Interview Questions: From A Worship Leader

Last week I wrote for the interviewer, the kinds of questions I would ask as a worship leader if I were trying to hire a worship leader. Questions that help you assess not just the obvious and easy - musical ability, personality fit - but questions that give you a sense of a candidate’s theological understanding of worship, the gathering, and how they function in their role. This week, I want to provide worship leaders with questions that will allow them to do the same - move beyond the surface and give some clarity to what is going on at a deeper level within a church.

Tell me about the working relationship between the pastor and worship leader? Relationships can be tense - especially when you are wearing multiple hats. As a worship leader working with a pastor, this person is often your boss, employer, pastor, coworker, friend, and direct report. Trying to understand what has become ‘normal dynamics’ and ways of operating between the pastor and worship leader will give you a good sense of what is acceptable across the whole staff.

What things did you love about your previous worship leader? Getting a sense of what is valued and celebrated will help you understand in what ways you will be similar, and different than a church’s previous experience. If a pastor, leader, or team cannot name anything, or at bare minimum be able to speak well of someone - regardless of how poorly the relationship has gone - that too will communicate about their culture to you.

Can I speak with your previous worship leader? An interviewee has to provide references, why not also ask for references from the church? This can be another piece of the puzzle of understanding relationships, dynamics, things to be aware of, and things worth celebrating.

How engaged are pastors, elders, staff during the worship gathering? A church will only ever be as engaged in the corporate gathering as their leadership. A pastor’s presence, or lack thereof, communicates to the rest of the church how the worship gathering should or should not be valued. If the pastors, elders, and leaders do not see themselves as leading from the congregation, it does not matter how much they tell you they value the worship gathering, that behavior communicates otherwise.

What kind of training and discipleship have you historically provided for your worship leader, and the volunteers on the team? We invest in what we find valuable. Most churches will say that corporate worship is valuable, but are slow to invest money into quality equipment, and/or haphazard about the discipleship and development they are providing for their worship leaders, musicians, vocalists, sound and tech team. We need both.

If you are a worship leader in the interview process, I know how hard, discouraging, and exhausting that can be. I hope that these questions can open up deeper conversations, and provide more clarity in being able to assess the things you value and what you are hoping to find as you partner with a local body to serve God’s people.

Interview Questions: For A Worship Leader

Regardless of what side of the interview table you are on, interviews are stressful. The stakes are high, the time is too short to know anyone in any depth. Much less to assess their skills, heart, experience, and if their personality will fit well in your specific context. I have been the one being interviewed, and I have had many conversations with pastors, leaders, and search committees looking to hire a worship leader, I am always surprised at the kinds of questions that are asked - some great, some not so great.

If I was looking to hire a worship leader, here are a few questions that would be at the top of my list:

How would you describe the working relationship, and dynamic between you and your previous pastor or pastors? The relationship between a pastor and a worship leader can be tense. Whether the previous relationships have been healthy or completely dysfunctional, hearing how people speak about former coworkers or employers communicates a lot about their hearts. And understanding their history will help give you a sense of the type of hurts they may be carrying into a new team.

What does your workweek look like? The smallest part of the time we as worship leaders spend in our week is the visible part - actually leading the congregation in corporate sung worship. What does preparation look like for this worship leader? How are they using their time not just to execute a weekly service, but to build into and grow the team, grow their own personal relationship with the Lord, and move this particular area of ministry ahead?

What would be the five songs you would want to introduce to any congregation where you are leading? This will help you understand not just the musical leanings of a worship leader, but their theological persuasion as well. Songs are contextual, theology is not. You are looking not just for a competent musician, but a competent theologian to build set lists and shepherd your people from the platform.

What is worship? Basic, I know. But you’re not hiring a musician primarily, you are hiring a theologian and shepherd. It is imperative that the person filling that role has at least a basic grasp on a theology of worship. And an understanding of how worship fits into the corporate gathering, and the rhythms of life.

What is the purpose of the corporate gathering? What you are trying to understand from this question is if the worship leader understands their role narrowly (only responsible for music), or as a small piece of a larger story - and how their role fits into that larger story.

These questions are not exhaustive, but hopefully, they will give you a greater ability to assess not just someone’s musical ability and character, but their personal understanding of worship, and the role of corporate worship in the life of the Church. If you are in the process of looking to hire a worship leader, let me help you ask the right questions, not just for the potential candidates, but of your church culture and organization as you begin that process. Send me an email here.