The Corporate Gathering As Spiritual Formation

Every church on the planet has wrestled through more than a year of COVID restrictions, shutdowns, and online church. Our world has changed, and continues to change. As churches and leaders continue to navigate what ministry looks in 2021 and beyond, questioning the purpose of the corporate gathering should continue to shape the decisions we make, as well as the way we lead and serve the people of God. If we can safely and comfortably consume all of the spiritual content necessary for the maturity of our faith online, why would we meet in person? But do we believe that attending church is about more than consuming spiritual content?

Scripture certainly seems to think so… When we gather together, God is uniquely present with His people (Ps 22:3, Matt 18:20), we are reminded of the family to which we belong (Eph 2:19, 1 Pet 2:10), we are mutually built up and edified (Eph 2:11-12, Col 3:16), we grow in love for one another as witnesses to a watching world (Eph 4:3, Jn 13:35), we grow in strength for our mission (Eph 3:14-18, Matt 28:19-20), and so much more. All of this points to the reality that the corporate gathering is not as much about consuming spiritual content as it is about being formed spiritually - discipling the people of God. We are not just singing songs, not just hearing sermons, not just chatting with friends, we are slowly being formed as a people again and again, over and over, week after week, year after year.

Everything is formative (James K.A. Smith, lays out this idea beautifully in ‘You Are What You Love’). Part of being human is being formed and shaped in subtle and significant ways by an endless array of relationships, history, work, free time, social media, news, and our culture. Standing in contrast to the currents of cultural formation is the corporate worship gathering. In the corporate worship gathering we are re-formed, reoriented, as we recenter the entirety of our lives around the person and work of Christ. In the gathering we are being reminded of who Jesus is, what He has done, who we are, and who He has called us to be. We are being invited to behold Him once again, and to live in response to Him by laying down our lives as we are sent out on mission to love and serve Christ and His world.

As worship leaders, pastors, and church leaders we must see the corporate gathering as one of the most essential components of spiritually forming God’s people in their mission, in their understanding of the Scriptures, in their theological development, and in the cultivation of affections and desires for Christ. This is not a work that we can undertake alone, the deep, long-lasting spiritual formation of God’s people is only possible by the empowering work of His Spirit. But if we are to see our corporate gatherings spiritual form a malformed people, we must see a bigger vision, and be patient as we partner in the long, slow, deep work of discipleship.

Songs As Prayers

Our songs are doing more than filling space before a sermon.

Our songs are forming us, shaping us, giving us language.

Our songs speak to us and speak for us.

Our songs instruct us as little pieces of portable theology.

But our songs are also prayers.

Prayers that say:

‘This is what I believe!’

‘This is what I desire to believe!’

‘Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!’

Our songs are confessions of sin, and professions of faith.

Our songs remind us of who we are, and who God has always been.

As worship leaders we must choose songs with wisdom and discernment.

As congregations we must sing out - not mumble - these prayer songs.

We must sing our prayers like we believe they are true.

We must sing our prayers like we are trying to believe they are true.

‘The one who sings, prays twice.’ - Augustine

Prayer In The Corporate Gathering

Prayer is important for the individual believer as well as in the corporate gathering of a body of believers. But I have often experienced prayer during the church gatherings in two extremes: beautifully poetic, staggeringly long pastoral prayers, and casual transitions. There may be a time and place for each of these kinds of prayers, but if we are serious about discipling our people, we need to consider how to lead and incorporate prayer more intentionally than:

Dead space? Prayer!

Transitioning between elements in the gathering? Prayer!

Changing a CAPO? Prayer!

Not sure what to do or say next? Prayer!

While there are many types of prayer, when thinking about the corporate gathering, I consider two primary categories for prayer: individual and corporate. How are we making space for both individual prayer - encouraging people to speak and listen to God personally, and directly as one member of the Body? And how are we using prayers to unite our hearts, profess our faith, and confess our sin together as the Body (corporate prayer)?

Here are some types of individual and corporate prayer that I believe every local expression of the Body of Christ would be well-served to incorporate more frequently:

Prayer of Illumination. A prayer said before the reading and preaching of God’s Word. Inviting the Holy Spirit to do what only the Holy Spirit can do, reveal Jesus to us by giving us eyes to see, ears to hear, minds to understand, hearts to love, and lives to obey.

Prayer of Confession. While taking Communion we may encourage people to examine their hearts and confess their sin (as instructed in 1 Corinthians 11), but are we leading and encouraging people to acknowledge their sin, confess their sin, repent of their sin, and turn from their sin as a regular part of our gathering? I am often personally convicted of how I assume God’s grace and forgiveness, and do not feel actually learn to regularly confess of my sin to the One who stands ready and willing to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Prayer of Lament. We know that the world is not as it should be, but we can be tempted to rush past reality of living in a broken world by saying, ‘But God is making all things new, it will be okay in the end, I should just trust Him…’ All of those things are true, but we can help our people learn to hold the tension of the already and not yet of this life of faith by acknowledging the world’s brokenness while at the same time resting and trusting in God’s good plan.

Praying Scripture. As our church has been in a sermon series on the Psalms of Ascent, each week I have read a handful of verses from a particular Psalm and prayed in response to what I have read. Taking God’s Word and praying it back to him in my own words - my hope is that this makes the connection for people that they too can read God’s Word and pray God’s Word.

Prayers of the Church. Using the Book of Common Prayer, the Valley of Vision, or resources like the Worship Sourcebook can be helpful resources to unite our voices in the room, to the voices of the Church throughout history as we pray corporately, and/or responsively to Truth handed down through the saints of old.

Written Prayers. It can be easy to slip into rhythms and patterns of prayer that say similar things again and again when you are praying extemporaneously. Maybe you could write a prayer specifically for the people you serve to pray with you, aloud, or simply by leaning in to actively participate in prayer as you read or pray.

What kinds of prayers have served your people well in the corporate gathering and beyond?

September 12: Liturgy + Set List

• ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING

Call To Worship: To all who are weary and need rest, to all who mourn and long for comfort, to all who feel worthless and wonder if God cares, To all who fail and desire strength, To all who sin and need a Savior, This church opens wide her doors with a welcome from Jesus Christ, the Ally of His enemies, the Defender of the guilty, the Justifier of the inexcusable, the Friend of sinners, welcome. [10th Presbyterian Church]

The human heart is one prone to forget. So we mark days that have marked us to remember. One of the reasons the Church globally gathers on Sunday is to remember the day that Jesus rose from the grave. Every Sunday is a mini Resurrection Sunday, a mini Easter celebration remembering that Jesus was dead but now is alive. Yesterday we remembered it has been 20 years since September 11, 2001. A day that has marked us as a people, a nation, and the world in subtle and significant ways. It is good to remember. When we walk through these doors we remember that we live in a broken world and we ourselves are broken. We do not take a break from reality for an hour or so, we carry these remembrances with us and remember a deeper truth, a deeper reality - and that is that Jesus is alive, ruling, and reigning. Seated at the right hand of the Father. The One who created the universe sustains it by the word of His power, there is nothing that has ever happen that has surprised Him, nothing has threatened to topple His rule as King, and there is nothing so broken that He cannot redeem and restore, that He cannot turn for His purpose and plan, for His glory and our good. So we remember that Jesus is alive. We remember September 11th. We remember the brokenness of the world and the brokenness of our sin, and we remember that Jesus is alive, sovereignly ruling, and reigning. Let these songs be songs of remembrance, remembering the heart and character of our Savior and King.

• IS HE WORTHY

• GOODNESS OF GOD

Message: Ephesians 5:25-27

Christ cares and cared enough for His Church to lay down His life for Her - She may be bruised, but She has never been and will never be a lost cause. We are going to sing ‘Jesus Paid It All’ - and I want you to sing this as someone who has sinned, and someone who has been sinned against. And I want you to remember the blood of Jesus is enough to cover the sin you have committed, and it is enough to cover the sin against you. We sing not hoarding forgiveness, because the blood of Christ is not just for me, not just for you, but for His Bride. We sing as the sinner, the sinned against. We sing as the forgiven Bride of Christ.

• JESUS PAID IT ALL

• IN CHRIST ALONE

Shepherding Slides

My first ‘role’ in leading worship was running the transparency slides on a projector as my parents led worship. The church we were attending at the time was small, and this was the first time they had used anything other than a hymnal to display song lyrics. I learned so much during those days about the important role that lyrics play in enabling the people of God to sing and respond together. Thankfully, technology has progressed and churches today have more options at their disposal than a projector and transparency.

That being said, as creative and artistic people, we can often fall into the trap of looking for the latest and greatest - the newest technology, the best font choice, the live video work, the motion graphics, and moving backgrounds, the ‘look’ that is being created by churches we admire. Although I do not think there is anything wrong with appreciating a particular style, the question I want to propose is: how are our lyrics slides and videos screens helping or hindering the people of God to see, read, meditate, sing and respond to God together?

Lyrics need to be visible from multiple areas in the room, for those with great eyesight, and those who may be partially sighted - so the point size of our font is important. Changing the lyrics in enough time for people to begin to read and prepare to sing the next line is crucial - best practice is changing to the next slide on the third-to-last word of the current slide. Keeping phrasing and ideas together in the way they are being sung also helps the congregation follow smooth transitions, rather than feeling like there are stops, starts, and breaks that do not naturally exist in the song. My personal preference is to include no more than four lines at a time on a slide - this is enough to contain a full thought or idea, but not so much that you can lose track of where you are on the slide as you are singing.

While listening to a Doxology and Theology breakout session with Michael Bleecker, I heard him encourage worship leaders to intentionally ‘clutter our slides’ for the sake of leading and teaching people. He went on to describe how he will often provide brief definitions of words or phrases that are unfamiliar to our people, or Scripture at the bottom of the slides for easy reference.

Over the last five years, I have included Scripture at the bottom of each slide when I lead worship. This is a time-intensive investment early on, but it is both a challenge to my own process of song selection - if I cannot find Scripture that speaks directly or indirectly to what we are singing, we should probably not be singing it in the first place - it has been the thing that people have commented to me time and again about being helpful, encouraging, and heart-focusing during sung worship. Here are a few examples of what that has looked like for me:

How might you use lyrics, and projection to further communicate the truth and beauty of the Gospel? How might you make the most of every opportunity to more deeply disciple the people God has brought to your church?

Rubrics

They same communication is the key to every relationship. The same is true in the relationship between worship leaders and the congregation. I often find many rhythms of our church gatherings are communicated non-verbally, as the congregation grows familiar with the types of patterns that exist in your church. They learn when to stand when to sit when to sing, when to bow their heads, and when to leave. Knowing what to expect is helpful - especially for those new to attending your church, or even those new to faith - but knowing why we are doing something is more helpful. This is the purpose of rubrics.

A detailed description from Brian Chapell’s book ‘Christ-Centered Worship’ is valuable here:

“…rubrics are the little directions that appear in the bulletin or are voiced by the worship leader to lead the congregation through the conduct of worship.  The rubrics are not the major elements of the worship service, but rather are the instructive transitions that tell the congregation what to do and why.  Rubrics verbally tie together key aspects of the worship service, explaining their purpose and sequence in relation to the theme(s) of the entire service.  Skilled use of rubrics helps the worship service to make sense and move along with clarity, purpose, and attitudes appropriate for each element.”  pg 203

When you attend a worship service that feels disconnect or disjointed, there are two possibilities: one, those responsible for planning the service did not have a clear understanding or intention behind assembling the pieces for the gathering. Or two, a worship leader, pastor, or service leader has failed to connect the service for those attending through helpful rubrics.

Bryan Chapell again:

Without rubrics, a worship service is just a spill of spiritual vegetables (we know the individual pieces are good for us, but they have no apparent order or purpose).  With rubrics, a worship service becomes a gospel feast carefully prepared and sequenced to communicate the grace of God.  But this caution is needed: too many rubrics or rubrics that are too long distract from the meal.  They should enrich the courses designed for our spiritual dining, not compete with them.  pg 204

If we as worship leaders are going to begin to engage helpful rubrics for our congregations, we must first understand the why behind everything that we are doing.

Why do we sing?

Why do we pray?

Why do we gather?

Why is God’s Word preached?

Why are we singing this song?

Why are we including this aspect of our gathering?

Why is our service in this order?

Why are we using this reading or saying this prayer?

Why this and not that?

When we ask why, we begin to expose all of the ways we have been forming - or sometimes malforming - our people. When we learn to answer the why with something more significant than ‘this is the way it’s always been done,’ or ‘this is what we do in church,’ we can begin to articulate rubrics for our people in ways that help them move through the ‘courses designed for our spiritual dining…’

The Holy Spirit And Leading

Last week I wrote about listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our preparation. That being attentive to the Holy Spirit and leading spontaneously and speaking, praying, and communicating extemporaneously does not necessarily equate to being led by the Holy Spirit - that we can in fact be led by the Spirit in our preparation. But what about the corporate gathering? What does it look like to be led by the Spirit there?

It still looks like prayer. Union with Christ, communication with the Holy Spirit. Asking Him, seeking Him, inviting Him to do what only He can do - lead people to Jesus, convict people of sin, comfort people in their affliction, transform hearts and lives. For me, I will often leave more space in between verses, or a chorus, or in between songs as I ask the Spirit to speak to me, and I press in to hear Him.

It looks like observation. It can be tempting when we are leading worship to simply close our eyes and get lost in our own private worship world. But we are there to serve people by leading them in song. As you listen to the voice of the Spirit, listen to the voice of the people - watch them, pray for them, let their response or lack thereof shape the way that you communicate and lead. Not so much in a ‘give the people what they want,’ kind of way - but as a shepherd, leading and guiding them to see and respond to the Holy Spirit.

It looks like communication with your team and the congregation. In rehearsal practice and communicate to your team the moments where you may do something different than planned. I heard Charlie Hall one time talk about how preparing for moments of spontaneity with his team was like opening a window - everyone knew where those window moments would be in the song or the setlist, and they would approach together, open the window, see if the Spirit was using that opportunity to lead them in a direction different than they had planned. I have often found it helpful to communicate to the team something along the lines of ‘when we get to this point of the song, I think we will either go here or here…’. Maybe that’s repeating something we have already sung, maybe that is tagging something from another song. But communicating prior to being in the moment so that your band can be aware, and know how you’d like them to respond is important. Likewise, we must communicate with the person running lyrics - having options ready, and preparing them for where things may change, and any kind of verbal cues you may give to help them lead with you rather than trying to catch you. And finally, we must communicate with the congregation. Leading them through, rather than running out ahead and asking them to try and keep up. Verbal cues, inviting them to sing with you, inviting them to lean into the voice of the Spirit together.

We can be Holy Spirit-led in our preparation and in our leadership. But we can be neither if we are not Holy Spirit-led in our daily lives.

The Holy Spirit And Preparation

What does it mean to be led by the Holy Spirit?

Over the years many of my conversations with worship leaders would lead me to believe that most of us think being led by the Spirit equates to one thing: spontaneity in the corporate gathering. Now, I am not against spontaneity. I have led worship making subtle and significant changes to songs, or the way that I am communicating because of the Spirit’s prompting and leading at that moment. We never want to be so rigid that we tune out the still small voice of the Spirit. But we also need to stop blaming our lack of preparation and intention behind our choices and calling it being led by the Spirit.

I believe that before we can be led by the Spirit in the corporate gathering, we must be led by the Spirit in our preparation. And our preparation should always begin with prayer. Prayerfully reading the text for that service. Spending time reading the Spirit-inspired Word of God. Asking God to speak to you and lead you in your preparation. Pray these three prayers of preparation.

Another way that we can be led by the Spirit in our preparation is by playing through the setlist. Spend time singing to God through the songs that you have been led to select for the gathering. Not just during rehearsal with the team, not just to make sure you know all of the parts, but for you to be able to be present with God and to God as you sing. What does your heart want to say in those moments? What moments of the songs, or movement throughout the setlist do you need to lean into? How can you fill out the songs with Scripture, prayer, silence, or speaking to continue to lead and guide people as you yourself are being led by the Spirit?

Be attentive to the movements of the Spirit in your own walk with the Lord. The more we learn to listen and obey the voice of the Spirit in our daily lives, the more we will be able to identify His voice and leading in the way we prepare to lead and serve His people. Jesus says that His sheep know His voice. We cannot know His voice in our leading if we do not know His voice in our private lives. Cultivate hears to hear, minds to know, hearts to understand, and lives to obey His voice and leading and it will flow into the way that you prepare - in the Spirit - to lead His people.

One True Worship Leader

As musicians responsible for sung corporate worship, we consider ourselves worship leaders. Pastors, preachers, and teachers planning and executing a corporate gathering may also see themselves as worship leaders. As I have shared previously, I believe that every musician, vocalist, sound, and tech person should view themselves as worship leaders. But at the end of the day, there is one person by whom we all must first be led before we lead. And that is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who is the true worship leader in our preparation and in our leadership of the people of God.

Yes, we choose songs and scripture, rehearse bands, and plan our transitions, but if we are not first, and continually being led, guided, directed, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are just singing songs. And while music is powerful, and people may leave impacted by it, there is no lasting transformation without a Holy Spirit-revealed encounter with the living Christ.

‘When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.’ - John 16:13

It is the Holy Spirit that leads us in all truth.

It is the Holy Spirit that leads us to see and respond to Jesus.

It is the Holy Spirit that will confront and convict us of sin.

And it is the Holy Spirit who comforts His people.

There is one true worship leader in our gathering, and it always has been and always will be the Holy Spirit.

Team Devotions

There is so much that happens during a rehearsal - especially if that rehearsal is immediately before service. Set up, soundcheck, practicing parts, transitions, and working on harmonies just to name a few. Yes, rehearsal is in part for working through the practical details of the worship gathering, but shouldn’t it be more than that? My hope is that a rehearsal also gives us a chance to take a breath, to be present with God and with one another as we serve the people of God together. But do not be fooled, this does not happen by chance - your rehearsal must be intentional.

Ideally, every person serving comes practiced-up, and prayed-up. Fully prepared in skill and spirit to lead and serve. But even if that is the case, how can you as a leader use the rhythms of your rehearsal to prepare your team not just practically, but also to prepare their hearts to serve together? Prayer is never bad. Reading Scripture is never bad. I believe those two elements should be the baseline for leading our team in a time of devotion and personal preparation for our service.

Personally, I like to place a time of devotion following setup and sound check. More often than not, I like my devotional time to be reading through the passage of Scripture being preached, and then walking the team through the progression of the morning - why I chose these songs in this order with this particular text, what I hope will be the threads running through the morning. At that moment I want to encourage our team to lift their eyes to see the beauty of Jesus, the wonder of the Gospel, the glory of God, our dependence upon the Holy Spirit, and the joy and gift that we have to gather and to serve.

I have served in churches where the whole team has been reading through a book, or devotional together and will use this time to share what they are learning. Some teams like to rotate responsibility for leading the devotional time, focusing on a specific reading, a passage of Scripture, and a brief exhortation to live in light of God’s Word and to serve from that reality. Another consideration for a time of devotion is focusing on different aspects of a theology of worship. There are many ways that you can redeem your rehearsal time to train, encourage, and equip your team. If this is all new to you, start slow, and think through these questions:

What does my team need? Does this team need a deeper understanding of worship? More discipleship in how what we are doing connects to what is happening this morning? Do they need encouragement? Do they just need time to seek God’s face in the quiet of their own hearts, and collectively as a team?

Who is here? Are there other voices that can shape this team spiritually? Maybe another team member, or a pastor or elder would like to lead a short time of devotion, reflection, and preparation for the rehearsal.

How can I make the space? If this is new for your team, you will have to train them to expect this time. Maybe you need to move rehearsal back by 15 minutes to make sure that you are not rushing through this time.

Help your team prepare musically, practically, and spiritually. If you’d like another place to start, you can download my free worship leader devotional. A 52-week study with Scripture quotes, and questions to ponder as you prepare your hearts to live lives of worship, and lead in sung worship. Download it for free here.

Leading From The Congregation

One of the things I say most frequently to my team: we lead more off of the platform than on the platform.

For me, there are at least three things that I am trying to help my team understand with this language, first, that each member is a worship leader. Whether they are a musician, vocalist, sound person, running lyrics or lights, or the person who has assembled the set list and is leading the congregation verbally - each person is a worship leader. Second, it matters what we do, where we are, and how we are responding after we step off a platform, out from behind our instruments, and the way we engage in the rest of the gathering. And third, that each team member carries the responsibility of worship leader even on weekends where we are not serving on the platform.


Here are some considerations when it comes to leading worship from the congregation:

Presence.

This means after we serve on the platform, we go and sit through the sermon as a member of the congregation. That our presence is visible not just during ‘our part,’ but that we are identifying ourselves, and being identified, as sheep - not just as shepherds. Our presence in the gathering matters not only on the weekends where we serve up front, but also during those weeks where we are not. My personal conviction is that our team should be primarily made up of people who call this specific congregation their home church, and therefore would be attending this home church even if they were not serving on the team. If team members are only present at church on weekends that they are serving, it would beg the question, why?

Posture

As a follower of Jesus, and as a worship leader I want to be fully integrated. I do not want to have a ‘stage-self’ and an ‘off-stage-self.’ If I see myself as a worship leader, as someone who is carrying the culture of the team in a visible role, or among the people, there should be no division in the way that I posture myself, and respond leading up front or in the congregation. If you raise your hands on the platform, raise your hands in the congregation.

Engagement

What we do in subtle and significant ways communicates what we value. If musicians ‘do their job,’ walk off the stage to back stage, a backroom, or a coffee shop - what does that communicate to the congregation? If we are to be leaders - servant leaders specifically - we must model what is important and valuable for our people, by being engaged in the life of the church outside of our role, responsibility, and jobs. Sit in the sermon, pursue new people, be connected to community, listen, learn, grow, and then pour out from a place of being deeply rooted as a member - not just of the worship team - but of your church.

Another way that you as a leader can encourage your team to lead from the congregation, is providing new music that you will be introducing to the entire team - perhaps even elders, and ministry leaders, so that when you introduce a new song, it is not just the musicians serving that particular week that will know the music, but those people who can also lead from the congregation. We have a responsibility to equip and lift the eyes of our team to the significance of their role - not just in it’s forward facing nature, but in ways they can lead and shape the culture from the congregation as well.

A Team Of Worship Leaders

What does the title worship leader bring to mind?

One individual?

Someone who can play an instrument and sing at the same time?

The person building a set list, leading a rehearsal, and giving the congregation verbal cues for the next lyric being sung?

While there may be some overlap in the functional role of a worship leader with what I have listed above, today I want to make the case that every member of a worship team is actually a worship leader.

Let’s start by removing the word ‘just,’ from each role within our teams. There is no such thing as ‘just.’

I am just a musician,

just a vocalist,

just a sound engineer,

just running lyrics.

No.

You are a worship leader.

It takes each one of those roles functioning together to serve the people of God in their response to His revelation of Himself in sung corporate worship.

We do not just sing songs, we lead people in worship.

Musicians and vocalists, you are not just singing songs, you are going first, leading with your lives, leading with your instruments, leading with your hearts as you are led by the Spirit of God, to lead people in worship to Him. You are a worship leader.

Sound engineer, you are not just moving faders, you are mixing melodies and production, enabling the team to hear one another and the congregation to sing out in response to who God is and what He has done. You are a worship leader.

Lyric runner, you are not just clicking slides at a computer, you are helping to put words in people’s mouths, truths in the hearts and minds so that we can sing with one voice as one people to the glory of God and the building up and edification of His people. You are a worship leader.

And for a host of other roles that are a part of the corporate gathering of God’s people - there is no just - there are only worship leaders. No true encounter with Christ ever leaves us the same, it will naturally flow from our lives like the woman at the well, like the disciples, like Mary at the empty tomb - ‘come and see…’

We are worship leaders when we encounter Christ, and use our skills and gifts to point people to Him. Yes, you are a worship leader.