Worship leaders, we’ve gotten really good at leading songs.
But for us to see the breakthrough we want to see, we need to grow as leaders. Why? Because we are leading a post-Christian people. There are people in our churches who have never been to church. They don’t know the Gospel and they don’t know what to do in worship.
Your leadership skills on Sunday will help those who are new Christians to engage in worship. Having a great band and getting through songs isn’t enough.
Leadership is not musical ability and musical ability is not leadership. Leadership goes deeper. It sets foot in uncomfortable places. It goes where most are not willing to. A leader is a catalyst for change.
9 Leadership Skills for Worship Leaders
And here are some ways a worship leader can increase their leadership and be a catalyst for change:
1. Helping people relax – A good worship leader helps people feel comfortable. Vulnerability is cultivated in a safe environment. And corporate singing and worship falls into that category.
2. Challenging people to go deeper – A pastoral worship leader isn’t content with just getting through a set. The goal isn’t to sing a few great songs. They have a passion for the people of God to go deeper – to sing louder, to take steps of faith, to move closer to Jesus. It’s always easier to hide behind the songs. It takes guts to step out.
3. Being Prophetic – The best worship pastors are prayerful. They’re not just in prayer about Sunday’s set, but about the people. They pursue the voice of God for their church. They want to know what God is saying.
4. Spotlighting the Gospel – Attention. It’s an important word when it comes to worship because, essentially, you are calling a room full of people to rapt attention. But what are they focusing on? Your team and your talent? Are you crafting your set in order to magnify the coolness of your art? Or are you crafting an experience that magnifies Jesus and spotlights the Gospel? Because in my mind, that’s the only choice.
5. Prepping for Spontaneity – Depending on your tradition, spontaneous can mean a lot of things. Allow me to broaden the category. Think of spontaneous as relaxed. You can’t be spontaneous if you don’t know what you’re doing. “Feeling the moment” can only happen when the basics are intuitive. You can’t be spontaneous as a Quarterback if you don’t know how to throw a football. By building up that intuitive sense on your instrument, with singing, with flow, you’ll build up the necessary tools to lead well in the moment if you feel a deviation from the plan is necessary.
6. Leading in-between songs – What you do in between songs can make all the difference between your worship set feeling plastic or real. Get comfortable with transitions. Don’t just stop and restart.
7. Developing Patience – How do you handle it when people don’t respond as you’d hoped? How do you handle being nervous? Great worship leaders know when to be intense and when to be calm. It’s about having a patient disposition where you’re trusting the Holy Spirit, speak clearly, know how to navigate silence, and stay in control.
8. Leading with Energy – Energy doesn’t have to mean bouncing around the stage like a cheerleader. Energy is leading from your heart. It’s believing every lyric. It’s being so caught up in the majesty of God that you exude Jesus. It’s living a life that amplifies the songs. Live Sunday morning before Sunday morning comes.
9. Practice Talking – I think we can all agree that leading worship isn’t just singing through songs, hoping people will join in. In many ways you’re a coach, challenging and teaching your “team” how to go deeper. In order to do that well, you’ll need to practice public speaking – learning how to connect with the room. Practice this before Sunday hits.
Anything you would add to this list? Love to hear from you.
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[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
I agree 100% with what you wrote. I would like to suggest another point be added. Worship Leaders MUST perform their function with humbleness and humility and not have any outside egotism, arrogance, or self-promotion enter into the equation. As it is, musicians tend to have inflated egos anyway, add to that the requirement of standing in front of a group of people leading them and things tend to get misaligned sometimes. Sometimes the WL begins to believe the congregation is there to see THEM perform and start behaving “it’s all about them”; THEY must have all the solos, THEIR voice must be heard above all others, THEIR instrument must be heard at all times, the spotlight must be on THEM…. That’s not good!
One of the worst cases of egotism in the church I have seen was at 2 different churches, 2 different denominations. Both WL HAD to have all the attention always. They did not allow anyone else to solo, all musicians and singers on stage were behind them, etc. One of the best I have seen is the church we are attending now. The WL fields a praise band of 14 players and singers and he merely begins and ends each song and gives small signals to his band. He prefers simplicity and believes in letting others shine and appears to favor staying “out of the spotlight” so-to-speak and promotes others before himself. This is so totally refreshing.
Amen!!
This. Is. Legit.
Thanks for sharing this!
For sure!
I went through some of these this Sunday as I was leading. David you always hit it. You are helpful. God bless!
Thank you a lot
David is there anyway possible to have a private Skype with you?
Hey Steve, email me@davidsantistevan.com
Hi David,
Great tips for all of us. There’s a couple I would add, although you’ve probably mentioned these before:
1. Lead yourself
If we are not soaked in the word ourself, how can we lead others?
2. Know your Pastor
He is the ultimate worship leader and we need to understand and submit to that vision to effectively lead the ongregation
Love these, Bren! These are both so important.
I would certainly add to that list being GENUINE. The person they see on the platform needs to be the same person they talk to at coffee and encounter on picnics or social functions.
Then it is not us performing or doing WORSHIP but Worshipping in Spirit and TRUTH