Lessons Learned from Leading Congregational Worship
I was raised in the church, as they say, so I have been involved in church worship in one form or another from at least the age of 8 until today. That would be 47 years! Now, to be candid, in my youth, my worship was mostly about my “feelings,” my emotional response to music. It was not until I was in my 30s that I began to understand that worship is more than feelings (if it is about feelings at all). It was then that I began to sing in our church’s sanctuary choir, which included helping lead worship on the platform, with a microphone, as one of several lay members. It was then that I began to mature in my understanding that worship is about communicating with God, about expressing our love and appreciation to Him and allowing Him to minister to our hearts through the medium of music.
Almost three years ago, I felt God calling me to leave a secular profession after twenty six years and serve my home church of 27 years as its next Music Minister and Worship leader. So, it is with that background, caveat and disclaimer that I share with you some observations from my unpredictable journey to full-time music ministry. Here are four things, four realizations, if you will, that allow me to stay focused on the true meaning and purpose music and congregational worship in the church:
1. IT AIN’T ALL ABOUT YOU
If you will pardon my use of the vernacular of my West Texas roots, “It ain’t all about you.” When I was young, my father would use this phrase to try to teach me that I needed to consider others; and not just my own agenda. Notice I said “not all about you.” After all, if God called you to serve as a Worship Pastor, it is because He has given you both a desire to do so and giftedness in at least one area of music (vocal, instrumental, both). However, as worship pastors, that is, those who are called to lead a congregation of believers in worship to and of our Lord and Savior, we must be mindful that we are not called to “perform” for our congregants. Does that mean we can never sing or play a solo in church? That is not what I am saying. Rather, we need to remember that in congregational music, the most important of those two words is “congregational.”
In our theology courses in the awesome Master of Arts in Worship program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, we get to learn about the history of church music, including eras where only certain groups of people sang, i.e. monks or priests, to doctrinal beliefs which advocated only one person singing, or that no instrumental music was allowed in worship. However, we also know from scripture that the earliest Christians churches were encouraged to sing “songs, hymns and spiritual songs.”
Here is my point: While you no doubt have musical talent, skill and a desire to lead, you must remember that the goal of congregational music as part of a worship service is to engage every single believer in the room. If we as worship pastors focus on our own performance, our own technical expertise, or even our ability to conduct, play or perform, we have missed the opportunity to worship as a single, unified body of Christ.
2. IT AIN’T ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC
Continuing my theme of West Texas jargon, not only is it not all about you, it is not all about the music. You are probably thinking “what in the world is he saying?” Isn’t congregational music, by definition, about the music? Again, it is some about the music, but not all about the music.
What I mean here is that the style of music, is less important that the message the song is intending to convey. There are people in my church who have told me something like “I just can’t worship without hearing a hymn”, or “it’s just not a worship service for me if I do not hear the organ play”, or “I just can’t get into those ‘modern’ songs the young people like.” I will address these comments in the next section of this essay. For now, I want to explain two things I have learned in my tenure as a worship pastor:
First, music used in congregational worship must be biblically based. I am NOT saying that all music must quote directly from scripture. What I am saying is that just like all other aspects of worship (prayer, reading of God’s word, observing the elements, preaching) must be based in the truth and meaning of scripture.
Second, true congregational worship can only happen when God’s Holy Spirit is present. Hebrews 12:18–24 shows us that when we gather to worship, we are, spiritually speaking, taken up to the heavenly realm, where we worship in the presence of our Heavenly Father. I have been blessed to serve a family of God who is grasping this concept. What I have observed is that the style of music becomes irrelevant when we use it as a means by which to communicate our admiration and praise, regardless of whether we sing traditional hymns or brand new worship music, so long as both are conveying scriptural truth.
3. IT AIN’T ABOUT THEM EITHER
If your church is experiencing the things I have discussed in sections one and two above, then this section is moot. If, however, there are still members of your church family who still insist that they MUST have music played to them the way THEY want it, then your job as a pastor, is to gently and loving teach them that “it ain’t all about them.
Thom S. Rainer, in his book “Who Moved My Pulpit: Leading Change in the Church” described these parishioners as “County Club” members. That is, they wanted to come to church and be “served” their music in just the way THEY like it, or else they simply cannot engage in worship. I’ll be honest, this is a tough situation. However, with God’s help, His grace and some loving, pastoral leadership, I believe both you and your parishioner have an opportunity for spiritual growth.
There are many nuances to this issue, many of which depend on the individual church member. So, allow me to simply suggest that in conjunction with the advice and counsel of your senior pastor, your challenge as a worship pastor is to extend grace to that person while at the same time sharing with them what you, and hopefully the entire ministerial staff, believe is the purpose of congregational worship. What I have said in the past is that I am in constant prayer for God’s leadership in what we are to do in our congregational worship services, and that one of those objectives is to try to engage each and every person in attendance, including those who have not yet accepted Christ as their Savior. I then ask them to pray for me and with me that God would allow us all to come together as a body of Christ to simply worship Him, and by doing so with sincerity and passion, perhaps lead others to Christ.
4. IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD
Last, but certainly not least, I think you can guess what I am about to say: Worship is all about God. Are we a part of that wonderful, blessing-laden effort? Of course we are .Do we receive the benefits of spending time in God’s presence, being encouraged, refreshed and renewed? Absolutely we do. However, all of those blessings flow from and out of a genuine worship experience in which God’s Holy Spirit is present and in which we as believers focus our hearts and minds completely on praising God and expressing our wonder and appreciation for bringing us salvation through Jesus Christ.
I am not perfect. I am not the most talented musician in the world by far. Our choir members and our orchestra members are not perfect and almost none of them are professional musicians. But the amazing thing about congregational worship is that when God is invited, when God is the center of our attention, when His Holy Spirit is present, our imperfect efforts can be part of God’s perfect plan for worship. May God bless and lead you in your ministries.
