Is Leading Worship A Spiritual Gift?

I have been asked before if I believe that leading worship is a spiritual gift. The ability to play music is certainly a God-given gift that requires cultivation like any other talent or ability. And for the person who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, truly everything we do is spiritual - but is leading worship a Spiritual gift? Does the Holy Spirit impart the ability to lead sung corporate worship, at the moment of my conversion?

Scripture does not provide one single, complete list of all the available Spiritual gifts. We see gifts listed throughout various passages like Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4. But nowhere in these passages do we see ‘worship leader,’ listed as a spiritual gift. We know that spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit, all are necessary, and they are given for the building up of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:11, 14, Ephesians 4:12).

Is leading worship spiritual, yes.

Is leading worship a gift, absolutely.

Is leading worship a spiritual gift? Probably not. But we can employ our spiritual gifts in the service of God’s people, to God’s glory, as we lead worship spiritually.

Uncomfortable For The Right Reasons

For some, the life of the believer is a fragrance from life to life, and for others, it is the fragrance from death to death (2 Corinthians 2:16). The Gospel can be a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense (1 Peter 2:8). How do we reconcile this reality as we think about our corporate gatherings? Danny Franks says, “The Gospel is offensive. Nothing else should be.”

When I plan the liturgies I lead, I want people to be uncomfortable for the right reasons. I desire for the Holy Spirit to expose and confront our sin, lead us to Christ, and comfort us in our affliction. I pray that we continually die to ourselves, pick up the cross, and follow the One in whose image we are being conformed. Life in Christ is death to self, and this is uncomfortable. This is what it looks like to be uncomfortable for the right reasons. But too often in our churches, we make people uncomfortable for the wrong reasons…

Transitions. We are sloppy with our transitions, late lyric changes, and technology not being ready to go. Turning a chord chart page, changing a CAPO, being uncertain about what element in the gathering comes next.

Language. Using insider language like Christianese, or language that is only familiar to regular attenders. We need to be wise not just with the words we use, but the way we communicate.

Communication. We don’t help people know what to do, and when. We don’t spend enough time teaching, shepherding, and guiding people through the service. We have not learned the essential nature of rubrics.

Context. Do we know the people, their stories, and the history of where we are leading?

Community. There is a cognitive dissonance when our communities (both local and global) are in crisis and we ignore that reality in our corporate gatherings. We must speak with wisdom, discernment, and clarity that points people to the hope of the Gospel even in the midst of current events.

Let people be uncomfortable in the gathering, but only for the right reasons.

Identifying Seasons

Transitions are difficult even when they are positive.

The familiarity of our lives and the world shifted two and a half years ago, and many of us are still struggling to find a new ‘normal’ rhythm to life and ministry.

We may not be able to change the season, but we can identify the season and begin to see how it may be changing us.

Theologian, Walter Brueggemann, speaks about how the Psalms are in three categories, Psalms or orientation, disorientation, and new orientation.

The full scope of the human experience is represented in the Psalms, so is it no surprise that our lives move in similar seasons of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation. Here is how Brueggemann describes these seasons:

Orientation is the establishment of structure and order.

Disorientation is a place of imbalance and nonsense even potentially unjust. 

New orientation is moving forward away from what was and toward new possibilities.

As I consider these seasons, I remind myself - It won’t always be this way… but it might. This may be a season, or it may be the story God is telling with the entirety of your life. I have found that the more aware I am of the season I am in, the less I try to buck against what is and cling to what has been.

“The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.” - Elisabeth Elliot

What season are you in?

Getting Ready for Fall

You have mercifully survived Summer. Whether you serve at a large church with many resources or a smaller church that has managed to eek out your weekly services, surviving the Summer is no small feat!

Fall seems to be a time when many people are settling into new rhythms and routines. This is often true when it comes to attendance and involvement within a local church context as well. So how do we leave Summer, and step intentionality into the Fall?

Reevaluate and reestablish rhythms. This is true for the team, as well as yourself. Making changes to a culture, the rhythms of rehearsal, preparation, or communication takes time, consistency, and discernment about when to shift, change, end, or begin something new. Making those adjustments can be softened if they are rolled into a season when people are already attempting to establish new habits and rhythms. In the same way, we may need to make changes to what and where we give our time. Has the way I have budgeted my time in the past going to be able to sustain me this Fall? Are there things that are going to require more time in this season than in the past?

Invite. Invite new people to participate. Invite the people who are already serving to be known, and engage others. Invite deeper investment.

Make plans with an open hand. COVID has taught us what the Scripture has always said - “The heart of man plans his ways, but the LORD establishes his steps (Proverbs 16:9).” We can and should make plans, we can and should pray and discern where God may be leading our team, but we must also be willing to release plans to the One who establishes our steps.

It is a gift to do this work. I have learned the more that I am able to identify life and ministry moving in seasons, the more I am able to be grateful for what is, hopeful for what could be, and see everything as a gift inviting me to be conformed to the image of Christ. I hope whatever Fall may look like, we may all learn to lead and serve with open hands, gratitude, and a servant’s heart.

Recommended Reading [Part 4]

Recommended Reading [Part 1] | Recommended Reading [Part 2] | Recommended Reading [Part 3]

Reading allows you to learn and grow from other people, in other contexts, while still being planted in your own. If you’re looking for some books to finish out your Summer reading schedule, take a look at these:

The Worship Pastor - Zac M Hicks

Many books focus on the musical aspect of leading - great! Many books focus on the theological aspect of leading - great! But this was the first book I had read that focused primarily on the pastoral and shepherding aspects of what it is to be a worship leader.

Ever Ancient, Ever New - Winfield Bevins

Reinventing a wheel week to week and generation to generation is exhausting. We have much to learn from the ancient and global Church. I am continually learning how to incorporate ancient practices and liturgical rhythms in a way that is meaningful and makes sense in a modern context. If this is something you’d like to explore, this is a great resource.

Delighting In The Trinity - Michael Reeves

This book is beautiful. More than building knowledge and skill in our craft, and understanding of leading worship, we must fuel our affections for Christ. This is a book I will return to again and again.

Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down - Marva J. Dawn

This book is well-highlighted and noted on my shelf. Dawn’s ability to accurately see and articulate the time, and learn how to engage, lead and serve is something that will serve to equip those at any time.

Heart Preparation and the People

To my knowledge, there are no studies to prove the data, but I would venture to guess that most people who walk through the doors of our churches are doing very little to prepare their hearts for the corporate gathering of the people of God on a weekly basis.

Why is that?

I’m sure there are several reasons:

• People are busy. We cram our lives full of activities, responsibilities, and tasks, and because of this, it is difficult for us to see any further than the very next item on our to-do lists.

• Our church attendance feels more like a box to check rather than a body in which to participate and build up.

• Our faith is shaping very little else in our lives. It is merely an addition to a nice, comfortable, full life.

• We leave a small margin to slow ourselves down long enough to reflect, repent, remember, or celebrate.

• But ultimately, I think it is that we do not understand, nor have we been taught that preparing our hearts readies us to hear and respond to the Word of God, to apply God’s Word to our lives, to serve one another, and to celebrate the person and work of Christ.

Every Sunday is a celebration where the people of God are invited to “feast on the abundance” of the house of God and “drink from the rivers of [His] delights (Psalm 36:8).” And just as we prepare our homes to host and celebrate with our friends and family, so we must prepare our hearts to celebrate with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we encounter God together every week.

Naturally, for the worship leader and worship team, there is the preparation that is required to lead and serve every week. You have to choose songs, get set up, and rehearse all before the corporate gathering. And hopefully, these opportunities become yet one more chance to ready your heart instead of just completing a task. Unless they are preparing to serve, our church members are probably not spending time outside of church getting ready for church. How do we help our people learn to value the preparation of heart for the gathering? First, we must model it in our own lives. Second, we must lead them to understand the value, and how they might begin to ready and prepare their hearts to worship. The following is how I described it to our church members in a recent email:

We prepare our hearts for worship by turning our attention to God - inviting Him to speak to us and turning our hearts and minds to Him. We prepare our hearts for worship by setting our affections on Him - learning to treasure Christ as we confess we have loved things more than God. We prepare our hearts for worship by coming with expectation - expectant that God will move in us and through us, expectant that He desires to speak to us, expectant that we will encounter Him and be changed. We prepare our hearts for worship by looking for the opportunity to serve rather than be served.

No true encounter with Jesus ever leaves us the same.

So may we encourage and equip our people to prepare their hearts for worship, and model for them the value.

Everything Is Gray

We prefer formulas.

This plus this, equals this.

Plug in the correct information in the correct spaces, get the correct (and same) answer every time.

The truth is that people are not equations, ministry is messy, and we live in an increasingly complex world. Almost nothing is black and white, and everything is gray.

In the first half of 2022 I was slowly realizing that many of the things I had learned in twenty years of leading worship in different environments were not working in the same ways I had come to expect.

Was it cultural? Yes.

Was it learning life in a ‘post’-COVID world? Yes.

Was it the way I have learned, grown, and changed in the past 20 years? Yes.

But more than anything, I think it has been an increasing awareness of how everything is gray. I want things to be quick, easy, reliable, and efficient, but much of life - and certainly much of ministry - is about learning to adapt learning to apply wisdom rather than formulas.

If you feel the same everything is gray tension, you are not alone. Even as I write these weekly posts for worship leaders I hope that there are general principles that are helpful. But I recognize that each of us must do the work of taking what is helpful to adapt and apply to our specific and unique context and time in history, and leaving what is not helpful.

Mark Sayer’s latest book ‘A Non-Anxious Presence,’ has been helpful for me in learning to identify this gray zone, and that adaptability is what is required to navigate these spaces. Everything he writes is well worth your time, this book is no exception - you can pick it up on Amazon here.

Master Song List

Knowing and measuring the content of the songs we lead and sing in our churches is important. But before you are able to measure each individual song, and weigh the deficiencies in your Master Song List - you have to actually have a Master Song List. At the core, a Master Song List is exactly what it sounds like - all of the songs that make up the diet of your church. But hopefully more than just titles, your Master Song List will give you a way to track, understand, and learn the rhythms of rotation for the songs you lead.

I think the first place to start is with having a tool. I use Planning Center to store my master song list, but you could just as easily use a spreadsheet.

The next step is to keep whatever tool you are using up to date. No information is helpful if it is not correct or current. This is why I ‘archive’ songs in Planning Center that are not a part of the regular rotation of songs we sing. A Master Song List should be just your current songs in rotation - not every song the church has ever sung.

Now that you have chosen the tool, and gotten your Master Song List up to date, besides song titles what should be included and accessible?

Some of the things I have found helpful are the themes that I use for the Gospel Song Liturgy (what elements of the Gospel story does this song cover? Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration, Glorification). Standard keys - ones where I am most comfortable, but also the keys that another worship leader may use. This would also include the keys that are most comfortable for a female vocalist to lead. Additional versions - the standard version of In Christ Alone is excellent, but recently we’ve been including King’s Kaleidoscope’s version of the song with a completely different feel. Both of them have their place, so I want access to either version.

You’ve settled on a tool to use, gotten the information current, and know how to fill out your Master Song List with useful information, now what?

Besides having a 30,000 foot view of the diet of songs your church is currently singing, I think a Master Set List helps in your rhythm of building set lists, and here is how: it gives you more skill in planning multiple set lists at the same time. When you plan a set list week-to-week it can be easy to revert to whatever is most familiar, or your personal favorites without holding those things in tension with the long-range vision and direction of your area of ministry. For me personally, the rhythm that has seemed to work best is planning set lists a month at a time. I still give myself flexibility with adapting from week to week, but I aim for the bones to remain the same. Planning multiple set lists at once helps with rhythms for introducing new songs to ensure our new songs are being played with enough frequency to become familiar, but not so often to become tiring.

A few questions to consider in closing:

What is on your Master Song List?

How are you keeping track of what songs you are using?

How do you know where a song falls on the spectrum of heavy rotation, regular rotation, or cycling out of use?

Quotes [Part 2]

As we were finding our feet in the new year, I posted a handful of quotes I hoped would help in the process. Not just a bit over the halfway point through this year, I’m sharing some more. I hope these quotes will inspire you for the next six months and beyond.

MIKE COSPER

Worship services are… ground zero for spiritual formation.

CHARLES SPURGEON

You cannot be Christ’s servant if you are not willing to follow Him, cross and all. What do you crave? A crown? Then it must be a crown of thorns if you are to be like Him. Do you want to be lifted up? So you shall, but it will be upon a cross.

BETH MOORE

Nothing on earth will put us at greater risk of divine wonders than worship.

ISAAC WATTS

The power of singing was given to us chiefly for this, that our warmest affections might break out into melody.

JOHN CALVIN

The music must not turn the church into an audience enjoying the music but into a congregation singing the Lord's praises in His presence.

Addressing Chaos

Not long ago, one of our friends experiencing homelessness interrupted our worship gathering while our pastor was preaching. It brought the gathering to a stop, and he had to be escorted outside the building, where they received care, counsel, and prayer. We don’t plan for this kind of interruption, so it makes them all the more difficult to know how to address them in real-time. What can we do when chaos threatens to completely derail our corporate gathering?

Pray. Prayer communicates dependence and acknowledges our needs both to ourselves and to God. We need supernatural wisdom and discernment - always - but in a unique way in these moments about how to lead ourselves, and those we serve through these types of interruptions.

Ignore. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all. If we can manage our way through without having to address distractions or interruptions head-on, we may be able to tune out some of the noise.

Engage. Our friend experiencing homelessness did just make a loud statement but was trying to engage in conversation with our pastor - while our pastor was preaching. If ignoring the interruption will not solve the issue on its own, it’s time to engage.

Enlist help. In moments of chaos, it can be hard to think clearly, it can be incredibly disorienting. Are there other people whom you can call to action to step in, and help settle a chaotic situation?

Speak to reality. People need to be shepherded, always, but especially through seasons or situations that are confusing and disorienting. How can you use words to guide people through uncertainty?

Move forward. Is it best to wrap up for the day? Or to move into a different piece of the service than planned? Don’t freeze, just move forward.

I hope that you will not experience chaotic interruptions to your corporate worship gathering that you have to determine how to manage. But the truth is because we are human, even if we do not have chaotic interruptions outwardly, inwardly, our lives are full of chaotic interruptions, even when we are leading worship. May we pray, ignore, engage, enlist help, speak to the reality, and move forward with much grace towards ourselves and others.

When Songs Don't Matter

I know, I know. Last week I wrote about how there are songs for the season, and this week I am saying songs don’t matter.

Let me explain.

Building a song master song list takes a lot of time, energy, and intention. It must be tailored to the congregation, conscious of the skill and ability of the worship leader and team, and be made up of songs for the season, as well as songs with staying power. Your master song list should include songs that are scripturally sound, theologically rich, artistically and musically compelling, and emotively engaging. Or more simply, as one worship leader described to me: thinking songs and feeling songs. Needless to say, this is a task that requires more thought than merely choosing your favorite song each week.

Several years ago, two interns were working with me to plan set lists for the Summer weeks that I would be away. We were reading the passage of Scripture that would be preached, and trying to list a smaller group of songs from our master song list that they could choose each weekend to lead. About halfway through this process one of the interns said, ‘We could sing any of these songs! They all fit, because we are always singing about Jesus, and always preaching the Gospel.’

If we do the hard work upfront of building, refining, adding, and trimming our master song list we lessen the pressure to make our songs fit the sermon week to week, because the reality is that they all fit! And when they all fit, we can refine even more as we look for through line concepts, same text inspiration, and repeated refrains in songs and sermons alike.

Do songs matter? Of course. But they matter less when you do the hard work upfront.

Songs For The Season

They say, “Write what you know.” And for the most part, everything I share on my website is things that I have learned and feel that I can grasp with enough familiarity to share. Today, I want to share something I am learning in real-time.

Songs are important. I care deeply about the new songs we choose, as well as the way we introduce those songs to the congregation. I care deeply about the canon of songs that make up our master song list, as well as the way those songs shape our theology of God and the Gospel. I care deeply about whether our songs are purposed for personal devotion, or corporate worship because all songs are prayers. I even believe there are guiding principles that can help us determine what is a good song.

But what I am learning in realtime, is that there are songs for seasons.

I read an article in Worship Leader Magazine last month titled, “Worship At The Speed of Sound.” In it, WLM published the findings of a team of researchers who had studied the lifespan of corporate worship songs registered with CCLI from 1988 to 2019. The researchers had a hunch that the creation, distribution, ascent, and decline of a corporate worship song has increased rapidly over that time period. And understandably, they were correct. Social media, online distribution, ‘worship artists,’ conferences, touring, and radio, were all contributing factors both in the number of songs available, as well as their availability.

Some songs have staying power - think of many of the hymns that have been passed down through the ages or songs like Chris Tomlin’s “How Great Is Our God.” Some songs cut through the noise for a season, and all but disappear - one such song cited in the research is Jesus Culture’s “Fierce.”

I truly believe that the bulk of our diet when it comes to song choice should be songs that have staying power. Songs that ring with resonance in different seasons and stages of our lives. Songs that are sung in the hospital room, at the altar, and during the midnight hour as a parent rocks a child to sleep. But what I am learning is that there are songs for seasons. Songs that are still good, beautiful, and true. Songs that capture a moment in the life of our churches - both locally, and globally. These are the songs that we will look back with sheepish affection, and fondness as we are reminded of the Spirit’s movement in our lives and histories. These are the songs for the season.

What have been songs for the season in your life?