7 Disciplines of a Good Worship Leader

A life well lived is less about instant gratification and more about steady discipline. I know, the dreaded “D” word.

But it’s true. Achieving greatness is about making great choices every day over the long haul.

John Maxwell says it best: “See what a person is doing every day, day after day, and you’ll know who that person is and what he or she is becoming.”

Good worship leaders are no different. They’ve learned to develop certain disciplines that make them effective at what they do. Here are what I would call “7 Disciplines of a Good Worship Leader”:

1. Lead out of your story

• Are you leading out of a ‘NOW’ faith or yesterday’s encounter?
• What has God brought you through?
• What is God currently doing in you?

2. Worship extravagantly behind closed doors

• Who are you when there are no lights, stage, band, etc?
• People see right through a fake worshiper
• Before God blesses your worship ministry, he may teach you how to worship behind the scenes for a while. Maintain that discipline.

3. Constantly improve your craft

• Personally – practice your instrument; practice your weak areas (speaking, transitioning, flowing)
• With your team – create a fun, disciplined culture; challenge your musicians; allow input but know what you want. Musicians like to feel their opinion matters, but they also like to be led well; put front end work into rehearsals

4. Pastor your worship team

• Worship with your worship team
• Prepare yourself and your team for the spontaneous

5. Passionately embrace the vision of your senior pastor

• If you don’t agree with your senior pastor’s vision, it might be a sign that you’re in the wrong place.
• Local church worship leading isn’t a platform for your global worship enterprise or a place to push your own agenda. Get under your pastor’s vision and pour yourself into it.

6. View the worship service through the lens of your congregation

• People don’t care about your slick production, powers stances, and air-tight arrangements. They want to connect with a heart that loves and pursues Jesus.
• Minimize distractions so when it’s time to lead worship you can focus on your congregation and Jesus.
• Practice hard, but don’t just perform great arrangements of worship hits. Connect with the people. Connect with God.
• The best worship times are usually what happens in between your well-rehearsed songs.

7. Pursue an ever-expanding view of God

• A.W. Tozer – “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
• Nothing inspires worship more than amazement. Seek each day to become more and more amazed by the glory of God.
• What books are you currently reading to expand your view of God?
• Do you view your Bible reading as a worship experience?

Question: What are some other disciplines you would add to this list? You can leave a comment by clicking here.