WORSHIP LEADER MEANS WORSHIPPER AND LEADER!

There are two keys to being a worship leader, and the clue is in the name!

Firstly, you have to worship when no one is looking. Just getting up to play your songs and not actually spending time in the week praying, listening to the Word, reading the Word, listening to sermons, giving generously, loving people, being in a small group – that’s not worship, that’s a show. If you are not in the presence of God, how can you lead people into His presence. If you are not a worshipper, how can you lead people into worship? You can play nice songs, but that’s insufficient.

Secondly, you have to be a leader. If you get up, play your songs, then don’t join everyone to listen to the Word after, if you don’t go to conferences that do not platform you, if you do not lead the way in sexual purity, in kindness, in generosity, in passion, in serving without a platform, you are not leading, you are performing.

But if you get this right, you will be able to lead people into the presence of God, people will be healed, set free, inspired and encounter God when you lead worship. That’s the goal – to serve, and to overflow your passion that you have in private and share it in public.

If I was a worship leader in a local church I would:

1. Tithe and give above the tithe to the local church. If you don’t have the faith to do that, you don’t have the faith to lead worship.

2. I would be in a small group every week and I would be engaging with people with my talking voice, not my singing voice, not hiding behind my keyboard, guitar, or tambourine.

3. I would be regularly in meetings, online and offline, in which I am not leading worship, but either worshipping in the congregation, or following another worship leader and helping them lead. Either way I would be in the Word with my notebook.

4. I would be listening to my pastor not just in meetings. I would be on the church’s media listening to him preach two or three times a week.

5. I would be daily praying and daily spending time in the Word.

As a bonus 6 – I would never speak about my pastor behind their back, and I would not misuse my place of honour to build a platform for myself.

All of this is about honour and order, and that is what brings the glory of God into churches and services.