Embodied Worship

We know that worship is more than a song. That in fact worship is the offering of our whole lives in response to God. And throughout Scripture, specifically the Psalms we see that worship is expressed through our bodies:

Singing (Psalm 9:11).

Dancing (Psalm 149:3).

Playing Instruments (Psalm 150:4).

Bowing your head in worship (Psalm 95:6).

Clapping your hands (Psalm 47:1).

Shouting (Psalm 66:1).

Being silent (Psalm 62:5).

Raising up your hands (Psalm 134:2).

Maybe these outward expressions of embodied worship do not represent the body of believers you serve, your church background, or your theological bent. But perhaps we who declare worship as more than a song need to acknowledge that the praise of God must be embodied as much as it is sung.

“Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!” Psalm 150:6

Seeker Sensitive Worship

Churches have varying opinions about the point and purpose of the corporate worship gathering. Is it primarily to experience God? Is it primarily to teach the Bible? Is it for the purpose of evangelism, and attracting the community?

My personal conviction is that the purpose of the corporate gathering is for the spiritual formation of God’s people. That we gather to disciple and be discipled. That conviction shapes the way I think about the songs I choose, the liturgies I create, and the way that I communicate. However, that does not mean that I approach the gathering expecting that only followers of Jesus who are seeking to be conformed to the image of Christ are present. I think every week that we gather there are people who are walking with God, people who are far from God, people who are not Christians, and people who believe they are Christians but in reality, are not.

This too shapes the way I consider our gathering. In the same way, I want to be aware there are children in the room during a family worship weekend, I want to be aware that every time we gather there are people in the room who do not know, love, or follow Jesus.

If you’re here this morning as a follower of Christ… I preface much of what I share with this phrase. My hope in using these words is twofold, first, so that we would never assume that everyone sitting in our rows is a Christian. Second, there are things we are saying, singing, professing, proclaiming, receiving, and believing that will only be true for those who know and follow Jesus.

Explain what is happening, and why. Rubrics are helpful on this front. We want people to be uncomfortable for the right reasons. We want guests to know how and when they participate, and what are the expectations as we gather.

Use language that is clear, and without condescension. Our words matter and can be used to clarify or confuse those who attend our services. There must be a balance in being generous and welcoming in our language without being overly simplistic, and talking down to the unfamiliar.

Finally, present the gospel clearly. This is why I love using the Gospel Song Liturgy as the way we move through our set lists. Our songs can help tell the story of the sovereignty of God, the brokenness of sin, the glory of Christ’s cross, and the hope of our own resurrection, and Christ’s return. May all people walk away from our gatherings knowing who Jesus is and what He has done.

Children In The Gathering

On the fifth Sunday of every month, first through fifth graders join the adults of our church in the auditorium for gathered worship. This has been a learning process for our staff team, and for me. I believe that the primary purpose of the corporate gathering is the spiritual formation of God’s people, and this includes not just adults, but children as well. This is not a time simply to give our children’s ministry volunteers a break, but a chance for discipleship to go both ways, for our children to disciple the adults of our church, and for the adults of our church to disciple the children.

The presence of children in our gathering should remind adults of the way that we are to approach our Heavenly Father. With the faith of a child, full of wonder, joy, curiosity, and without reserve. Children should remind adults that the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children should remind adults that we are a part of the family of God, that we care for, serve, love, and are inconvenienced for one another - that we gather not to consume but to serve.

When children are in the gathering adults have the opportunity to model what it looks like to engage in the body of Christ. To sing, respond, listen, and wrestle with God’s Word preached. To give ourselves away in service, and to give our finances through tithes and offerings. To be reminded of the broken body, and shed blood that makes us a family. To confess our sin and receive God’s forgiveness once more.

One of the things we speak about regularly as a staff team is not wanting a Family Worship Weekend to feel like a Vacation Bible School Sunday, where the entirety of our gathering is oriented around our children. But at the same time, we do not want to have a Sunday that is ‘business as usual’ without acknowledging there are younger people in the gathering.

Here are a few ways that I am working to grow my awareness of the presence of children in our gathering on these weekends:

Through song choice. I know that there are a handful of songs we sing in the auditorium that our children sing regularly. When I am able, I like to lead those songs which overlap so that kids can see that grownups gather and sing just like they do.

Teach them a new song the week before. This past year, I have been going over to our children’s ministry the week before and teaching the kids a song that we will be singing the following week. I talk to them about what it means, and why we sing and play through the song with them so that they have something else that is familiar when they come to Family Worship Weekend.

Use accessible language. I want to be clear in what I say always, but when kids are in the room, it forces me to consider how I would articulate truths to my own children in a way that helps them to understand. Using accessible language helps cut through some of the jargon that many in our gathering may not understand.

Repetition. I want our children to be able to engage and respond with us, not just be passive observers. So I try and consider songs that are highly repetitive so that even if a child can’t read (or read quickly) they can still sing along. We have done this when reading confessions as well. Having a statement the leader reads, the corporate response being ‘Forgive us, Lord.’ Enables us to teach our children, rather than having - or adults for that matter - spend the mental energy to read aloud a changing line of response.

Scripture tells us that children are a blessing from the Lord. Certainly, this is true for the parents of the children, but it is also true for Spiritual parents and the community of faith. Children are a blessing to us, let’s welcome, engage, and serve them as we gather and as we are sent.

Receiving Compliments

Pride forces us toward two extremes: I am amazing, or I am awful. Sometimes these extremes push and pull moments apart, again and again! And when we stand in front of people with a microphone, an instrument, a voice of authority, and a position of visibility we can quickly begin to size up our value and worth based on the response - or lack thereof - from the people we serve. We can foolishly believe that everything is riding on us. Did the music go well? That’s because we worked hard, practiced, and led well. Did things feel chaotic, disjointed, and a mess? It’s because we are not good and have no business in this kind of role.

Two weeks ago I wrote about responding to criticism. But the truth is responding to compliments is a different side of the same coin. Undoubtedly, we will receive criticism in our role. Undoubtedly, we will also receive compliments. I think we must receive compliments in the same way we receive criticism. First, prayerfully.

One of the ways that Christ equips and builds up His body is through His body. I desire to receive a compliment not as an affirmation of myself and my gifts, but as a testament to the way God uses His people to build us all up toward maturity in Christ. I want my heart and mind to be turned upward to Christ in gratitude, rather than inward toward self when people speak words that spur me on toward godliness.

Second, we receive compliments with humility. This doesn’t mean that we are not grateful, that doesn’t mean we attempt to deflect people’s words with something like, ‘It wasn’t me up there, it was the Lord…’ It means we recognize that we have nothing we did not receive, and so we give glory to God, who does not share His glory with another. It means that we celebrate who God is and what He is doing, rather than seek to build up our own fragile egos with the life-giving words of another.

Finally, we let God’s voice be the loudest and most consistent voice in our minds and hearts. When my heart is treasure the Word spoken over me by my Heavenly Father, I do not have to be swayed or swell with the criticism or praise of another.

“Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou my inheritance now and always,

Thou and Thou only first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.”

Advent Beyond Nostalgia

When we lived in England, it was a normal and expected part of the Advent and Christmas season to sing carols. Not just in corporate worship, but during a Carol service - where Christians and non-Christians alike would come and sing along to songs that felt more nostalgic than worshipful. But isn’t that the truth even for followers of Jesus who gather weekly with the people of God? We all are tempted by nostalgia more than wonder during the Advent season.

As you begin to think about and prepare for Advent, what would it take to spend time celebrating the season by helping people not just sing familiar carols, but meditate on the truth these songs declare about the wonder of the Gospel and the fact that God is with us?

If you are unfamiliar with the history, additional verses, or inspiration behind some of the carols that you will be leading, spend a little bit of time reading about these songs online. I often find that understanding the original context changes the way I experience and lead a song.

Work to connect songs and sermons. We lead people, not songs. So help the people understand why we are singing what we are singing, what it means, and how we are to respond.

Use the slides, projection, or printed material to help do some of the heavy lifting. I like to use the slides to help shepherd people. Rather than feeling the pressure to explain everything, how might you use what is already at your disposal to help lift the eyes of those your are leading toward the transcendent truths we celebrate together?

Christmas may be a popular time for non-Christians to attend church, but Christians need the Gospel just as much as anyone else. Let’s prepare the truths of Scripture beautifully to be sung, prayed, and remembered inviting the Holy Spirit to lead in our preparation as well as our leading. And ask the Holy Spirit to make alive cold dead hearts for the first time, and the hundredth time.

Receiving Criticism

Receiving criticism is hard. Whether you have requested feedback, or someone walks up to you after a service and lets fly all the things they don’t like about you and what you’re doing. Because of the corporate nature of sung corporate worship, there is a sense of ownership among our congregations - this is our thing. And so it is not unusual for people to express their opinions, frustrations, and objections about sung worship. Whether that is style of the music, song choice, volume, liturgical elements, who are serving, what they are wearing, how they are leading, and any host of other points of tension.

When it comes to receiving criticism, I think it is important to note the difference between grumbling and complaining, and criticism. Although they may be presented in a similar way, I think of criticism, as ultimately, and hopefully helping to clarify who we are, what we do, and why we do it. Criticism, can help us grow if we are willing to receive it prayerfully.

One of the hardest things to do when receiving criticism - at least for me - is to pause long enough to pray, rather than attempting to verbally fire back. I need the words of the Psalmist to be my prayer “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3). Our first words need to be toward God, before they are in reaction or response to the person being critical.

Second, we need to receive criticism with humility. Again, this is so hard - Don’t you know how long I’ve spent preparing for this weekend? There are ins and outs of this area of ministry you could know nothing about! I have read more, rehearsed more, and spent more time growing my knowledge and understanding of sung worship than you! Who do you think you are to say this to me? All of these things reactions and more surface easily and quickly for me when receiving criticism. What an exposure of my own prideful heart!

Finally, I think it is so important that we have a philosophy of worship. We need to have convictions, about why we do what we do. We need to be able to articulate those convictions to the people on our team, as well as our congregations. But our convictions as well are something we need to hold with humility lest we become rigid, and critical ourselves.

The good news for worship leaders as we receive criticism, just like everyone, our identity is not in what we do - but in Christ.

Finding Your Weekly Rhythms

As worship leaders every week we must prepare the music, our hearts, and our teams to serve God’s people in corporate worship. Although these are things that I believe every worship leader should be prepared for each week regardless of their context, there are certain unique things that need to be addressed and prepare depending on the size of your team and church, where you serve, and whether you are full-time, part-time, a volunteer, or are responsible for other areas of ministry as well.

Ministry, like life, moves in seasons. There are times when you will be required to run hard for a season. But ministry, like life, is a marathon, not a sprint. So finding a healthy weekly rhythm that can be tweaked in a busy season, is better than no rhythm which has to constantly adapt in every season.

When it comes to finding a weekly rhythm, perhaps the first question we need to ask is, how much time do you need to budget to accomplish everything for which we are responsible in a weekly service?

Here are a few other questions to consider when establishing a weekly rhythm:

What are the things that only you can do?

What are the things you need to train someone else to do?

What things do you need to add to your weekly rhythm?

What things do you need to let go of for a season, or forever?

Life is chaotic, ministry is hectic. Finding a rhythm to your week will allow you to respond rather than react to every new challenge. Over the course of time, I believe that rhythms help us know how and what to prioritize, as well as find a life that is sustainable, strengthened, and balanced.

Weekly Preparation

There are many things that are worth our time and preparation as worship leaders. The tasks are infinite, our time is not. When I consider my weekly preparation, I like to think of three categories: the music, the team, and the heart.

The music. Worship is more than a song, songs are an integral part of the work we do as worship leaders. The music needs to be prepared and practiced before we are able to lead our team or the congregation. I want to make sure that I have built my set list, communicated to my team, and set up our sound system, and ProPresenter as a regular part of my weekly preparation.

The team. Whether your team is a few people or many people, we must consider how to best serve the team in our preparation. Preparing the team also looks like knowing the team, and praying for them as we move toward service together.

The heart. We can prepare all of the external and obvious elements but if we have neglected to prepare our hearts, we do God’s people and ourselves a disservice. Has my time before the face of God been deeper, richer, and longer-lasting than my time on a platform or behind a microphone? What are you praying in anticipation for the gathering?

Several years ago I started using a checklist every time I led worship so that I empty my brain, and be consistent in my preparation. You can download that checklist for free here.

The Tension of Gift and Heart

At many churches, finding volunteers can be difficult. But there is a unique challenge for worship and production teams:

Sometimes the most gifted musicians, are not the godliest.

Sometimes the most spiritually mature, are not the most gifted musicians.

How do we navigate this dynamic?

People are not widgets. Every person is in a different season and stage of life. We do not grow at the same rate musically or spiritually. God has gifted every person in different ways, and this is why we must use wisdom and discernment with each person as an individual. For the sake of efficiency, we can be tempted to compose dualistic categories that allow us to ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ someone who desires to serve. Don’t allow the ease of expediency to compromise the character and competency you are seeking to establish on the team.

Have consistent rhythms for auditions. What is the process someone needs to walk through to serve on the team? Each context is different, but I have found that easy and obvious on-ramps to joining the team are important. But so is an initial process that requires some time, and ownership from the person who is expressing interest in serving. If I have to chase someone to complete a brief interest survey, chances are high I will be chasing them for involvement on the team as well.

Don’t missionary date. Disciple without agenda. When you know there is an incredibly gifted musician who is a part of your church but not involved, you can be tempted to pursue that person, not for relationship, but for what you can get from them. This is selfish and sees people as tools and objects to be used at your disposal.

Recognize that this tension of gift and heart is true for everyone. “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you, there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (Psalm 130:3-4) This is good news for every person! There is hope in Christ. Discipleship is the long game. Just because someone is not ready to step onto the team and serve right now, does not mean in a few months or years that will be the case. Be patient and faithful. Serve the Lord with the people he has entrusted to this area of ministry in this particular season - not those you hope he will bring.

We desperately need the Holy Spirit to reveal our own motivations and desires, and to fill us with wisdom as we seek to lead God’s people. We need to see with God’s eyes, not the eyes of man. We need to be able to see the heart, not just the outward gifts - or lack thereof. Thankfully, God gives wisdom generously to those who ask (James 1:5), so ask!

Communicating With The Team

Communication is an invaluable part of any relationship. And when you are serving on a team, there must be clear, open, honest, and frequent communication to be able to move together toward a common goal. And that common goal for those of us that serve on worship and production teams is to enable the people of God to proclaim the truths of the Gospel together in song, word, prayer, and gathering.

Communication with your team should begin before you gather for a rehearsal or service. Who are the musicians who are serving? What songs are you singing? What are the keys? Are there elements outside of the service that will affect the way you move through the service? What are the structures of your songs, and transitions? Communicating these details again and again, in writing and aloud will be incredibly helpful for your team to be able to move in the same direction together.

Consistency in your communication is just as important as what you say. When can the team expect to hear from you about when they are serving, the set lists, and any changes to the normal rhythms? Will you communicate everything individually, through a Facebook group, an email chain, or Planning Center? Ultimately, you need to use the tool that makes the most sense for you and your team, but building regular rhythms of communication from week to week, as well as month to month, is essential to creating consistency of expectation for the team.

The rehearsal is a locus point of communication for the team. Again, finding a consistent way that you move through rehearsals will build familiarity and comfort for the team. Walking your team through the order of service, clarifying parts, setting expectations, and giving space for questions in regards to the liturgy should be incorporated frequently for a team to have clear communication.

Finally, clarity is a necessity with as many moving parts as we oversee as worship leaders. Holding the larger picture of the whole morning, and how every aspect of those we lead contributes to what we are trying to accomplish in a morning. Practice what and how you will walk your team through rehearsals and a service, make notes, write it down until there is clarity in what and how you are communicating.

Singing Theologians

I define worship as the right response of our whole lives to God’s revelation of Himself. That is a definition that I have Frankensteined from some of the most helpful definitions I have heard over the years.

In Romans 12, Paul tells that all of life is a spiritual act of worship lived in response to the mercies of God. This means that right worship does not begin with us, it begins with God. God reveals Himself to us, and we must respond.

God created us worshipping, but sin broke that perfect response of worship. Sin did not stop our worship, it distorted, and warped our worship - making us worship everything and everyone besides God (This is a concept I learned from Harold Best in his book, Unceasing Worship). But right worship is living our whole lives in worshipful response to God.

In Romans 3, Paul tells us that no one seeks God. Again we see that right worship is only our response to God’s revelation of Himself. So if we are merely responding, how does God reveal himself to us? There are many ways, here are five:

Through Jesus. We see the glory of God in the face of the Son. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Through His Spirit. The Spirit leads us into all truth. John 16:13

Through His Word. All scripture is breathed out by God. 2 Timothy 3:16

Through His Church. We are His ambassadors on earth. 2 Corinthians 5:20

Through His Creation. The heavens declare the glory of God. Everyone is without excuse. Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20

Why does any of this matter? Why should it be important for worship leaders to be people who deeply know, believe, treasure, and study the person and work of God? Because every one of us is a worshiper, and every one of us is a theologian. Professor Gordon D. Fee says,

“Show me a church’s songs and I’ll show you their theology.”

As worship leaders we do not lead songs, we lead people. We are in fact singing theologians.

Growing Theologically

The primary work of leading worship is not musical, it is pastoral. Even the regular rhythms of our week, choosing songs, building set lists, leading rehearsals, communicating with team members, working with a pastor, and leading during services, are primarily about shepherding people. If the primary work of leading worship is pastoral more than musical, our preparation and development should represent a desire to be shaped theologically and pastorally. It is easy to be tempted toward musical ability at the expense of theological depth. I do not believe these realities need to be mutually exclusive. But it will require an investment of time and intentionality. If you would like to grow theologically but are unsure where to begin, here are a few things to consider:

Relationships. Who are the people within your community, church, and relational sphere who are deep, wise, Godly people? Pursuing those people with intentional questions about their knowledge and understanding of who God is and what He has done, as well as resources they would recommend is a great place to start.

Free Resources. Many of my favorite writers, publishing companies, seminaries, and parachurch organizations offer material for free online. Reformed Theological Seminary posts all of its courses for free here. Sovereign Grace Music also offers a Worship Matters Video Intensive for free here. Glean from the edges and margin of your life with a few of these free resources.

Give regular time. Ultimately we give time to the things we value. Even 20 minutes of reading, one online class, or a single coffee meeting can help stretch, grow and develop our theological muscles.

Let the secret place be wider and deeper than the public platform. Jesus was often going away to a quiet, desolate place to pray and be with His Father. With such visible and public roles, we need to make sure that we are spending time cultivating our own relationship with God outside of what we do for God.