I remember a Sunday at Sandals when JC’s Girls had had an outreach the night before. JC’s Girls was an outreach my wife was a part of to the sex industry/strippers/porn stars/ect. of Los Angeles. I remember walking up to the mic…starting the song…looking down…
Breasts…
Cleavage…
Legs…
All over the first 2 rows. Scattered like confetti.
Apparently the outreach was a smashing success.
And suddenly I forgot every word to the first song we sang.
“Look up”, I thought.
“Just look up”.
Every trick from Every Man’s Battle I’d learned was not working.
Bouncing…um no.  Wasn’t working.
I battled through the set and went back to the locker room (a poor church’s green room) defeated.
I’d just thought about breasts and God for an entire worship set.
Stick a fork in me…I was done.

Then after the service Heather (mi hesposa) introduced me to one of the girls.
I can’t remember her name but I remember her story.
And I remember the humanity in her voice.
And at that moment I realized that it was not just on successful JC’s Girls Sunday morning I had had trouble connecting with my church.
It was every Sunday morning.
You see there is a story behind every person who walks into your service.
And to 99% of them…you are just a guy or girl on a mic with a lot more energy than they have or ever want to have on a Sunday morning.
I remember making a conscious effort beginning the next Sunday to be in the crowd before and after every set.
30 minutes before I got on stage I would walk the aisles of the gym and meet every single person that was sitting there. I heard stories of greatness and sadness. Stories of hope and despair.
When I took the stage 2 things happened.
1. I was more than the hyper bald brown guy on stage. I was Carlos and there was a shrinking of the gap between them and I that I never knew existed. The more Sundays I did this the smaller the gap became.
2. They were more than just the lady who cried during every song, the guy who keeps his hands in his pocket during every song and could care less, the stripper with the WAY too tight clothes on…or off, the couple who makes out during every worship song.
They became the lady whose son died a year before, the guy who tells all his friends how amazing our band is, the girl who is working at Ralphs grocery store in the am and stripping in the pm to feed her 2 kids, and the make out couple…well they just love to make out.

Stories…they make our world spin. And those people in front of you, each and every Sunday, they are full of them. They are waiting for you to hear them so that when they start crying on that bridge of that song each and every week…you will know why.

Get out from in front of the people and get beside them…
You’re worship leadership will explode.
Trust me.
Los

Every morning Losiah waked up singing…

Take my life and let it be, all for You and for Your glory
Take my life and let it be Yours!!!

Now look. My good friends Steve and Vicky wrote that song. WE ALL KNOW IT IS A KILLER bridge.
But a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.
I got to get the marketing machine that is my 3 year old to sing my song not Fee’s.
The kids at the preschool are gonna be all about that tall skinny white worship guy and not the tubby, brown, Mexican.
So I taught Losiah my song Rain It Down tonight.

I led worship in front of close to 6000 people yesterday…
It was amazing…
But this…
This is leading worship.
Los

I saw this done at LifeChurch.tv a few months back and experienced it first hand tonight.
Church at Chapel Hill does baptisms live on stage while the band is playing songs of celebration.
So as I’m singing the bridge to Jesus Saves…
Hope is rising up withing me, You’re my Savior and Lord
I almost lost it.
Baptism is a time of celebration and this church definitely makes it a celebration.

And it doesn’t suck that they lady getting baptized during this video’s name was Stormy Bowie.
Praise Jesus for lives changed!!!
Los

An EP’s purpose is to start building the story on who you are as an artist.
Then we drop the full length album on your head.
There are 3 different directions we are going here.
Here are the ideas…

1. This is the tormented ragamuffin soul in the midst of a heavenly place.
I feel like that is who I am. Tormented but in peace.

2. The major reasons why I get invited to lead worship places is not becasue of my vocal runs. It is because I quickly build trust in a room of people and they trust me to take them on a journey towards The Throne. And when I do it…I laugh and have fun. I’m the happy hype worship dude.

3. Saul’s Conversion tat in the forground with me blurred in the background writing.
Um. That’s it.

So…What speaks to you and why?
What doesn’t speak to you and why?
Rip them apart and build them up.
Remember…I’m an artist.
So give me a compliment sandwich…
  You have till tomorrow afternoon so retweet and ask your friends and grandmothers…
Remember…EP…Not full length album
ready…set…talk…
Los

Very unofficial poll here.  It’s been a while since I’ve asked.
1.  Are you a lead worshiper in any sort of spiritual setting on a regular basis?
2.  If yes, what is your primary instrument you lead with and could you give me the specs?

So I’ll go first…
1. Hi. I’m Carlos. Yes. I lead the musical portion of worship most Sundays in great churches across America.
2. Although I used to lead with a Chet SST and a Taylor 710, Those were stolen and I now lead with a Taylor T5 and a Taylor 514ce. I’m looking to rid myself of my T5 and go purely electric based on the tone my new album.
Anyone wanna trade?

Ok. Your turn…
1.  Are you a lead worshiper in any sort of spiritual setting on a regular basis?
2.  If yes, what is your primary instrument you lead with and could you give me the specs?
Los

If you walked into your church gathering next week…
And could only sing one song…
What song would that be?
Los

It’s been years that I have been struggling with this term.
I know what is meant.
But seriously?
That is a pretty arrogant term.
Arrogant because the job that it describes is something I would only deem Billy Graham and St. Francis assume.
Not me.
But I get it.
And it is one that I use almost daily.
So yes, I’m spittin’ out of both sides of my mouth.
But if one is truly a “worship leader”, music on a Sunday morning should be .002% of their job.
You smell what I’m stepping in?
Check this…
A few years back I had 2 run ins with a super duper “famous” worship leader in the span of 3 weeks.
In those 2 chance meetings I saw this super duper” famous” worship leader be a complete jerk to the sound guy before he got onstage and sang to the Holy of Holys.
All the while thinking about the sound guy at the board who is patiently moving faders.
What was he thinking?
I know what he was thinking.
He was thinking that this is a bunch of $@#!@$ and that “famous worship leader” has all these people fooled.
And yes. I’ve been a jerk to a sound guy before.
But that was the moment where I first thought…Um….

So for those of us that do what I do, is this a biblically appropriate term for our calling?
If yes, why, if not what?
Los

It’s Saturday night.
For almost 13 straight years I had to get up at the butt crack of dawn on Sundays to go sing, setup, and swear.
Tomorrow I’m going to sleep in and head to Buckhead Church for the 11 o’clock service.
Ahhhhhhh.
None of this going on tomorrow.

My Day Yesterday – My Sunday from Carlos Whittaker on Vimeo.

But I’ll be back leading it the next Sunday.
Knowing there is a good mix of people on this blog…
What your Sunday morning rituals?
Do you work at a church?
Do you sleep in?
Waffles?
A certain restaurant?
The paper?
Sunday morning…
Share.
Los

Lately there are 2 camps of worship services I lead at.
There is the aggressively worshiping congregation where you go after it from jump street.
First timer, Old timer. They grab hands and sprint towards the goal of experiencing God in the room.
The service is designed to experience the manifest presence of God through the elements, as unfamiliar as it may be.

Then there is the service that is geared toward making sure that someone far from God, first time back at church, seeking something, can feel comfortable enough to hear a message of hope that is interlaced within the entire service.  The service is designed to protect them from strangeness and give them something familiar. All the while leading them to God.

I lead at both.
Both work for different reasons.
The two also require a completely different mindset and skill set.
They require two different languages.
Honestly like English and Spanish.
As worship leaders we must know the difference.
If words like “Well I lead like this…” ever come out of your mouth then you’ve cut your opportunities in half.
Which is ok.
I just think it’s important to know.
Definition.
I don’t think one is better than the other.
I do think however that there are lots of opinions as to why YOUR church goes after it the way YOUR church goes after it.

So, that being said…Here is a question for you…
How does your church go after it and why?
Los

The kid in the red shirt above is Forrest.
I don’t know much of his story but I do know this.
He is 15 years old and led the lifechurch.tv north campus in worship this morning.
He is awkward. He is lanky. He is not a “pro”.
He is also genuine and not trying to be something he is not.

This is something that most know I’m passionate about.
If you read my tweets this morning it was only solidified.
I’m a firm believer in students taking part in leading students in worship.
But I know many disagree with me.
At my current home church, this is not the case.
Old people lead students in worship.
And by old I mean like, me.

I just think that if the 16 year olds are leading other 16 year olds, when they are 26, they will be the cat’s pajamas will special sauce.
Or maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic?
It’s obviously a deeper conversation than my 300 words are giving it.
But just to open it up.
What do you guys think?

Who should be leading students in worship and why? Adults or students?
Los