11 Ways To Make Your Worship Leading Suck Less
1. Memorize the lyrics.
The confidence monitor has become the worship leaders worst enemy.
People want to see your eyes during a song.
2. Change up your schtick.
If I say “Do You BELIEVE?!!!” more than once in a set, I’m being lazy.
That’s my go to lazy worship leader line.
3. Stop asking if they are happy to be there this morning.
Most of them aren’t.
4. Trim the prayer fat.
I pray Father God, that Father God You show us Father God how amazing you are Father God in our Father God lives.
5. Stop praying the chorus or the title to the next song in the prayer before that song.
“Show us You are Mighty To Save in this song God”
I mean I don’t tell you what I’m about to tell you before I tell you in real conversation.
6. Smile.
Everyone likes your smiling face better than your emo face.
7. Remember that probably less than 50% people in that room connect to God through music.
We exist in a culture where we place a large emphasis in our gatherings on music.
I think that is fine.
But always remember not everyone is gonna be with you. So don’t get mad.
8. Just because you wrote it and your friends love it, doesn’t mean you should sing it.
Ask a friend of a friend to listen. Probably 10 of them.
They won’t lie to you.
Because even the friends who say they will be honest, their lying.
There are fantastic songs out there that work already.
Only bring the ones that can hang.
9. Open your eyes.
See #1
10. Keep It Simple.
You aren’t on American Idol.
Your job isn’t to sing TO the people and have them go “WOW”.
You’re job is to get the people to SING with you to God.
11. Have fun.
Laugh, dance, and sing.
If you aren’t having fun, neither are they.
OK. I’m done.
No go BE the church before you show up and sing AT the church.
Los
RAIN IT DOWN
Dude, this is a great reminder. I couldn’t stop laughing at point #4 it’s so true.
Love it. Simple, concise, to the point.
Have you been sneaking into our services? Because you hit me between the eyes (in a good way!)
Very practical insight. Love #10…..Here is is a little excerpt from a post I gave yesterday pertaining to the same idea.
“For a moment, let’s imagine that the Holy Spirit working through you is like the breeze that blows across the ocean. All the people you lead in worship are in the ocean playing and enjoying the breeze blowing. They are together in community having a blast. But what if you were to give them the framework on how to construct a sailboat, so when the breeze begins to blow again they could know to raise their sails and begin to move with the Spirit? The big question we should be asking…..are the people you’re leading simply enjoying the breeze or moving with the breeze?”
Thanks for the post…I enjoyed!
David
Are you Davaid Walker from Dallas (Lake Pointe). The piano player?
nope. from greenville sc.
12. Make sure you are the first person worshipping (not just leading).
13. Disappear!
Some great thoughts here, though I don’t completely with #1. Considering that the greater number of worship leaders are volunteers with day jobs (including myself), we have to prioritize where our worship leader efforts go. Ideally, I will have memorized both music and lyrics, but sometimes it’s just not possible. The confidence screen shouldn’t be a crutch, but let’s also acknowledge that many of us in this are doing the best that we can with the time we have.
Thanks.
Carlos. You are so confusing. It’s almost like you’re trying to sell worship. I do not like this blog post. It is not biblical. We don’t sing in church so people can connect to God through whatever means they may like best. We do it because the Word commanded we meet together and sing the praise of the Lord corporately. Hmmm….
nope.
We worship so we can connect with God and I think Los is saying stop trying to get people to connect with God and connect with God so people can see you are connecting to God and they can connect to God. Not all people connect through music. Some in quiet time and others through serving. Do you and God is pleased. I love this post and I am passing it on to my worship leader.
I agree with Carlos…Nope. Psalm 33:3.. play skillfully… aka reduce the suck factor. God deserves the best. Read Leviticus..God wants the best offering. We want to offer up the best and lead Gods people with less distraction as possible. Everybody see’s things differently. Love you all.
Thanks man, I needed that today. Good stuff for me to be thinking about heading into the weekend.
Peace.
Good words, and it’s good to see Dave Grohl playing drums in your band…
12. Silence is okay. You don’t need to fill every silent moment (or instrumental moment) with the celestial sound of your own voice.
Oh thank God! I just said the same thing at a leader’s meeting that some people connect with God when we shut up and quit blabbering just to fill the “scary” silence. You said it better than I did, though…lol…
Hey Carlos,
I agree with you on everything. However…I struggle with the first one as well (memorizing music). Its always been a struggle of mine, and I do work a full time job outside of the church, and lots of times we do songs that I know very well, but there are those moments that I forget a line or two…or a whole verse. However…I’d like to offer this idea for those who struggle with memorizing music as well:
1. Install a TV or projector that is facing the praise team with the lyrics so they can see the words and have their heads up during worship.
2. Another thought is to have a music stand, but have it situated low and to the side as something that can be easily seen, but not being completely relied upon.
At my church we actually do both of these things, and it has worked very well for me (as worship leader).
Anyways…keep up the good work. Again, I like the post…just wanted to add some additional thinking on the first statement.
Good stuff,
Regarding #2, “Amen”, actually, “Amen?”, is the word I abuse the most.
Made me snort.
#8 “their lying”
Dude, it’s they’re not their.
This was great. This needs to be in poster form in the back rooms of churches.
awesome stuff & so funny!
i think those of you commenting on #1 are missing the point totally!?!
I like your vibe–though I’m not sure I would put as much emphasis on the eyes being open. But I agree about knowing the words by heart–not relying on the thingy bob.
Keep doing your thing man. Blessed by your shares.
a
Good stuff.
I think memorizing songs is great, but it’s tough – especially when you’re singing different songs each week and introducing new songs every so often. It’s also tough to ask volunteers to memorize songs.
We have yet to go the confidence monitor route. I’ve been weening myself off of using a stand, but occasionally I’ll have that song where it’s tough to keep the verses straight. (blessed be your name, Jesus paid it all, desert song, etc) so I end up pulling the stand on “just in case”. Of course, then my eyes are glued to it.
Any tricks you’ve come up with to help with memorization?
Constant repetition is my weapon of choice. I load the setlist on my iPod as far in advance as I get it and I listen to the whole set all the way through at least twice on my drive to and from my full time day job. If there are new songs on my week I will just listen to those over and over and only refresh myself on the stuff I’m already familiar with.
I’m a worship leader at my church, but I’m not the worship pastor. So I don’t usually select the songs, though I do have input on occasion. So that means I don’t always have a week or two in advance to learn stuff…especially when it’s a ‘cover’ song to open or close the service that goes with the message, as our pastor often throws a curveball on those at the last minute. When all else fails, we do have the ‘confidence monitor’ in front of the stage, but I avoid it at all costs. When I look I sometimes end up losing my place if it’s not exactly where it should be due to a slow trigger finger in Production or that person not knowing the song well enough.
Practice
Great list man. You forgot about avoiding the triple-threat tho. Nothing worse than being a new leader and accidentally doing three Tomlin songs in a row.
Nothing wrong with doing three Tomlins in a row. Great content for most all!
i have a problem with tomlin songs when done in their original key, which is usually not very singable for the ladies (and i can sing kinda high when stretched). but content-wise, yes, good stuff. but three in row because of the key signature. not so much.
These are good! Love #6 and #11 as well as the others. Not just things for the worship leader but also for the team. Love these!
LOVE it. And I agree with Jeremy…put it on a shirt or poster and you’ll sell a bazillion.
great advice … gracias
(:
Jesus Christ: He is our Lord, our Redeemer, our Advocate with the Father.
Wow! Awesome stuff Los. May be my new fav of yours. You can’t make this stuff… I love it!
Thanks!
#6 smile…I always find it amusing to see worship teams that look like they are in dire need an enema! However, having said that, my husband plays keys and never smiles at all but you can definitely feel the move of God through him. His passion comes through w/o a plastered smile which would be fake for him.
Haaaaa! So true.
#10 “…You’re job is to get the people to SING with you to God”
not quite right…I think your ‘job’ is to allow them to sing freely to God, hopefully equipping them with the most appropriate songs for that moment. You are privileged to be allowed to join in with them as they do that. Your ‘job’ is to facilitate worship and then stay out the way as much as possible when God chooses to meet with his people. Otherwise it can become ‘your’ worship time with them just joining in with you…not healthy
I wish I was little bit taller,
I wish I was a baller
I wish I had a girl who looked good
I would call her
I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat
and a ’64 Impala…….
I think these points are great…so much truth and very funny.
The people who are posting petty criticisms about this blog are most likely the ones who need to re-examine themselves the most. Just sayin. Carlos–keep up the good work man! 
I noticed that play musically is not mentioned once. In order to reach the congregation, to engage them and prepare for the message to follow, the job of the music is to prepare the congregation. You would not ask a surgeon to use a dull scalpel, yet no mention of the worship band and leader being sharp with their musical skills.
Dude,
Great article, thanks for sharpening our worship and keeping it about Christ and our congregations.
What about the crime of forcing the people to sing trash theology, like asking God to be here when He’s already here, or God to bless us when the condition of blessing is repentance and surrender. You have no idea how frustrated 90% of people are because worship with rich songs with meaning have been substituted with “throw-away” music you’re tired of after the fifth Sunday. AND how about the Powerpoint slides without punctuation. How moronic do you have to be to not know how to punctuate poetry. It’s not cool! It’s stupid. Punctuation has a purpose to indicate the meaning of the words. The people want to sing and we want to hear God’s people around us praising Him, not just those who have the mics.
Not a worship pastor, huh G?
Agree heartily with a lot of this. But disagree with the punctuation comment. I prefer lyrics with little or no punctuation. Nice you could state your viewpoint so eloquently though…
i thought God’s character was the condition of blessing; if it’s repentance and surrender, it sounds as if getting blessed depended almost entirely on us.
and i think God likes when we let him know that we want him to be present, even though he knows we know that he’s already there…
Hey “G”,
I grew up with my nose in the hymnal and have a great appreciation for thick theological worship tunes.
With that said, we trust our leaders to choose and lead songs wisely in accordance to our denominational beliefs. If you have such an issue with it, maybe move to a more conservative church? (just trying to find a remedy for you)
However, asking for God’s presence to enter a room or for the Holy Spirit to come is not weak theology. Its the longing of the heart of the church to see God new and fresh. Did you know that indeed the Holy Spirit is in all Christians, but His Presence only rests on those seeking that anointing. So when I lead and sing, “Holy Spirit Come”, I am praying for that anointing. It literally changes the atmosphere in the room when those times come.
Also, I don’t know too many songs that sing “God bless US” but I know a ton that sings “Bless the Lord”. Our worship needs to always point and reflect upward. Unless you’re talking about when I sneeze and someone says “Bless you”… If thats the case… I have no response to that outside the fact that scripture tells us the God loves His kids and love to bless His kids.
#12 – Stop putting the congregation down by constantly telling us to “really” worship. Worship is not trying to make the congregation as holy as you are. It is to point us directly to God, which, for me, is to sing and let the words and music do their job. I don’t want to hear what you’re struggling with or how God is leading you to do something. During a worship set I want to focus on God through the music.
I struggle with this myself and I catch myself thinking or saying that the congregation should do this or that when they worship. But then I realize that if they aren’t worshiping in the spirit they are really missing on something wonderful, and maybe, just maybe, the worship team has failed them. I must admit that many times I’m so focused on “doing a good job” that I miss out on true worship myself. May God help me to enter into a more right-minded attitude; I’m sure the congregation will benefit even if I flub a few notes.
#13 Change your garments!
Look, we all know you love those v-neck t-shirts. But come on, it’s church. And those suit jackets with the huge raven and vines where the bottom is tattered has got to go.
#14 Tattoos
Please for the love of all that is good in Andy Stanley, please lay off the tattoos. Worship leaders across the nation are starting to look like side show freak, greasy stage hand convicts from the Apocalypse!
How about you join “Ink Conspiracy” where you take all of the money you were going to spend on your “art” or before you finish that Last Supper piece across your shoulders, how bout giving that money for something that is not going to make you look like a totally reprobate, like fresh water for little babies in Africa.
#14 Don’t Sing Songs About An Experience You Have Never Had i.e. Being baptized in water or by the Spirit or filled with the Spirit.
uhhhhmmmm. is this a sarcastic comment? i surely hope so. ’cause if you actually mean a lot of what you said, then i’ve got some objections to raise — for one thing, i object to the disdainful tone with which you suggest money spent towards tattoos go towards “fresh water for little babies in Africa”.
you left out “avoid awkward silences”
while it could push people to press into God, it normally just makes people wonder who messed up.
Brennen,
Awkward- Yes.
Silence- Good.
We live in a over saturated culture where if we aren’t being stimulated by something we default and call it awkward.
I was in a worship gathering and after about 20 mins of music the room fell silent for about 40 mins. The pastoral staff stood there. The worship leader was on his knees. And most importantly God was in the room doing work.
As a leader in someone elses barn (aka church) my initial response was “Someone do SOMETHING!” and after about 15 minutes of me pacing in my pew itching to grab a mic myself. I finally relaxed and looked around the room and saw what and how God was working through, in and even despite my anxiousness.
Silence is needed. And can be used as a very effective tool to bring moments into todays room and culture.
You did an excellent job in making this funny, but yet profound – I just shared it with a bunch of worship leaders I know.
Thanks again.
I pastor a small church, of mostly older folks. We don’t have hardly anyone that can play an instrument, but I would love to start a contemporary worship service.
Any wisdom about how I might be able to go about that?
Would love to have an email from anyone with advice?
Tim
tim@tikesbestfriend.com
Carlos,
We’ve met a time or two but you don’t really know me. I read your blog occasionally, appreciate your candor and humor.
I really appreciated this blog post. I’m a youth pastor, among other things and plan on passing this post on to my worship leaders who are high school students. I think it could be helpful for them.
I also ran across this blog today. Thought it was interesting and maybe some ammunition for a future blog post. Would love to hear your thoughts.
http://forsclavigera.blogspot.com/2012/02/open-letter-to-praise-bands.html
grace and peace
Love it! The first one is so important – I’ve heard people who sing onstage in worship complaining about the congregation not singing with the song… but I think sometimes the congregation is better with the lyrics than those who have supposedly practiced for three weeks and have it down pat!
lol, I love it.
Another one similar to #8 and related to #1 is that you don’t have to sing new songs every week to ensure a dynamic service. Allow your congregation to get to know the songs through repetition so they can stop reading and enter into worship as well.
I’m not a worship leader, but I’ve seen so many of these things and generally feel that I’m not really entitled to comment. The idea of praying the message of the next song towards the end of the previous song is a pet hate of mine. Nothing serious, just makes me scratch my head:)
Practical, fun post – thank you!
Great post Los!
I’d add another.
#12 – Churches didn’t pay you to preach before each song and how it helped your relationship with your 3 cats. Speaking is a skill not a gift. Before you open your mouth on stage be well rehearsed off.
One of my favorite quotes is “In order to be well spoken you must first be well read.”
I find 99% of leaders who talk in excess that I’ve seen rarely hear the words that come out of their mouths or are capable to read the room properly as they attempt to “connect” with their one off story.
For myself, when I give a verbal direction with a song, talk in an interlude or even pray live, I have done so outloud in my den before hand in my personal prep time. I even sometimes write out stories or verses a few times over on a pad of paper so it sinks in otherwise rabbit trails and emotional distraction quickly can follow my A.D.D. mind what could be a significant moment in the room.
#8 should read “they’re” not “their.”
They’re = they are
their = possessive
Hey man, just wanted to say thanks for your brutal honesty. I desire to have someone look me in the eyes and tell me what needs to change, especially as a worship leader, and your blogs do that for me.
Number seven was big for me. It’s easy to get discouraged when all week you’re watching Hillsong, Elevation, and Passion videos and then you do things pretty well only to see most people visibly emotionless as you pour your heart out.
God is teaching me that for most people, how they live their weeks dictates how they worship on Sunday morning. I’m learning to rest in that and learning to trust Him to do the spiritual heavy lifting, and not put so much pressure on myself.