Worship leader, you may not be as “cutting edge” as that other church.
You may sing worship songs that are 12 years old.
You may not write your own songs like that uber-talented friend of yours.
You may feel irrelevant. Old. Ill-equipped. Unqualified. But guess what? It’s OK.
There’s a different war you need to be fighting – more important than relevance, innovation, and keeping up.
What is the war? Staying amazed by God.
No matter what you do, don’t cut corners when it comes to gazing upon Jesus in wide-eyed wonder.
Let that sink in. Drink it in deep. Let your heart feel the weight.
The War On Distraction
There’s a lot of wars you could fight – to have the best music, to get your creative way, to make your name known. But the only one worth fighting is a war on distraction – your tendency to be satisfied with the earthly.
This world pines for my attention. Pride steals my fascination. Each new day arises with lesser passions to steal my affection.
I must go to war every day. And so do you.
Make it your aim, goal, and life calling to keep your eyes fixed on God, in complete awe. The best worship leaders are those who are gazing. They are noticers. They look for God. They look at God. They see His wonders. And they respond.
When you read about Jesus in Scripture, when you hear his name in public, when you see the glory of God in creation, be the first one to praise. Be the first one to gaze.
The Danger of Professionalism
You see, this ministry isn’t about becoming more professional. It’s about becoming more positional – positioning our lives to see God and stand amazed.
There’s nothing wrong with professionalism. But oftentimes the more professional you become, the colder your heart gets.
While our methods may change and improve, our hearts must remain childlike in their worship. I never want to become a “professional” worshiper.
I want to get lost. I want to gaze. I want to be fascinated.
When my son gets excited, something happens. He doesn’t try to remain poised, in control, and calm. The largest grin appears, his hands start waving, and he goes crazy with happiness.
It’s beautiful. And that’s how I want to be when it comes to worship.
Let me ask you a few questions.
- When was the last time you were overwhelmed by God?
- When was the last time you were moved to tears by His goodness?
- When was the last time you stood in awe of His power?
- What’s a recent story you have of His goodness?
The best worship leaders stay current – not just on songs, sounds, and strategies – but by staying amazed by the glory of God (Tweet that).
Because they know their hearts are prone to wander.
Because they know their affections tend to fixate on the earthly.
Because they know their tendency to worship themselves.
What about you? Are you fighting this war?
How do you keep your eyes fixed on God, fascinated by His glory? How does this influence your worship leading? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
Thanks David! You have put very succinctly the battle that has raged in my own life in recent weeks. After a mission trip to Ecuador, God really is dealing with me over my love for the things of this world. I spend way to much time on temporal pleasures and not nearly enough time gazing at the greatness of God. You’ve encouraged me this morning. Thanks!
Good to hear, Joey! I’m in the same place. It’s a constant battle but one so worth fighting. Keep up the good work!
David,
I just can’t tell you how much your blog and podcasts have been ministering to me and our worship group in such a short time. I am so appreciative for the pure heart of worship that you have which clearly comes across in your messages. You keep me centered when there are so many distractions at every turn trying to move us off the narrow path. There is a true balance between professionalism and remembering our raison d’être is to worship with everything we have to our audience of one, never ceasing to be amazed at His sacrifice, love, mercy and strength. I would love for our team to meet with you one day so if you ever happen to be on Long Island in NY, please let me know.
Hey John, great to meet you and thanks for connecting! I really appreciate the kind words. It’s been a couple years since I’ve been in Long Island but I absolutely love it up there. Maybe we could work something out in the near future. Feel free to email me@davidsantistevan.com
Thanks!
Hey there– Thank you for the encouragement to fix our gaze on God and his awesomeness–for me, that is spending time in nature. When I start to get tangled up in self, I go outside and look up; That reorients me immediately! I was a little perplexed though about the assertion that the best worship leaders stay “current”–that wouldn’t even make a showing on my list of “best” qualities. (point of view check–I minister in several different congregations that run the complete gamut of methods/styles) As you describe, the “best” worship leaders are those who are so focused and in love with our awesome God–that they completely disappear into the throne room in their leading and are able to draw every member of the congregation into that sacred spirit space as well. That can happen using a song they wrote this morning or a hymn written in the 14th century. “Currentness” is about us. Not about God.
Anyway, that got long-but I am learning a lot from your posts, thanks!
Thanks Alexandra! Yea, my comment on being current was more about staying current in our pursuit of God, not necessarily songs.
Thanks for this, David. This meant a lot to me at this time of my life.
My favorite excerpt from this post? “There’s a lot of wars you could fight – to have the best music, to get your creative way, to make your name known (my particular pride struggle of late). But the only one worth fighting is a war on distraction – your (my!) tendency to be satisfied with the earthly.”
Blessings & strength to you…
Brad Pearson
Worship Pastor
Faith Bible Church
Spokane WA
Brad, thanks for stopping by. Glad to be a blessing. Keep up the good work!
“No matter what you do, don’t cut corners when it comes to gazing upon Jesus in wide-eyed wonder.” Wow, this is such a powerful statement! Thank you for writing this, David.
Thanks Taylor! I appreciate the comment.
I am in the war, and I appreciate you being in it as well David. I read Colossians 3:1 this morning and read it a number of times through the day. Timely considering I JUST read this blog today too… I spoke with a fellow worship leader at another church last week about seeing God in Everything and the importance of it – he was on an elevator and God spoke to him there.. we were commenting how important it is to connect those normal things in life to worship and God’s kingdom. Prayer is huge. Praying Col 1:9-12 has been instrumental in the last month for me. My answer is not profound by any-means…… how do I keep fascinated? … stay in his word and pray that he’d fascinate me.
Awesome, Jason. I love how you’re being intentional about reading Scripture throughout your day. No better discipline.
Hi David, thanks again for your wonderful and above all experimental lessons you share with us, for me to stay amazed at the Lord is by reading His Word, especially the miracles He worked while on earth and the old testament records of Elijah, the 3 Hebrew boys, the awesome insights and wisdom He instilled in Daniel which brought Him glory over and over AWESOME. Another way of staying amazed is that I am looking for Him during worship intentionally, sometimes i get a climpes other times i have to have it by faith.
love reading your posts
God bless You
PRISCILLA
Thanks Priscilla!
David
thanks for this word. i like your thinking “When my son gets excited, something happens. He doesn’t try to remain poised, in control, and calm. The largest grin appears, his hands start waving, and he goes crazy with happiness.It’s beautiful. And that’s how I want to be when it comes to worship”. Going to God like a child—-ALWAYS AMAZED!!!
Cant wait to hear what you have to say this weekend @ the NewLife Worship Arts Conference
Martin, I am pumped to come. Look forward to meeting you!
Hi David,
Thank you for this article challenged and encouraged… I have been working with a church in Kolkata, India and our worship team has been keeping up with all your articles.
Thank you,
Zac
Hey Zac, that is so awesome to hear. Thanks for reading! Let me know how else I can serve you guys!
I am blessed! Thanks a lot. From Cameroon.
This is exactly what I needed to read. I am new at being a worship leader, I guess you could say it’s my second part of life calling. I am 43 but have only for the past 2 years been leading worship. So when you talked about feeling Old, ill-equipped, unqualified…that is me, that is how I feel every time I lead worship. My church is awesome about encouraging me…and all the praise team members,,,but I often I feel like my guitar skills are lacking or my vocals are off. The only thing I can say is that I love Jesus and I love to see the church worshiping Him with me. So this was very encouraging to me, to know that as long as I stay amazed by who He is, what He has done and how He has worked in my life, and keep pursuing excellence in the other areas, than it’s ok. Thank you!