Help Me Help You

I was bouncing around the blog-o-sphere tonight and happened upon a post that Carlos Whittaker did a while back asking 2 simple questions…

• When does a worship leader really botch it for you?
• What is the biggest gripe you have about something a Sunday worship leader does?

There were LOTS of responses – most of them contradicting each other, ironically – but one of them encapsulated it for me.  A gent named Rick tossed this comment into the mix, and I wanted to share it.  I also want to ponder it myself for a bit.  Here is what he said:

I hate it when my worship leader…
-has to remind Christians that corporate worship is a mandate from God.

-has to risk being a cheerleader because the people that claim to love God exhibit no sense of joy when singing about Him.

-has to burn the first song because 75% of the congregation is late, talking in the lobby, perfecting their coffee, or sleep walking instead of enthusiastically taking advantage of celebrating our Savior with like-hearted people.

-has to endure darts of personal preference from hundreds of individuals who have lost sight of what Sunday worship time is prescribed by God to be.

-is treated as a thoughtless hire rather than a divinely appointed servant.

-is expected to never get nervous but be humble,
execute notes and lyrics without flaw while avoiding performance and being vulnerable,
make no effort to teach or guide but don’t be a juke box, and stay traditional and contemporary,
all while burying, birthing and resurrecting songs appropriately.

I’m sure that’s easy to do!

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This also comes on the heels of seeing one of my fellow worship leading mom’s getting roasted by a “friend” on her facebook wall because she gets “paid too much just to sing on sundays, most people volenteer their time for that.”

Is this really where the Modern Church has gotten to?  Are we really that consumer-minded?  Are we that angry and judgemental?

The true question should be “what is it that helps draw you into the presence of God?” or “is there a way that your local worship leader can help you shake off the baggage you brought with you so that you can truly worship God?”

As a worship leader, these are the questions that I would love to have answered!  I want to know if there is something that I can do to help you enter the throne room of your Saviour and King.  How can I help you feel released?  How can I get out of your way and create an environment where there isn’t anything to distract you from living out your sacrifice of praise of an Almighty God?

Don’t get me wrong – I totally get why Carlos asked the questions, and I do appreciate some of the responses.  There are things that I do that would drive some of his readers insane (and I’ll be working on some of them – but not all of them!).

To be the person that God has called to stand up in front of His church and lead them is a daunting task.  To be the person that is responsible for getting a list of songs together that:

1. The congregation knows
2. Relates to the pastor’s message
3. The band plays/sings well
4. Has a natural “flow”

well, that is a hard thing some weeks!  And we do it every. single. week.

Yes, there are times that it all comes together in such an amazing way that there is no doubt that God had His hand in it… but there are also weeks that I look at the passage we will be studying (and the supporting passages) and I draw a huge blank for days.

Then you add in the hours of practice, set-up & tear down, the creating of charts (in multiple keys), the time spend seaking out new music to add to your church’s repitoire, building relationships with the members of the band and making sure they are growing spiritually… and the list goes on and on.  Oh, and having the guts to get up in front of you each week and blowing it as often as not (even when you may never know) – mixing up words or chord progressions or sounding like an idiot when you lose your train of thought.

I’m human.  Your worship leader, worship pastor, director of music, etc – they are only human too.  We fail, we get nervous, we have things that come up in our lives that reduce the time we have to prepare. The unexpected happens.

BUT

We serve a God that gives each of us a second chance – you, me and even your worship leader.

Next time your worship leader does or says something that bugs you – and I’m sure they will – take a step back and try to see the why in it.  Why does it bug you?  Is it something that needs to be addressed spiritually or theologically?  Is there something that hints at hipocracy in their lives?  Or are you just grumpy today?

Are we coming to church to be entertained, or are we coming to worship the Saviour of our souls in unity and community with a body of believers?

Just some things to think about.

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**I’m not saying that ALL churches are this way, I’m just making a generalization based on the fact that nearly 200 people chimed in and over 80% of the comments had a negative slant.  Help us out – tell us how we can help rather than throw us under the bus. If you really want to see the negativity (from both sides, unfortunately,) just google “I hate when my worship leader” – ugh.

** 2nd disclaimer – I’m not trying to cast angry comments back, but rather to help the general church-attendee to see that there may be more to it than meets the eye.  I really do want comments and feedback – I want to help make your corporate worship experience as seemless and God-honoring as I can!  I also want you and I to be able to worship together, side by side.  After all, that is the point of corporate worship!