Leading People into Worship...

 

I was rummaging through some photos the other day and came across several of my father during times of leading worship. I have had the privilege of ministering with my father since I was around 12-13, when I started playing piano in the worship team of our church. I am now 51 years of age, so that is a 38-39 year partnership. That's how long I have been in public Church ministry. Which is a crazy long time! 

Anyway, as we prepare this week for our next Gathering of Rainmakers, the preparation is not about getting songs right, it's about being in the presence of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. My father taught me an important truth when it comes to worship leading, 

"You cannot take people where you haven't been yourself"

Meaning, if you do not know how to worship in a way that attracts the presence of God, then you cannot lead a congregation to that place. Today, we have many song-leaders but few worship leaders. There is a world of difference. My father taught me how to follow the flow of the river of God in a service, and how did he learn?, by being alone in a room and ministering to the Lord. Learning songs is important, but if that is the goal then performance will be the outcome. However, when ministering to the Lord is the goal, presence is the outcome.

In praise we extol his nature and works, but in worship we behold His face. Anyone can praise God, in fact the Scripture says,

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord"
Psalm 150:6

However, worship is reserved for the righteous. It is all about, and to use an old testament example, the "holy of holies". So many people stay in the outer courts using praise and worship to get right with God. That is valid, but if all you ever do is stay in the outer courts of Praise and Worship, then you'll never experience the "holy of holies" kind of worship that ceases to be about "you" and is all about "Him". It is possible to go to church, or even an event like ours, and never truly worship. 

One preacher warned a few years ago about something that I have seen many times, but have never verbalised in the way that this preacher did. I REALLY liked what they said,

"Don't worship 'Worship'"

There is a tendency to love praise and worship, just like going to a music concert. We love the buzz of being with a bunch of people, singing our favorite "church" songs, jumping, crying etc. The social interaction can be intoxicating. Couple that with a great sound system and bass bins (I do love a good bass bin, though), and you can mistake noise for being worship. With all of the songs we sing, and the noise we make, we can do all of that and NEVER minister to the Lord. We can love our worship times, and never actually worship.

How do we rememdy this? Well, here are three, of many, things my father has aimed to do over the almost 50 years that's been leading worship. 

1. Have people in your team who are "worshippers" first!

Just because someone may be an amazing musician or singer does not automatically equate to them being a worshipper. Some people are just looking for a stage. The more ego they have, the more trouble you'll have with them, because the more it becomes about them, it's not about Jesus. I would love to say that this is rare, but it is more common than you think, and it's scary. So, if someone approached my father showing interest in being part of the worship team, he would ask them to sit in different locations of the church over the next few weeks and just worship. See, true worship usually affects those around you, if you are lost in worship you can, as my father would say, "change the atmosphere around you". My father would watch that person to see if they first were humble enough to have a go, and then to see if they could change the atmosphere around them through worshipping. If they had a go, and could sing and play, they were more than likely given a chance over those who just wanted a stage, because "atmoshpere changing" worship can be taught to people. People need to learn how to minister to the Lord and not just sing songs.

2. Watch and see what the Holy Spirit is doing?

A lot of worship leaders close their eyes when they're singing. This is such a bad thing to do, because they potentially can miss all that God is doing in the room. We were taught to lead with our eyes open. Now, yes, occasionally we do close our eyes, but this is the exception and not the habit, "Close your eyes as much as you want in your private times, but in meetings we are serving the Lord and serving people" my father would say. The importance of leading with your eyes open helps you to see what the Holy Spirit is doing. There have been times when we have been REALLY loud in worship and I've looked out and seen one man crying because the Holy Spirit was clearly ministering to him. I have quieted the whole team because I sensed that by the Holy Spirit ministering to that one person, it was an indication that He wanted to minister to everyone who was willing in the room. That's part of leading worship times. It is recognising what God is wanting to do, and not being chained to our set list. Again, this can be taught.

3. Practice the Presence

This comes back to the original quote that, "You cannot take people where you have not been yourself". My father wouldn't only choose songs for a service because he liked them, no, he worshipped God in private and most of those songs came as he was using lines from them to minister to the Lord. We must ask ourselves, "Where is the lifestyle of worship in my life?", of being in the presence of God. We can teach someone how to lead a congregation into the presence of God because we spend time in the presence of God between services.

We have more to teach on this. We are developing training for worship leaders, singers, musicians, and Believers on how to be more senstive to the Holy Spirit in worship, as well as how to move into deeper times of individual and corporate worship. It takes time to teach people how to stop singing songs and shift to beholding His face. There is a world of difference!

Mwy Arglwydd...