themselves in a bubble on stage and do their thing. There is a separation between them and the others. The main inspiration for a song singers worship rises and falls on the sound of the music. The tour guide’s focus is on engaging with the congregation and taking others with them on the worship journey. A worship leader must learn how to use their words as a catalyst for inspiration. In this way we operate as a worship tour guide for our people.
If you were on a tour bus, would you want a silent tour guide? Sure, there is a sense of awe as we pass by the skyscrapers or mountains or rivers. That happens automatically because they are impressive sights. But we miss a lot when no one clues us into what we are actually seeing. The tour guide’s job is to enhance our experience of what we are seeing around us. They tell us why we turned down this road and why these sights are important and give us details that give us a deeper appreciation for what we are viewing. The same is true of the worship leader. The subject of our tour is God and the story we are telling about him that day. The songs we sing tell great truths about God and explore his glory and our personal relationship with him. The worship leader compliments those songs with appropriate words that inspire and provide a context to worship. He or she beckons the congregation to follow them on the worship journey. The interaction is key.
What makes a good worship leader? God makes a good worship leader, in a number of different ways. But I hope this was helpful to take the next step in identifying and raising up good ones for His Church.
