Leading Worship Without Burning Out: An Interview With Claire Hamilton

Today we have the privilege of hearing from a fantastic rising worship leader from Belfast, Ireland – Claire Hamilton.

Claire is a full time teacher, worship leader, wife, and band member of Rend Collective Experiment.

Her new album is definitely work picking up.

1. In case my readers don’t know you, tell us a little about yourself

I’m Claire Hamilton – I come from a town called Coleraine in the north coast of N.Ireland but I live in Belfast now with my husband David. I’m a teacher and my husband is a social worker so despite being very involved in songwriting and leading worship, I work a full time job and feel super committed to my community.

2. Tell us the heart behind your new project

My heart is to serve the church with songs. I hope that in the songs I write people will find fresh ways of meeting intimately with God, seeking Him in times of trouble and pain and of course challenging us to live lives that serve the least with justice.

3. What are some of your songwriting habits?

A great deal of the time my songs come as an overflow of what is happening in me personally, usually from a place of deep emotion e.g. Breathe on Me & Come Satisfy.

However at the moment, I am just reading through the Psalms and crafting lyrics based on what I have read.

I want to get stuck in God’s word as inspiration for life and song and wait for fresh melodies to bubble up. Generally speaking, the melody part is the easiest for me but I’m in a new season and I’m just taking a new approach.

4. What are some of your musical influences?

I have a few favourite bands & artists: The National, Sigur Ros, Thom Yorke (RadioHead), Bjork, Ryan Adams (to name a few!). In terms of worship music I have been enjoying recent albums from Bethel, Rend Collective Experiment (although I play for them so that might not count!), Passion, Kathryn Scott and many more.

I probably should mention all my worship leader peers here but hopefully they will forgive me 😉

5. What advice would you have for worship songwriters?

• Write from the heart.
• Read the word of God.
• Listen to speakers who inspire you.
• Make time to do what you love and whatever refreshes and challenges you.
• Co-write – get alongside other writers as this will probably result in great songs and will help to grow and sharpen your ability.
• Be connected and committed to the local church.

6. Any advice for local church worship leaders?

• Protect the unity of the church – Serve, knowing that it is hard work. At times it feels like you are not reaping the rewards but know that you are sowing into something of lasting value.
• Don’t be afraid to lead – Not just singing the songs but helping people connect with the song, and ultimately, God.
• Serve the congregation – The job of any worship leader is pastoral.
• Serve the pastor and eldership/leadership team.

7. What advice would you have for a young worship songwriter wanting to release their first project?

Establish what your values are. When you have strong values, you can remain focused when you feel like you are being pulled in different directions. You have something to measure yourself against and come back to.

I am committed to people so I do my best to honour and bless the team of people that help me serve as a worship leader. So often people get hurt when we make decisions and then don’t communicate effectively or honour the people who have been with us on the journey.

Be clear about the expectations of your project and make sure they’re realistic.

Don’t take up a ministry of raising your profile. Although we have responsibility for releasing the songs and working hard to ensure they have a chance, it is soo important that we don’t create a ministry of raising our profile. Again, it’s knowing what we are called to and what our values are. I am not called to raise the profile of Claire Hamilton. I am called to lead people in worship and serve the church.

8. How do you balance a full time job, leading worship, being in a band, and recording your own music?

It would be an exaggeration to say I always find a balance and like all things in life there are seasons where different aspects of what we do are more prominent or demanding. I normally take out my diary and look at 6 month blocks and ensure that at least every month there is a full weekend where we have no commitments for work, church or otherwise.

We also block out holidays at the beginning of each year because time together as husband and wife is incredibly precious and because we are both involved in worship then that time could soo easily be neglected or misinterpreted as ‘time together’.

I am passionate about leading worship but I’m also convinced that it has to be sustainable. In 10 years I’d still like to be doing this stuff and know that my marriage or family life hasn’t suffered. Therefore I’ve learnt to say no to engagements that don’t fit who I am or what I’m called to do.

I’m a bit of an ‘organize in advance’ kind of girl, so if I’m going to record I like to have that in my diary at least 3 months before. When I say yes to playing for anyone else I normally ask for all the rehearsal dates in advance so that I’m sure that my diary has some ‘me’ time left. Truth be told, there are times when we won’t have a free evening for 2 weeks running and then there are times when there’s very little going on.

9. Any last words?

Download my album! – Introducing Claire Hamilton. If I can help encourage you in any aspect of what I’ve talked about then just get in touch via Facebook or Twitter.

Winners!

• Jeff Somers
• Elizabeth Rhyno
• Patrick Russell

Question: What did Claire share in the interview that struck you the most? You can leave a comment by clicking here.