Perhaps all of your Christian life, you've been sitting down there in the pews, looking at the worship leader out in front, perhaps even making personal evaluations of how good or bad that particular leader is. Perhaps you've left some services, heart filled with singing and song that keeps running through your mind. And now, the time has come for you to take center stage and become a worship leader.
      And now, a little advice...

Even Before Preparing to Worship

An Attitude of Learning
      Worship leading is a gift and a skill. A worship leader is made, not born. You must remember that the only way you can improve as a worship leader is to keep learning. Learning by seeing principles and techniques in practice, and actually trying them out yourself.

      What should you do when you attend a worship which has been hampered by technical inaptitudes or other such factors? Firstly, you must have an attitude of humility and try not to criticize the leader for his faults, but you must learn from these mistakes and try and avoid them when you plan and lead your worship. With this attitude, you will be content to learn and improve one step at the time, and not try to jump to Don Moen's or Roy Kenoly's level at a shot, for example.

      A new worship leader must be willing to ask questions. I believe that today, it is not difficult to find mentors, or more experienced worship leaders, who are able to help new worship leaders plan and answer their questions. Even if one's first worship goes wrong, the difference lies in whether he was just going through the motion, or he has specifically set out to learn from others.

Knowing Our Weapons
      Also, you should learn new songs. We are asked to sing to the Lord a new song (Ps 33:3). God has given us creativity to glorify Him in all our life, including our worship. Many of today's new songs are the product of the Holy Spirit's work in a songwriter's life and represent the move of the Holy Spirit. A worship leader must learn to be familiar with worship songs so that he has a wide range of songs to choose from, and not have to sing the same songs over and over again -- too much of a good thing devalues its preciousness and makes it commonplace.

      Sometimes we are faced with musicians who may know our songs, or leaders may be asked to write their own transparencies. Hence if you aren't familiar with the songs yourself, you may not be able to use your song at all. Also, this knowledge is required when we are called upon to lead impromptu worships or spontaneous worship. Becoming familiar requires a committed effort and decision to learn new songs, e.g., through new tapes or in worships. It is an effort which will pay off, a discipline which brings its harvest.

A Personal Relationship with God
      Very importantly, the worship leader must spend time with God often, getting to know the written Word of God, becoming sensitive to the work of the Spirit and the still small whisper of God. As worship leaders, we are responsible for feeding God's flock, and we must be careful what we are telling our sheep. What we say must be in line with the Word of God, otherwise we might cause harm which may be difficult to undo. Studying the Word also helps us to discern the songs that we sing. A song may be tuneful, ministering to a congregation, but this does not mean that its lyrics are in line with the Word of God. That is why we must be careful.

      Spending time with God is a very important discipline which is basic to Christianity and will bring much fruit in this ministry, and I strongly urge all worship leaders, before they even try to get others right before God, to concentrate on getting themselves right before God first. As you become more and more experienced in worship leading, you will realize more and more the importance of living your life as you tell others to during your worships, and according to the will of God. You will know how important it is to be a peacemaker, a worker who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).

      And most importantly you will avoid that which is called the Lucifer Spirit. Lucifer, the "angel of light," beautiful and one of the most glorious created beings of God, tried to exalt himself above God. I have seen proud worship leaders who similarly think they are too good for fellow brothers of Christ's body. Eventually, you, as worship leaders, will learn your role within God's body and how you fit into it. It is a lesson which sadly, not too many people have learnt. But all these lessons will come, when you first seek the kingdom of God.

Mistakes New Worship Leaders Tend to Make

Playing the Preacher -- Too "Wordy"
      Oh yes, especially this mistake. Our role is to lead people in worship and prepare them for the preaching of the Word, not to preach the Word ourselves! During worship we all want to sing, not to listen to sermons, how many sermons in a meeting do we need anyway?? I remember, long ago, after one of my worships I was told, rather deflatingly, "Wesley, don't talk too much, it kills worship." After all, it takes an experienced worship leader, one who is sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, to know what to say during a worship which will really edify the worshippers. And for those who haven't even prepared what to say during a worship -- trying to put in your two cent's worth may not be the wisest!!

Too Anxious, Too Nervous, Too Moody, Too Unnatural
      These all stem from the worry a new worship leader feels. I would especially warn against being moody and frustrated on your worship day. Have such feelings not only upset you, it also upset those around you and prevent them from worshipping. If something is bothering you, you should quickly pray, either alone or with friends, for God to give you grace and peace in your heart and be a peacemaker unto others too. Remember, "I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me...I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him..." (Philippians 4:13, Amplified). So here lies too the solution to your anxiety and nervousness -- not to be worried but rather to trust in God. I cannot describe to you, how much worry had done to me in leading worships. But at the very moment I surrendered my anxiety to God, the freedom felt was boundless!

Worship Flow Interrupted
      This especially occurs with new worship leaders, rather like putting stop signs on an expressway. One cause is musical ineptness, for example problems caused by miscommunication between the worship leader and musicians. These tend to draw the congregation's attention away from God to the people up front leading. Unless you are a one-man-band, you will need proper rehearsals. Even now, I come up against musicians who forget what they are supposed to do (even though it's sometimes written out in black and white in front of them!). In such cases, remain calm -- don't criticize, and don't crack corny jokes. Another reason is not being sensitive to the feelings of your audience. They may be at a "high," truly worshipping and singing at the top of your voices, but you may end the song a trifle too abruptly -- and after that, proceed to announcements, for example about owner of vehicle SBCXXXXA who left his headlights on. Avoid that!

Too Many New Songs
      New songs are those which have never been sung in that organization before, or have not been sung in previous meetings more than 3 to 5 times. A new worship leader is usually not confident in teaching new songs; he tends to rely on the assumption that some of the congregation will know the song beforehand and support him. An experienced worship leader will be comfortable, but you will note that these good leaders have rehearsed with the musicians in advance and usually have backup singers or a worship choir to support them. It is difficult, although possible, for new worship leaders to create the responsive, participative atmosphere in the congregation when it comes to new songs. But sometimes we feel compelled to share a nice song or a "life-changing" one. Therefore, I urge a balance. It is good to share a new, refreshing song. But we must start out small, putting less of new songs in a way which will encourage our congregation to join in the learning too. This comes from practice and experience.

Where's the Shepherd?
      Okay, here's a common one (thanks to my friend Jason for reminding me about this). New worship leaders tend to be quite shy. Overwhelmed by the technical abilities of their musicians, or by their congregation, they let the musicians dictate (in the midst of worship) when the songs change or when to start the songs or whether to repeat the song. Finding the worship leader clueless, the congregation is kept guessing. I have seen situations when other members actually come up and take over "in broad daylight"! No, that's not how a worship leader operates. If you're unsure in the area of musical arrangement, work it out exactly with your musicians before the worship. During the worship, stick to your plan, and say audibly when you want to repeat the songs, for example. It takes practice to be able to execute repeats and song changes smoothly and spontaneously, but my advice is -- at the very least, try.

These points may be numerous, but they can be summarized in one phrase: start out simple, and don't do too much of anything you are not confident of doing, and learn as you lead. May God be gracious to you in your service, as much as he has been so to me. Amen!

Leading a Small Group in Worship

1. The Mood is the visible outward manifestation of people's attitudes, priorities and feelings. Small group meetings are very susceptible to the moods of individuals or some people. You are in control, however, because that responsibility has been given to you during your worship time. The first principle we all must remember, therefore, is to start on time, or not too late at least. We are indeed stewards of the time of God's flock, during the meeting. If you are not confident in asserting yourself, you could get a leader to help you prompt the people to get ready. It is not good for God to be waiting while his sheep are merrily chatting away and whiling away the worship time.

2. Musicians play a crucial role. It is not wise to have too many musicians -- 2 guitarists and maybe a keyboardist would often be more than enough for groups ranging in size from 10-40. Do take time to rehearse with your musicians. I personally dislike having to take back the guitar from a musician to play it myself, it tends to be disruptive. This is a good opportunity to work on your leader-musician co-ordination.

3. Don't forget to work out physical details like venue, arrangement of the room and chairs, transparencies and instruments.

4. Where there are no transparencies, do read out the lyrics of the song you are singing, at the end of each line. Actually only a part of the lyrics is necessary to help jog peoples' memories.

5. Remember to spend time preparing yourself before the worship. Sometimes it is good to leave off idle chatter and focus on God, especially when you act in the role of a messenger as a worship leader.