Have you ever wondered if what you do really matters?
Does leading worship make a difference?
All the time you spend crafting your setlist, arranging music, discipling your team, and connecting to the congregation – does it do any good?
Does anyone care?
I want you to be encouraged today. Yesterday may have been the most discouraging morning of worship leading you’ve ever encountered. Tears may have been shed. You might be ready to throw in the worship leading towel.
Or, it may have been the best. You feel world class.
If you’re like me, worship leading involves a roller coaster of emotions. One week, you feel ready to tour with Chris Tomlin. Another, you want to change vocations.
We Need You
We need you to look beyond what happened yesterday and see the bigger picture. But we need you to keep leading worship.
Why?
Because you are introducing people to Jesus.
Stepping into your worship services each and every week are people that don’t know Jesus. And you are setting the table for them to encounter His glory for the first time.
You are the liaison between a stone cold heart and the miracle working power of Jesus.
Don’t get discouraged if you suck sometimes. You don’t have to be perfect.
Don’t give up if you feel like you don’t have what it takes. You’re in a good position for God to use you.
Don’t throw in the towel if your team doesn’t possess the X Factor and Simon Cowell hasn’t discovered you.
Know that you are making a difference. Maybe you didn’t receive a compliment yesterday. Allow me to thank you. Though I didn’t hear your perfect pitch or the killer guitar solo, I know that you were faithful yesterday.
You were faithful to stand before the people of God and herald the praises of our matchless Creator. His worth is unsurpassed. His glory is beyond great.
We need more leaders like you.
Question: Worship Leader, why do you do what you do? It’s storytelling time today 🙂 Share your story in the comments.
Thank you David! I’m on our worship team, with the role of making up the fortnightly rotas and also leading worship…We ALL need encouragement, and even though I know that I know that I am doing what God is calling me to do, I need to hear a person telling me I’m doing OK, apart from my husband who plays guitar on the team, I don’t hear that from within the team. Your post was written for me this morning – God bless you!!
Sheelagh, that’s awesome. Though I’ve never heard you lead worship, I know how much work goes into it each week. Thanks for doing what you do! Where do you lead?
Wick Baptist Church, north of Scotland. It feels like we are in a “holding” time..but at the same time the Lord is working in lives, moving His people around…we have a great Pastor who is very supportive of the worship team which is a blessing. Just had a bit of a crisis of calling if there is such a phrase, I am just starting out on the leading, and have not found a way that I am comfortable with… it shouldn’t be this hard should it?
Leading worship is never easy. The more experience you get and the better your band is, the easier it becomes. What was the problem?
I am on a team of youth leading worship I’m 50. Sometimes I feel old standing there with all the young ones.. I hear thoughts of discouragement like I might be holding them back or they are so good they get leads and you just back up sing they really don’t need you you are too old .. just stepped down. But I can’t..
Thanks for the encouragement David. You caught me on “Don’t get discouraged if you suck sometimes. You don’t have to be perfect”. Sometimes I felt that people are just waiting for my mistakes as I lead the worship and no encouragement to my leaders but nonetheless, the value of worship leading to the power of Christ is what matters most.
Luisa, know that you are appreciated even though people may not express it to you. You may never know the life changing impact your leadership is having. Thanks for the comment!
Diddo David! Awesome!
Follow me on twitter? **wickchick**
Will do!
There were weeks that I wanted to take a plane to Alaska and hide there until everyone forgot how bad we did. My pastor and I were just talking about this. I believe the more I know my identity in Christ and know why I do what I do(like you mentioned)It is a little easier to deal with those situations.
Trust me, I’m not there yet, but I know when you feel like giving up, that’s when it counts to stick through it. The blessing and reward might be right behind that struggle.
Beautifully spoken, Khamille. Isn’t it good to know we all go through this?
Hey David,
I happened onto your blog a few weeks back. You’ve had some great posts that have definitely brought encouragement. I decided to make more time in my life for the things that are important, like you had said in another post. Your blog was one of the few I kept to read. It is well worth it. Thanks for being such an encouragement to others. May God richly bless you and anoint the words you write.
Jeff Pope
Jeff, thank you for your kind words. Really means a lot. Do you lead worship?
Good encouragement David! Especially when we feel like we sucked!?! 😉
I feel like that quite often 🙂
my favorite sentence was, ‘You are the liaison between a stone cold heart and the miracle working power of Jesus.’ personally, the LORD has almost always used music to melt my cold heart. i don’t lead worship anywhere any more, but i think it can be a thankless, exhausting, and very public job.
the worship at my church was especially sweet yesterday. love to see the faces of the choir as they sing and participate in the service. makes me wanna worship too. 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement, Lori!
I do it because someone did this for me, a lot of someones-we moved often. (and 4-6 year old kids are amazing to work with!) I would not know Him from my family alone. I was lucky to be exposed to scripture in words and music during my childhood that contained what I came to know was lasting truth tested out in seasons of my life. To not be for those who do not know he is present is unthinkable. The kid that comes once a month is a big deal. And people I live and work with day in and day out. That’s where it gets down to reality. Yesterday was not so smooth, good timing for this note.
Thanks for this blogpost David! I’ve been a silent reader for some time now, but I just wanted to comment on this one and say thanks! I even forwarded it to my whole team as an encouragement for everyone. 🙂
That’s awesome, Alexandra! You should comment more often 🙂 I always learn so much more from everyone’s insightful comments. That’s where the gold is!
Hey buddy way to spread the encouragement love! That was an awesome word.
I wrote one myself last week – http://www.robstill.com/how-to-encourage-yourself-and-find-joy/
Rejection comes with the territory. Why keep at it?
Because it delights God.
You are a totally rockin blogger.
Thanks David for this. This is insightful. I used to feel dejected when worship session were not up to ‘it’. However, I have come to learn that it is not about the preparation and focus on skills/abilities but about how prepared the heart is. Its all about Jesus. Like you said in the post, just because people don’t say doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate our efforts. I love music passionately and I found it a privilege yielding myself to God so as to lead people into His presence. Your post has further encouraged me. You are always an inspiration. God’s blessing to you now and always.
Thank You. I was searching yesterday for something to encourage my team and found your articles. We have to encourage each other instead of reminding others of mistakes. your team needs to hear that no matter how bad it was today, it will be perfect tomorrow. we may take baby step today but tomorrow we will run like deers. Make encouragement part of your teams routine. not doing this they will be discouraged and give up. BLESSINGS.
Hi David,
I praise God because of you! We need more leaders like you.
I found your blog today and have been reading some of your posts, but this one brought tears to my eyes.
‘Don’t give up if you feel like you don’t have what it takes. You’re in a good position for God to use you.’
I have been blessed by your words, somehow I’m reminded of the similarities between Moses and me (Ex.4). Moses wasn’t a great speaker, I don’t have a great voice. But since He’s put me there I should be focusing on being in His service, on how He has carried me through, on how worthy, wonderful, and glorious He is.
From now on: use me, Lord!
Janesca
I stumbled upon your blog yesterday and I was very fortunate for having done so. I am currently Worship Leader, but sometimes I feel that is not my lane. I am more comfortable training singers (choir & praise team) than leading worship. I was sort of “thrown” into the responsibility of worship leader because there was nobody, but me. I wonder alot of times if this is my true calling. Thanks for what you do. It truly has been a blessing to me.
God Bless You!
No problem, man. Glad to have you join the community. Do you think if you had more experience you’d like leading worship more?
Thanks for this blog David and yor awesome podcast! It sometimes feels like worship leading is a very lonely and confidence-crushing endeavor but your resources are a constant source of the truth that God’s called us worthy of leading people in an encounter with Him.
Thank you so much. It’s amazing to see that I’m not alone.
Thank you David for that post, it was encouraging. I’ve been struggling with God’s calling on my life to be a worship leader because I don’t have the great voice,my guitar playing is alot better than my voice and recently I got some negative feedback and It was hard handling it. So I stepped back and now I just play the guitar, but opportunities keep popping up and I turn them down. I really needed to hear what you said, thank you.