I Love It When My Worship Leader
When does a worship leader really get you to experience His Holiness?
When has a Sunday worship leader taken the congregation to the next level by LEADING them?
All is fair game.
Let’s see how many sermonettes we get this time around.
Bring it.
Los
I love it when worship leaders are real, just being authentic. Also … I love it when the songs/lyrics specifically relate to the message and Scripture for that day’s lesson. I guess that is probably a goal each week, but sometimes it speaks to me more than others. (I am a lyrics/words person.)
These last three posts have shown me how little I think about the worship leader, which I think is probably a good thing. Experiencing His holiness seems to have more to do with me feeling centered on God (arriving to church early, not being distracted by the people around me, not worrying/making mental lists, etc.) than with the worship leader. With that being said, perhaps I feel this way because I’ve been blessed with some really positive experiences at Cross Point Church and Buckhead Church.
i LOVE it when worship leaders live the life even when they’re offstage. Obviously, we’re all imperfect, but when they’re really transparent with their lives on & offstage, I realize that we’re all in this together.
When the worship leader is free to share his/her emotions with the people he/she is leading in worship, whether that emotion is happiness, joy, excitement, or sadness, hurt, loneliness, questioning, etc. As said abvove…it makes me realize that we are all in this together and that we are all human and can be free to express those God-given emotions.
finds THE ROOM’S groove, and knows when to back the band down for the congregation
LOVE IT when he/she is more concerned with worshiping God and leading others by example than performance. It is the fragrance of God to others and it’s intoxicating.
This may sound trite, but I like it when my worship leader can sing. That way, I can close my eyes and block out most other distractions. Lots of us in the congregation can’t sing well and I’m totally cool with that, but we don’t have a mic.
. . . forgets where he is in a worship set because he is so consumed with God. Like he says to himself “man, I don’t know where we are but God is thick.” If the congregation could respond as one, they would say “Play music or don’t – we don’t care. God is here and that’s all that matters Jack.
I love it when my favorite song has been chosen for worship that day. Not that they knew it’s my favorite. But I really love that.
Glad you followed up with this, Los. Really glad.
I love it when the worship leader and band pull back and allow the congregation to lift their voices up acapella…
There’s something about hearing others worshiping loudly…
i say it’s all about the leader’s personal preparation.
So, I love it when my worship leader proves (with words and actions) that they are maturing as a follower, practicing their musical skill, growing in humility, sharing the burden of leadership with others, concentrating on eliminating things that could potentially distract people from Him being the focus of worship.
hard to nail down any visible specifics, more than what is noted above.
I love it when my worship leader doesn’t allow trends to dictate what we sing week to week.
I love it when he plans a worship set that doesn’t alienate worshipers along generational or cultural lines.
I love it when he helps reduce distractions by preparing properly and transitioning well.
I love it when he doesn’t try to be David Crowder, Israel Houghton or Chris Tomlin and just leads in the unique way God created him to lead.
I love it when he can hear(read) criticism without getting frustrated but turn to God as his source of approval.
“I love it when he doesn’t try to be David Crowder, Israel Houghton or Chris Tomlin and just leads in the unique way God created him to lead.”
Quote of the day.
Awesome.
I want the worship leader to be the lead worshiper and when he/she is humbly before the throne, and we have the honor of being there too, it is amazing. I don’t limit that to the musicians.
on a technical note… when the flow/transitions have been given lots of consideration and are effortless — not distracting or disjointed.
i love it when the worship leader leads me to the cross…
…or maybe he points? either way,i love it when the worship leader helps set the stage for true worship and an encounter with my Father.
also wanted to say …
love it when worship leaders include old hymns. i love the classics. LOVE them!
I love it when the worship leader gets genuinely lost in worshipping with us, making it feel as though they could be the person standing next to us just as easy as being the person on stage.
peace|dewde
http://dewde.com
I love that my worship leader is authentic, willing to open up outside of the church walls and be himself.
I love the fact that most Sundays I forget he is there during worship because he has been leading us to The Man and has not been trying to be “the man”.
I love when he reads relevant Scripture as a transition between songs.
I love the fact that when the power was out and everyone was considering cancelling the nighttime service, he followed the pastor’s lead and still did his part acoustic, in the dark, no fancy lights, just because he knew why he was there.
I love it when my worship leader GOES THERE…I mean, when they’re authentic and passionate about what they are singing. I love it when worship leaders forget who’s watching and get lost in worshipping God for themselves. I also may be a minority here, but actually like it when the worship leader shares stories about how God has been working in their lives.
20 bucks says we don’t get a third of the responses as hates. The Gripee McGrippersons love to waggle their fingers. Jon Acuff from stuffchristianslike.net has a great blog about the Judgement Olympics. Check it.
I love God, I love those who worship Him in any fashion. Thanks for all you do, Los.
I love it when the song leader instructs us to raise our hands or , particularly when I don’t feel like it. There is something about obedience that opens my heart to…well, worship!
Guess you can’t use the “greater than” or “less than” symbols. I meant…
I love it when the song leader instructs us to raise our hands or (fill in the blank with any other instruction), particularly when I don’t feel like it.
i love authenticity. i love when he lets others lead. i love when he lets the crowd lead. i love when he steps away from the mic. i love when he drops to his knees in adoration. i love when he is visibly moved. i love when we do his songs. i love when he makes jokes that aren’t funny but he laughs at them.
ahh, that was a good exercise in seeing the good. thank you for this. my eyes are welling-up.
Yes to this topic! (Prove me wrong people. Restore my confidence in my generation! Let’s get more comments than the other one.)
I love it when the worship leader has an obvious passion for the local church he or she is apart of as well as the Church at large. I love it when he or she is about helping people experience the glory of God. I love it when the only place the worship leader wants to be is there, at that moment, leading people in worship.
I love it when our worship leader stops playing his guitar at the right time because his hands are outstreached and it’s totally clear that he’s her to worship God and if you’re not with him….you’re missing out. Our worship leader is a very talented vocalist and is an awesome worship leader…..he’s at his best when his eyes are shut….arms outstreached….and he’s leading us through his own worship. It’s something you can’t describe….yet you can certianly feel it.
His name is Sam Leyde.
wow. dude. for serious, 140 some people better comment on the love side.
=] well… i love it when i am in a worship service and the leader starts the service by saying something like “God we invite you into this place” or “I worship you, God, because…” i think that is always sooo awesome.
I loved it in 2007 when Brooke Fraser told the camera men to stop pointing cameras at her because she is “no golden calf.” hahaha. i love that girl.
Los, thanks tons for this. Although i read some of these and get completely frustrated, i am so glad i have the opportunity to read. i’m all about learning and growing.
peace.
–ash
i love it when they grow big fluffy beards and rub them on the mic!
i love it when they sweat so hard they can’t keep their hair done past the first service.
i love it when they say “COME ON, SHOUT IT OUT, SING IT and AMMEN!’
i love it when they get all excited about what people hate!
HAHAH
continues worshiping when his guitar string breaks or when the microphone isn’t working and just raises his hands and sings with all of their heart (i’ll never forget that day at church in SLO).
I love it when the worship leader looks like he/she is actually enjoying what they are doing. I love it when the instrumentalists are singing along without having a mic. I love it when the worship leader has a sense of what the Holy Spirit is doing in the room and is sensitive to do a little more or a little less. I love it when the worship leader clues in the guests/newcomers on what we’re doing and lets them know its ok to not be there just yet.
I love how our guys have progressed. Most of our WL’s grew up leading in our youth environment. Man! The passion and guts they brought to ‘youth worship’ could never really be transferred to ‘adult worship’ where a small minority (the ‘frozen chosen’) would not allow these guys to express their worship and lead the rest of us the way God was leading them. Kudos to them for not being squashed and for pushing through to serve God and the rest of us with their awesome talent and huge amounts of time sacrificed.
Great to be able to follow up on yesterdays discussion. But before we get to critical on ourselves for being to critical
…
I have a two year old daughter, I love her to bits, she is the coolest person (after my wife) to happen to me.
If you were to ask me “what do you hate about your daughter?” I would not skip a beat “I hate the way she headbuts me on the nose when she is trying a little too enthusiastically to hug me!”
Do I love her? Yes!
Do I love the hugs? Yes!
Do I love her enthusiasm? Yes!
But I would never miss her slamming her head into my nose every day.
But you did not ask me that, you asked me what I hate about her, so I answered that.
I have a very comfortable pair of shoes on right now. The only reason I am thinking about them is cause I am writing this. Put a thorn in my shoe and I will notice it straight away and do whatever I can to get it out (actually it needn’t be a thorn it could just be something innocuous like sock fluff, but I would still notice it straight away).
Sermon done!
when they throw out free t-shirts into the crowd.
kidding.. maybe.
okay, when they invite some of the younger guys/gals to play with them during services from time to time.. while still valuing a standard of excellence in musicianship but leaving room to learn and grow at the same time. shows they have the future of the church in mind and wanting to build into the younger generation rather than only letting them lead the elementary kids sunday school.
i love it when they shut the heck up! ok im kinda kidding but sometimes the tendency is to speak & interupt what God is saying, that bugs me! So i guess when the worship leader gets a good balance of noise & silence i am happier & more likely to worship
….steps out of the way and lets God lead…..
Invites positive discussion instead of negative discussion on his blog :0)
When he shows up…knowing he’s not gonna please everyone, but secure in the fact that he is pleasing God. Being at one with God, in that moment; in every moment. Singing on the outside, but on the inside praying that everyone in front of him is having that same special moment with The Creator.
When IR each the point in worship when my eyes re closed and I’m totally focused on the Lord, I LOVE it when the worship leader doesn’t give me a reason to open my eyes (by “sharing”, executing a poor song transition etc.) and I lets me feel like we’re not in a hurry – that we want to “hang out” in the adoration of God for a while. When it happens, it’s beautiful. And sadly, it’s rare in modern church.
…speaks from Scripture in a manner that reveals she/he HAS spent some quality time in those verses, and then is able to effectively connect those verses to the lyrics of worship songs in the set
1.AUTHENTICITY: When the guy on stage is the guy you meet in the hallway and he is freed up to share his struggles AND his victories – that is something special.
2.FREEDOM: Allowing the congregation to get to “that place” in the experience on their own, in their own way, while being sensitive enough to lead when neccessary – may be the hardest thing for a WL to do but when they do it the good stuff happens.
3.BLENDS: I love the old hymns, I love rocking new stuff, I love the praise songs and I love it when these all mix into one worship experience. I don’t believe we are mutually exclusive – one style for one group just doesn’t cut it.
I just love our worship leader. He’s still kinda figuring out what he’s doing, constantly growing as a musician and a vocalist, accepts ideas from others on song-arrangement but still maintains the Leader position. But all that stuff ultimately doesn’t matter. He is a worshiper, and really, that’s the best kind of worship leader.
I love it when…
…the worship leader follows the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
…a worship leader truly worships instead of performing/going through the motions.
…the worship leader doesn’t have to lead every song and lets his mic singers lead.
…the worship leader tells us in choir practice that the only thing that matters on the stage is to worship God. That truly takes the performance pressure off for me.
The common thread here seems to be “I”. just saying….
“I” love it when the worship leader obeys God rather than trying to please people that might critique him/her on a blog.
I agree with @Aaron…
BLENDS: I love the old hymns, I love rocking new stuff, I love the praise songs and I love it when these all mix into one worship experience. I don’t believe we are mutually exclusive – one style for one group just doesn’t cut it.
peace|dewde
http://dewde.com
@Crystal Renaud has some great ones too!
Keeps it simple.
Simple arrangements
+ Simple melodies to sing to
—————————-
Simple Worship.
i love it that…
the “I hate it…” post had 150 passionate comments.
i love it that…
this post has 46…47, including mine.
an interesting snapshot of where people’s hearts are.
Changes up an arrangement on an old song. What can I say? I like surprises
I love it when my worship leader or his team messes something up and he knows weather or not he should restart the song or just roll with it. I love his ability to gauge the holy spirit and see what direction He needs to take the music to.
My favorite thing about our worship leader is that he is truly a leader. He wasn’t just given a leader title because he’s the best a playing and singing. He leads and he leads so well.
I love it when worship leaders share what the Lord has done in his/her life and you can sense the gratitude and awe in their tone. People are so afraid of silence too, but the quiet stillness after something profound can be life-changing to me too.
150 complaints and only 50 compliments???
I love how authentic our worship pastor is! We have 3 services and I love how when he feels lead to do another chorus he does it without hesitation, regardless of how he did the other 2 services! I also loved “catching” him back stage praying during the time between practice and the start of the first service… THAT to me is what its all about!
I don’t think we can compare the two posts. Our “hate” is so much stronger than our “love”. Not that we hate better or love worse, but there are so many different emotions connected to the two questions.
When you put on a blog, “what do you hate”, especially when you’re talking to Christians, you’re gonna get a ton of knee-jerk reactions to “say what they’ve never been able to say.” I can’t speak for everyone, obviously, but for me, when you ask me what I love, it takes me awhile to think of something specific because that’s not what I’m concentrating on each Sunday. I simply LOVE to be in the presence of God. But when you ask what I hate, the response comes easier because it’s something that has interrupted my “love” on Sunday and I have made mental notes, that unfortunately, I don’t seem to forget.
I knew there would be comparisons and figured the hate comments would overwhelmingly outnumber the love comments, but I think that’s ok. We’re all human and Satan loves to get inside the minds of us, “But by God’s grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than all the others-not I, of course, but God’s grace that was with me.” 1 Cor 15:10
I love it when I can still connect with God even when the music is bad, the transitions are awkward and the harmony is off. I’m one of those musicians mentioned in the last thread that strives for perfection, so I tend to be overly critical when I’m at a worship service when I’m not leading. But worship can happen despite all those things, when I sense the leader has a heart for Jesus and just wants to honor him. (In fact, sometimes the best moments are when the music is really bad, but no one cares because we are all surrendered to God.)
I love it when the worship leader is the quarterback not the coach. (i.e. in it with them, not giving direction from the sidelines.) That’s the first thing I tell all the worship team member I train.
I love it when I visit my parents’ tiny, back-woods church in the middle of nowhere and the ~16 year old song leader (aka the pastor’s daughter) is less than stellar but her passion for Christ is both convicting and inspiring ’cause it’s obvious that she loves Christ WAY more than I did at her age.
How’s that for a run-on?
I love it…
1. when they are prayed up
2. when they are prepared
3. when they are spirit-led, not performance-led
3. when they are invisible (figuratively speaking)
Love it when my worship leader is so passionate about God that he cries during worship.
Love it when he exhorts the congregation and they start jumping, leaping and praising God.
I love it when he opens up the altar and people come running down to the alter with tears streaming.
Man – we are really experiencing a worship revival at our church!!!
One of our worship leaders had the courage to confess to our leadership, and then step down from his leadership position because of some serious inappropriate personal struggles. Because he made it all about God, instead of all about him. That is all the rest of us know and need to know.
The rest of the worship team has stepped up to the plate with love. I applaud him for his honesty, courage and humbleness. He and his family still even attend worship, though it would be way easier to hide out. We pray for the day he may be able to rejoin the team, for he is a truly gifted worship leader.
I love my church family.
i love it when God so overwhelms them, they get teary.
i love it when a line in a song just about how awesome HE is brings them on their knees.
Worship leaders I *heart* you…
I must say that I am on the creative team for designing worship elements along with our worship leader. When worship soars, it is God. When we miss the mark, it’s us (collectively).
I love it that our worship leader thinks the most important thing is ushering people into the presence of God.
The focus on “it’s not about us, it’s all about Him”.
Rallies our leaders to be in intercessory prayer during worship.
Her heart is so special.
That we pray during worship design, before service and during the service for the hearts of those coming.
She works with our youth bands, and incorporates them into “big” church worship.
She models real worship: my fav moment recently (not that it is about me ;^), was when she just knelt down on the stage and lead from that position.
And she is talented!!!
Melanie Moore a truly gifted worship leader!!!
when they do not follow routine, but the Spirit of God.
when the Spirit leads them to do just 3 songs instead of the planned 4.
j/k
when they could care less what they look like (sweaty, tears, etc)
when they play loud. I hate hearing myself sing.
When he lets the Spirit choose what songs to sing instead of getting up and yelling out hymnal page numbers.
When he just “gets real” and all you see is a man openly weeping and trying to sing and failing to make any sound come out of his mouth.
Knowing what his children are making him crazy and seeing him not totally fall apart – because of God holding him together for his grandkids. =)
I love it when they bring their gifts and model serving with open hands. I also love it when they don’t take themselves so seriously and are able to see their small piece of the total worship experience puzzle.
Prays. When Lee McD prays, you can tell without a doubt that he is in love with Jesus.
I also love it when they use pop culture songs to emphasize a spiritual meaning. Coldplay’s “Fix You” Nickleback’s “Someday” Foo Fighter’s “There Goes My Hero” The Fray’s “How To Save A Life” to name a few. Tears are coming just remembering the power those songs brought to the service.
I love it when my worship leader is not me.
As a guy in the worship trench week after week, it can get pretty draining. One of the greatest blessings in following someone else’s lead. Reminds me what it’s like in the congregation. Keeps me connected in a different way.
Lets someone else lead the worship.
I love it when he grabs my ass as we’re walking off the stage. And he doesn’t care that everyone sees him do this. Oh wait…I’m the worship leader.
I like when they transition songs with only music. I like when they remind me to be worshipping, but in a humble, gentle way.
I like when they cry, and sway.
Disappears on stage. Then God can show up.
I love it when they arrange the songs in a range where everyday, normal folks can sing w/o trying to do it in chris tomlin’s key.
I love it when things get mixed up…
percussion sunday
drumline sunday
recorder sunday with a bunch of fifth and sixth graders playing
and the times when we don’t sing but explore other methods of worship- breathing, being, giving, creating- these are my absolute favorite as it trains us to live a life of worship realizing we can worship God in whatever we do!
I love it when things get mixed up…
percussion sunday
drumline sunday
recorder sunday with a bunch of fifth and sixth graders playing
and the times when we don’t sing but explore other methods of worship- breathing, being, giving, creating- these are my absolute favorite as it trains us to live a life of worship realizing we can worship God in whatever we do!
they pray and give way for andy to speak…
not sure if this is the worship leader’s decision (the one on the stage) but I love it when they perform a song at the end of the service that just echoes and reverberates the sermon, and I just sit there and listen and have all of it rock my world.
I also love it when the lead guitar and drums beat through my chest and shoulders, and I feel like it’s God’s hearbeat in my body.
I love it when the worship leader from New Life Church in Renton, WA gets taken out to coffee.
Mixes up the songs between more contemporary songs and old hymns. Just beautiful!!
I like it when they invite people who play different instruments and songs to join them.
I also like it when he gives an additional moment to meet and greet other people, to welcome them to church. I always look for the person who looks most in need of a hug.
thanks for telling us what you love….it was encouraging. many of the things you as attenders love are the things that are very important to me as a worship leader. they are what i really work on. i’m glad about that.
i love it when a worship leader (that is not me) worships very authentically and we forget about the time and are all focused on the King.
dewde Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
“I love it when the worship leader gets genuinely lost in worshipping with us, making it feel as though they could be the person standing next to us just as easy as being the person on stage.”
LOVE IT. i would underline “[worshipping] as they could be the person standing next to us.”
downplay the onstage persona.
connect with your people.
be REAL.
experience TRUE WORSHIP with them.
–
i think it is sad that there were 100 more comments about what people hated than what they loved.
Christians need to have better attitudes.
i wonder how we’d feel if our Savior listed out all the things He ‘hates’ about us verses what He loves.
breaks a G string
…on his GUITAR, you degenerates…
I love it when the worship leader cuts the church’s grass. OK, that one was about me, but I think it’s great to see worship leaders (any church leader, really) submit themselves to someone else’s leadership in some area. Whatever kind of serving it is, I love to see leaders model being good followers.
I don’t believe a worship leader can get me to experience God. And I don’t believe in a next level.
Maybe it’s time for the worship leader community to invest in some new language. The old language which was once the new language unintentionally miscommunicates what “worship” is and what the role of the “worship leader” is.
You’re a brilliant man, Los. Perhaps you could lead the charge and use some different words with more accurate meaning. Would make for a killer post in your hands I think. Because words matter.
I believe worship/creative arts/music directors can definitely create environments that help point a congregation/group/audience toward God. Environments that turn our eyes off of ourselves, if even for a little while, and focus on God’s nature/God’s character/God’s words/God’s heart. And I believe that a responsibility as artists in the church is to be faithful to that calling/vocation/serving opportunity whatever that looks like individually. God moves. God completes. We serve.
I have to say I agree with Shaun. While I hate the whole “worship leader” vs. “lead worshiper” arguement (am I the only one who thinks it feels pretentious?) I do think we have unrealistic expectations of the worship leader instead of remembering that a HUGE part of worshiping God is us putting our hearts in the right place. A worship leader can’t do that.
When I can worship despite all the distractions, to me it’s no different then worshiping when there are none.
Thank you Shaun for voicing something that has been stirring in me for a while. Maybe we “Worship Leaders” need to try and understand how to allow people to experience worship in Spirit and Truth…anywhere, and everywhere, as a part of our lifestyle. If that doesn’t work for us…maybe we should be Music Leaders and appoint someone else as “Worship” leaders.
When they pray for the church body (even the people that hate what they are doing.)