I hate to say this, but your worship leading isn’t what it used to be.
Sure, you’ve improved your technique since the early days. You’ve gotten more professional. Everything is tight. But when it comes to worship, something is missing.
I’m being this blunt because I believe in you. You have potential for greatness.
If I didn’t care, I’d simply be quiet. But I’m committed to your development.
5 Reasons Why Your Worship Leading Is Stagnant
Here’s what I’ve noticed:
1. You Worship Your Setlist
A songlist is meant to be a vehicle to the main event, not the main event itself. When you lead, it seems like getting through the songs is all you care about.
Don’t be afraid to bare your soul and pursue God with passion. Don’t be afrad of the spontaneous. We’re ready to follow you.
2. Your Relationship with God is Stagnant
After a while, it becomes hard to fake it. When your relationship with God isn’t growing, your worship leading comes to a standstill.
The more you see of God in His Word, the more you want to worship. The more you see of God in your everyday life, the more you want to worship. Don’t become calloused to His presence.
3. You’re Too Consumed with Music
I’m not going to lie, your music is fantastic. Well arranged, thoughtful, progressive, and engaging. But I can tell you are way too preoccupied with it.
It doesn’t even seem like you’re thinking about God because of how consumed with music you are. Most of us who attend church don’t come to hear good music. We want Jesus. Lead us to that place!
4. You Don’t Connect with People
Worship Leading is a public relations role. If you don’t like people, it’s going to be difficult to lead well. Because leading in worship is about connecting with the room – relating to the crowd so that they trust you, and follow.
That doesn’t mean you can’t be an introverted worship leader, it just means you need to develop your people skills.
5. You Need to Recharge
It seems to me like you lead worship 52 weekends a year. That’s just not healthy. You need to guard your schedule and plan for adequate rest. No one will do this for you.
If you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be any good for those God has called you to lead. Self-leadership should be your first focus. Guard your day off. Plan your vacations in advance. Visit other churches a few weekends a year. Go to a conference.
Read this book
I hope you don’t take this as a slam. Matter of fact, you are a great worship leader. Over time, it’s just easy to forget what’s most important.
We need you to lead us!
Question: How else does our worship leading grow stagnant? How can we guard this from happening? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Photo Credit: Creative Commons (Flickr)
Hey David I like the tweaks on the site!
Ok I’ll add this …
You’re chasing yesterday’s anointing.
You do the same things over and over cause it worked before. You’re trying to replicate the moment everything clicked, you caught the lighting in a bottle, and God really seemed to show up.
But that was then, and this is now.
The cloud moves, expect the unexpected. Sing a new song (Psalm 96). You can not lead on yesterday’s anointing.
Convicted. I feel I get stuck in this rut quite often. Thanks for the challenge, Rob.
Hey man! I haven’t posted in a long while. I have continued reading these writings and always draw strength here. I love your passion David. Ive been struggling with some tough decisions since the first of the year and I didnt wanna post for that reason. Your statement, “Im being BLUNT because I believe in you” was what I noticed for my situation in this article. I did just that that Saturday with a very dear friend and fellow minister. It doesnt always go so well and isnt always taken as intended. I love for people to be truthful and to the point with me. As far as my worship leading? Im guilty of everything Ive ever read here, lol. I can truly do nothing without Jesus. He is True and ever man is a liar. I honor you David for what u do here. If prayer requests are acceptable here, I can really use prayer for God’s leading me in clarity in His will for me right now. God bless!
Christopher, good to hear from you! Thanks for the comment. I will be praying for you today, that God would bring clarity!
And your posture of “doing nothing without Jesus”? That’s a great place to be 🙂
How about, “You assume you know it all and stopped taking feedback”
I believe the best way to guard ourselves is to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and never stop learning. Sounds cliche, but true.
Ah, so true. I tend to get defensive when people suggest improvement. I’m like, “how dare you offer ME advice!” I don’t say that out loud but in my head I’m shouting it 🙂
Lord have mercy!
I’ve learned that my private times of worship are what matter most. Every morning without fail I’m in the Word and in prayer. Most mornings I pick up my guitar and start worshiping God based on the love I’ve just experienced. Some days I say, “Wow! That could be a worship song!” I turn on my trusty sound recorder and record 2 or 3 minutes of the new song. And that’s as far as it goes. It’s almost as if these songs are private love songs between God and me. It’s the “sing a new song” thing David spoke of. I’ve got so many little snippets of praise and worship on my ZOOM recorder. Even though very few of these become songs that I do in church, the songs that I do bring to the table on Sunday morning are more infused with the spirit of worship that I practice throughout the week. I stress to my team that worship isn’t a faucet we turn on and off; it’s a stream that flows.
Love this, Tom. Have you ever tried to turn those songs into finished songs for your church? I know it can take the “spontaneity” out of it but the world may be missing something amazing!
I’m at a place where I need a break for a season. Unfortunately my back-up moved this past winter which makes it difficult to take time off! The continuing challenge is to get with God to recharge me prior to each Sunday so the congregation doesn’t suffer. All in all, I appreciate the encouragement to check in on our hearts!
Travis, the good news is your exactly on the right path. You have the heart knowledge that it’s not about learning a new song or figuring out some flashy new accompaniment or arrangement. It’s all about LEADING your congregation to the place you’ve been and to where you go on a regular basis. Once told my team that really inept leaders try to lead others to places they rarely visit; great leaders are familiar with the territory and love leading others there.
Travis, I’m in a similar place friend. Find those little moments throughout the week to re-charge. Be encouraged.