What Worship Leaders Can Learn From Rockstars

We all want to be rockstars.

Ever since we were little boys and girls, we had our superheroes.

Whether it was Mr. Rogers, Superman, Blues Clues, Bono, Green Day, or Michael Jordan, we all want to influence a lot of people and have a popular name.

It’s in our nature to crave attention, pursue praise, and love popularity. It’s the very reason we’ve made poor decisions in the past and done stupid things.

 Being a worship leader doesn’t change that. We want to be the Chris Martin of worship.

Contrary to what you may think, there are some attributes we can learn from rockstars to improve our worship leading.

I’m not advocating you begin a lifelong journey into sex, drugs, & rock & roll. If that was the case, this blog would be finished 🙂 Let me explain.

Here are 5 things worship leaders can learn from rockstars:

1. Give 110% every time

Every time you step on that stage, no matter how big or small, give it all you’ve got. In our desire for large crowds and adoring fans, we tend to get discouraged when there’s only 15 people staring at us from the congregation, 14 of them being our family. I know you’ve heard this, but success starts in the small things. Think about U2. You know how many times they’ve played “Where The Streets Have No Name”? I’m not even going to guess. But you know what? They give it their all every time. It would be easy for The Edge to say, “Man! I ain’t gonna play that song again! I wrote that riff when I was 15! Let’s move on!” As a worship leader, believe with all your heart that God wants to move in a special way EVERY TIME you lead worship. You will never get to recreate that moment. Give 110%.

2. Connect with your “fans”

I know we don’t refer to our congregations as “fans” but you get the point. What rockstars do very well is connect emotionally with a crowd. I’ve seen Delirious in concert a few times and I was always blown away by Martin Smith’s ability to connect with a crowd. Be happy, fun, engaging, focused, encouraging, easy to follow, and prayed up. Mix songs people know and love with new songs you’re trying to teach. Remember THEY are your focus, not perfectly executing your songs.

3. Give your life to what you believe

Rockstars are often known and admired for really believing in something, whether good or bad. They build such loyal fans because they are really passionate and vocal about their cause. Worship Leaders, we have the privilege of trumpeting the greatest cause in the universe – the glory and fame of Jesus Christ. Guard yourself from simply tagging passion for Christ onto your musical gift. Pursue the heart of God until you are so lost in love and passionate for His fame, that it emanates from who you are. Nothing is more motivating and inspiring than following a worship leader who is madly in love with Jesus. Trumpet THE cause. Declare His glory.

4. Lead your team

Great bands have great leaders. If it wasn’t for strong leaders, music wouldn’t get written, records recorded, and ultimately, success achieved. As a worship leader your team is looking for you to lead. Develop a vision, know where you are going, and lead. Don’t be completely passive or your team may eventually walk all over you. If you don’t lead, someone else will.

5. You gotta love it

Mindlessly going through the motions won’t cut it. What do you think sustains rockstars for years and years? They love music. They guard their passion for music. If they lose that, they won’t last. In the same way, guard your passion for Christ and for leading worship. Remember the privilege it is to draw near to a Holy God, disciple musicians, raise up the next generation, and serve the greatest cause known to man. Guard your passion with tenacity.

Question: What other parallels can we draw from rockstars? What are some unlikely ideas that inspire you?