Worship Leader or Cover Band Singer?
I am spending the latter half of this week with the team from LifeChurch.tv.
Conversating, leading worship, and wide assortment of other flavorful things.
2 things I did tonight were stare in awe as megastorm came rolling in and discuss worship with my wonderful hosts Chris and Cindy Beall.
We got deep.
It was good.
Now Im sitting bed chewing on our conversation of worship leading while hiding under my covers every time another round of lightening hits.
Seriously. This whole freaking house is shaking.
Our conversation consisted of lots of talk about worship leaders vs. cover band singers.
They are different you know.
One is not better than the other.
But they serve different purposes.
So I think I have come up with a list of questions that can help you figure out what you have at your church or what your church culture is raising up.
Have you ever heard them talk about Jesus offstage? Like ever?
Do they smile bigger during the opening cover song than they do during the worship set?
Have you ever seen them live like Jesus offstage? Like ever?
Does anybody willingly follow them during the week?
Who would be more impressed at the end of a worship service? Simon Cowell or Jesus Christ?
Just a few questions to get you headed in the right direction or turn around a ship that is headed in the wrong one.
Now go be Jesus and show how He has changed your life offstage.
Then maybe they’ll believe you when you sing about Him on stage.
Los
[some updated words as of this morning. great conversation!!!]
RAIN IT DOWN
i love that this post has an f+h+l banner on the bottom. that album exemplifies what you're talking about.
Love this post. Definitely great questions to ask.
I also see Oklahoma has welcomed you and from the pics I saw (and the clouds as I left OKC for Tulsa), it was welcomed you well. Shame I missed meeting you as I won’t be at central offices tomorrow
Hey Los, I’m in Yukon , Ok under the same storm!
I’m also under my covers! I feel your pain!
wow….wow….wow!!! WHAT a post!!
Spot on Los, spot on! If you dont live it off the stage then you have no right leading on it!! You cant take people to places you havent been yourself… and if you are truly worshipping off stage then no one is going to be able to keep you from talking about it! Sincerity of heart, submission to God and an authentic expression of worship… who you are in private is who you really are…Lord dont let me be a fake, You always first in my life, always!
But the reality is almost every worship leader is a cover song leader too. But your point, right on. Totally agree. I guess some people think God blesses them more because they "lead" something.
yup.
True. But you get the point.
ha…northwest bringing it home!
seriously. I just got asked to start leading worship again… you have to understand… i did it years ago… i was a pharisee… but God has seriously messed me up the past 2 years… in a good way… and i find myself seriously examining everything as I go into this… and yes… people follow me… and Jesus is my favorite thing to talk about… and I'm so freaking grateful I get to do this!! and forget cover songs… yes I'm doing a bunch of other peoples stuff but I want to write stuff for where our group is… that is ours… that worships God where we are at…
God can't bless you to lead something unless you have been led… and are already being followed…
It's hard not to type, "So…if I talk about Jesus more offstage in front of you…would that be good?" and hit submit. This is one of those tough deals where we put "our" criteria on someone's "outward" behavior and feel like we have a handle on someone else's life, calling and relationship with Jesus. To put it another way, I heard Marilyn Manson on a UK chat show the other night. He talked about Jesus quite a bit but…I think you see where I'm going. At the end of the day, we must endeavor to be the best us we can be, enjoy what we do and ignore the critics. Frankly, I love a great cover singer. Most worship leaders I know bug the hell out of me.
Sounds like a personal problem to me.
Maybe so. I just get a little weary of conversations about motives. None of us have ever done anything out of a pure motivation in our life ever. I guess that’s not entirely your point, perhaps, but it sways to condescension a bit when someone suggests we can become qualified by our actions as perceived by others. The best worship leaders I know don’t have a mold, a model or a pattern. They’re simply themselves. I guess that’s the overriding message of the reveal podcast. Be yourself. Screw the rest.
There's no way anyone would mistake me for a cover band singer – I'm not very slim, don't have any hair product, don't close my eyes very often while singing, and I don't sing very well. All for the glory of God.
Wow Los, you've brought up great questions for us followers!
I think two questions worth adding may be:
1. How does your worship leader talk about Jesus off-stage? (Some may use His name from time to time, but not in the best context).
2. Does your worship leader live like Jesus off stage?
Carlos, you know, when I was first presented with the opportunity to lead worship, non-traditional worship (I come from good old southern baptist), I struggled. I was in the CCM industry in early 90′s, and toured in an independent christian band throughout the remaining 90′s. My struggle was this . . . am I just regurgitating and performing, or am I ushering others to the throne. Strangely enough, I was able to to talk one on on with Kim Walker about the difference in performing and leading . . . and yeah, it’s different. I agree that you can’t have an onstage and offstage difference. God has truly been merciful and gracious to allow me to worship on stage when leading. As a lead vocalist I feared the old pride would rear it’s head, but you know what . . . the closer I drew to God as I developed the worship set, the more the set morphed into what God wanted. So yeah . . . it is offstage . . . and onstage. Must be, has to be consistently in His will.
Welcome to the Midwest!
It is sad that we even have to talk about this issue in the church. seriously.
it is sad.
So true. The same goes for us all man. Do we all talk about Jesus offstage, the physical building church, to others. I struggle with it.
Great post. Cover-band singers are based out of a heart of pride. It's what caused Lucifer to fall. He wanted the glory. Cover-Band singers want the glory that is rightfully God's. What are some check points you would give to worship leaders to help them self-evaluate and check themselves in (how do you check yourself) to make sure we're not shifting into cover-band singers?
Checkpoints… hmmm…
I'd say:
1. Are you in the word daily?
2. Are you listening for God?
3. Do you lead you family toward God intentionally?
or, do you spend more time
1. programing services?
2. looking for the next great song somebody else wrote?
3. complaining about your church and leadership?
And, is your Bible really iTunes?
I'm afraid to see where I'd be most days.
It's a scary place to be. And I know plenty of cover band singers who love Jesus.
I agree, but not nearly as scary as the danger of imposing checkpoints on other people. Not saying you were Keith. Legalism just scares me.
I'm with ya Daniel. I'm not one to impose anything on anybody else. I'm too messed up for that. Those are just thoughts that I use to try to keep myself in check.
And for the record, I use those because it's where I struggle personally.
When creating a new song or hymn. How important to the author is the Theology in that song. I confess I am a seminary student. It’s amazing to me today what an opportunity we have through the arts and music to reach the masses for Jesus. This isn’t anything new as I’m sure John Wesley felt the same way when he wasn’t writing songs. Isn’t it mission critical that while we rev up the musical style that our lyrics remain true to the Word.
I feel like you can could lead hundreds of worship leaders out of the let’s make cool music phase and into the let’s make cool music with sound theology stage.
I love your heart LoS. Thanks for doing what you do and for being faithful.
Dan
Great thoughts Dan. Great words as well.
Hey Carlos! Great post man. God’s really been working on me in this same area. I have felt more free and focused on Jesus during the last few weeks that I have led worship than I have in a long time. It is inceredible to know your intention and adoration is directed to the Lord.
I am with @thegreatrescue in wondering what advise you might give, or what you do to help keep your focus.
Peace!
The thing that helped me was my fall.
Like flat on my face.
Jesus, my wife, and my church showed me grace in a way I have never experienced before.
That my friends will beat the humility out of anybody.
Worship leaders are cover singers. If they weren't they'd all be up there singing spontaneous songs of worship EVERY minute of every set.
I do get the point of this post though. Bottom line is it's more than just appearance. It's more than the offstage talk as well. God is after our hearts. We can be all whitewashed and pretty on the outside (even as "leaders") but be full of rot, decay, and death on the inside. ALL OF US. Every single last one of us.
Funny thing is, it differs day to day. Sure, I want to be in that place where I'm firing on all cylinders for God every moment of every day, but I don't, you don't, we ALL don't. That's what's so beautiful about this mess we call life. We NEED Jesus. I'm not saying we won't grow and make headway. We do and will, but the truth is without relationship with God, it doesn't matter if we're attempting to be a cover singer OR a worship leader. It's hollow.
I'm sure we all have known of or heard of that worship "leader" who we thought was above reproach and every time they opened their mouths or penned a song we just knew we were encountering God, right? Sure. Only to find that one day they fall just as hard as we do.
I'll echo this Russ. Great thoughts!
blah blah. You get the point.
Good thoughts. I just want to be Jesus more than Joel H.
You cannot tell that somebody is intimate with the Lord judging on how she tries to portray herself to the people. GOd looks at the heart, He is the Judge and the only one who can judge of every man’s motive. You can say that someone is good because he tries to portray himself good, but you can’t actually tell what is really on the inside.
good point!!!
Love it man! Always a topic we need to revisit and instruct our team members to think about as well! Thanks for keeping it real yourself!
I think this is a dumb post. Don't take me wrong, I agree with what you are saying and really I just said it was dumb for the shock value ("Oh my goodness, someone disagreed with Loswhit")
I think you are right about checking ourselves in the sense of being rock star vs worship leader. But I have never met a worship leader that doesn't talk about Jesus off stage or smile bigger during the cover song than the worship set. I get what your asking and that you have to be pretty generic in your post.
But I feel like this goes so much deeper. I think that is a pretty obvious point, but what bothers me is that we will use these couple of points to make sure we are good and continue to do what we are doing because we didn't make it onto the list.
I have seen tons of worship leaders use Jesus as an excuse to be a rock star. I think that is the real question, can you be a worship leader and a cover artist at the same time?
Playing the game is pretty dangerous, and I have seen multiple guys do this over and over and seen themselves as ok because they don't fall into the list of being a rock star.
Maybe I am way off. I am not attacking your post, I just feel like the conversation could be deeper.
It's a blog 189.
It's not a theology classroom.
And I wanted to talk to my kids last night more than write a thesis.
Los
Point taken 189. I understand what you are saying and I am not coming at you for this post. I understand you are more concerned about your kids than this blog. All I am saying is that I it bothers me at times that we it can be very superficial and it goes way beyond these couple of things written.I understand that you are not going to write a thesis, I just felt like we (myself included) can get caught up in looking good and not doing these couple of things, but yet there is so much more going on in inside the debate.
I probably shouldn't have used the words dumb post, that was stupid.
And maybe i took to much personal feelings into this. I just wanted the conversation to go past these couple of things listed.
I see where you are coming from. This is a current issue for me right now. You are really just asking the question. I am more looking at it from the perspective of people who are in denial.
Totally see that.
I wish I could create an exhaustive list, but obviously I cant.
Thanks for your thoughts. They are completely valid and I LOVE them.
Los
I wish I could give you a hug now to smooth this all out.
Thanks for the encouragement through all of this and the questions that you ask through this and other great post. I wish you could create an exhaustive list as well.
Kyle
Some great conversation here. Los, your posts are always challenging.
In this kind of community, I believe it’s more effective to get people to think and evaluate, rather than try to give an all-encompassing treatment to a thought.
It’s not about telling people what to do (or not to do), but getting them to examine what they are doing and their motives – to find out where their heart is.
Keep sparking the thoughts and the conversation, and lets all learn and grow together.
I think at some point senior leadership of many churches are going to have take the questions that you raise seriously and decide that they are going to raise the standard and expectations of those who are allowed to lead their congregations…. It seems that a culture that perpetuates the "cover band singer" grows out of an environment in which accountability and church discipline take a back seat to keeping someone talented from going to another church. right??
This is really hard for me. I'm not a worship leader. You guys and gals who are don't make any sense to me. I've seen so much worrying about motives. While I think they're important, do any of us really know why we do what we do? Maybe this advise only works for non-worship-leader types, but love Jesus, love your neighbor, and kick tail at whatever it is you do.
I'm not a worship leader.
I do know our main worship leader here in KC acts more like a wannabe rockstar onstage than a worship leader. To me he comes across as not approachable.
I do know a worship leader from the same church that I am in community with that doesn't act that way and is very authentic in his struggles and relationship with Christ.
interesting, as always, los…
honestly, if this is an issue with your worship leader, how did they get to this position in the first place? Your worship leaders (singers, musicians, pastors, pray-ers, designers, tech, whoever is involved in it all) shape the entire concept of the church’s interactions with God. On and off stage. If they lead, their lives become a standard of sort that people look to as to how to live a life of faith. Like it or not, its true. So if your church has issues like this, perhaps your leadership should re-evaluate what it is they are communicating about what worship is and isn’t, and what’s important and what’s not. if you allow the leaders to play a role (musician, etc…) without a genuine pursuit of holy living behind it, your church will justify the same thing in the way they live.
and honestly, I’ve never thought once about having a “cover song” to play (though i guess its all covers in some sense if I didn’t write them). Is that terminology that works in the way worship design is headed? do i need to smile evenly throughout every song because I don’t know which one counts as the cover?
The key word is "leader"…A leader will have willing followers right?
The leader is forever working out salvation through grace like all the rest of us. Granted, if their personal experience comes from a cover band, they have a lot of room for growth and the challenges that playing / singing worship before others brings.
Let's face it, there has to be excellence in talent and ability to work with other musicians. In my experience, the required skills to play and sing with a worship band are not common, but aquired through mentoring and experience from others.
Cover band experience provides much of this. How many of us have "cover" background?, (and we serve in worship ministry) Are we "covering" other christian artist material in our services now?