The Unqualified Worship Leader's Guide To Worship Leading

Last Sunday I ended a nearly four-year stint as worship leader at Trinity United Methodist Church in Prattville, AL. It's a job I never should have had in the first place, but for some reason God placed me there. I say never should have had because I have stage fright something awful and my musical background - while including much singing - has little musical instrument training. (Yes, I had 7 years of piano lessons, but about all I can play on the keys is Chopsticks.) On paper, it just didn't make sense for me to be worship leader. But by God's grace, the sweet encouragement of a friend and the whole hog support of a pastor, I took it on hesitantly.

I was blessed beyond measure in this position because I was surrounded by the most talented musicians in town. Seriously. One played with the Bee Gees and KC & The Sunshine Band, could play anything by heart on keys - and I mean anything - and had superior producing skills. Two were in a band called the Sweet Young'uns for nearly 50 years and could play the sweetest licks around. Another was a songwriter and talented on several instruments. We had two amazing drummers, gobs of talented singers with unique voices and a bass player from Hawaii that made a coconut bra look pretty frightening. Later with the addition of yet another amazing drummer who had the best song ideas ever and more guitarists that added character to our songs, this praise band was truly hard to beat. Between all these folks, Sunday after Sunday, the Holy Spirit brought our congregation to the most beautiful place of worship. And I learned so much.

And I think what I learned is something all worship leaders (or those wanting to be) can learn from. So here it goes ...

1) Stop noodling and vibrato when you are singing worship songs. The congregation has trouble singing with you when you are showing off vocally. You can sometimes retard the end of a song to do your noodling then, but good heavens, keep it out of the the meat of the song.

2) Oldies but goodies are always the favorites. Don't hesitate to utilize those top CCLI worship songs frequently. There is a reason they are on the top of the list. People LOVE to sing them and worship wholeheartedly when they do.

3) Do not introduce new songs during the opening segment of worship. Keep those songs to the offertory time when the congregation typically isn't singing along. This will give them a chance to hear the song for the first time, so the next time it is part of worship they will be familiar with the tune.

4) Drop the mid-song instrumental parts. It's performance, pure and simple. What exactly is the congregation supposed to be doing while you're doing a slamming solo? We incorporated a few instrumentals during worship, but it was rare and brief.

5) Pray before every practice and every worship. It's for the Father after all, so why not start with Him.

6) Be authentic. I will never forget attending a worship leading conference where the leader of the workshop encouraged vocalists to raise their hands whether they were feeling the Spirit or not. His exact words were "Fake it - the congregation is following your lead." I was appalled. Let the Holy Spirit lead your worship. Fake it? Are you kidding me? Ridiculous.

7) You don't have to memorize everything. I had another workshop leader say every instrumentalist and vocalist should have words and music memorized. Baloney. That might work for your megachurches, but volunteers in praise bands do not all necessarily have the time or talent for that. So you have music stands and monitors on stage and lyrics projected on the walls. This isn't a show. It's worship.

8) Lay low on the special effects, keep the volume at an appropriate level (you should not have to pass out earplugs at the door), and steer clear of rock band show tactics. Again, this is not a concert. It's worship.

9) Lower the lights in the congregation if you can during your open set. People feel less intimidated worshiping (dancing, hands lifted, singing) when they think no one else can see them. However, congregation - I saw you ... and loved it. :)

10) You do not have to wear anything particular when you are leading worship. Some folks think the standard contemporary service outfit is a t-shirt and jeans (girls add a scarf). I made sure to wear whatever I wanted and encouraged our band to do the same. I like sparkles (Heaven is sparkly, so I was too). Sometimes I wore a dress, sometimes capris, sometimes T-shirts, sometimes dress clothes. I wanted anyone who came to our service to feel comfortable - dressy or casual - so I dressed as such. On Pentecost I might tell everyone to wear some red or be in red, white and blue for a patriotic service. One of our guitarists wore a mink on stage once and a captain's hat another time. It was him, so I was cool with it. Just as I am without one plea...

11) Change the key of a song. I know some worship leaders are hesitant to do so, but honestly, I found it was much easier for our congregation to sing some songs when the key came down a bit. And it certainly helped me sing them.

12) Don't be afraid to mix songs. We would put choruses of classic hymns in the middle or at the end of some contemporary songs where they worked and it was beautiful. Just make sure the key and tempo are the same.

13) Bacon is awesome for your voice. I know that sounds crazy, but greasy foods, I found, lubricated the vocal chords and helped a bunch, especially at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. Milk coats the chords and you spend a good bit of time clearing your throat in the morning if you've had some.

14) Take time to really meditate on what the sermon is about and what the Scriptures are for that week when selecting music. The Holy Spirit picked the music for almost every single Sunday for worship. I say almost because I picked my favorites for my last Sunday and let some of our band folks when they were leaving do the same. It is amazing how the Lord had the perfect songs sitting there waiting to be discovered for worship. It was a miraculous process to be a part of.

15) Listen to Christian music frequently and - cough - religiously. :) That's the best way to get to know new worship songs and hear what the public is loving to sing. Check out Itunes new releases, listen to your local Christian station, check out www.praisecharts.com and www.ccmsongsbytopic.com. And never let anyone tell you Contemporary Christian is less Biblical, theological or worshipful than hymns. Let's face it, many hymns were once bar tunes - secular songs with new lyrics. Contemporary Christian music is powerful, beautiful and worshipful.

16) Make sure your band members have a servant heart. Notice I didn't say a heart for God. While that is ideal, if your band members don't know God, they will get a good dose of Him at practice and worship, so let God handle that. But be sure they have servant hearts. Ask them to get you a glass of water or help you move something on stage. If they leap up to help, servant's heart. If not, they may be a little more self-focused and that helps no one.

17) Don't be afraid to say no. Lots of people think they can sing, but not everyone can carry a tune, stay in key, sing in synch with others, or are reliable, or are flexible, or are willing to do background vocals. If it doesn't work, say so. Yes, folks may walk away with a bruised ego, but this isn't about that, is it?

18) Keep copious notes. If a particular sound, funk or beat works, write it down. If that extra verse was one too many, scratch it out. If one person's voice works amazingly for a specific song, jot it down. If you've found acapella parts or key changes or tempos or harmonies or a change in the road map of the song works - write it down and remember it for next time.

19) Use a metronome. Yes, sometimes the songs will get loud and your drummer can't hear or feel the metronome vibrate, but it consistently helps keep everyone from speeding up or dragging.

20) Let go and let God. If you saw where our praise band started on Tuesday evenings for practice and where we ended up on Sunday worship, you would be amazed. The Holy Spirit showed up and showed off every single week. And it was a joy to observe the transition process.

There you go - the unqualified worship leader's guide to worship leading. You know, I will probably never lead worship again. And that's okay. This was my season to do so. The time and circumstances were just right for me. By God's grace, I never got to a place where I was so comfortable on stage that I forgot Who was in charge. So I am grateful for those knocking knees, shaking hands, pasty tongue and pounding heartbeat. Cause I knew I could never do it myself. And even more thankful for a sweet husband - and friends if he was out of town - who would hold my hand till I calmed down after the lead songs in worship so I could absorb the sermon.

Praise to you, O Father God, for allowing me to have that most excellent adventure. My heart overflows with love for you, your music, your children, your Son, your Guiding Spirit and those precious moments in time where you smiled on us and let us reach beyond what we thought we were capable of. You are an Awesome God. To you be all glory forever and ever. In Jesus name, Amen.