What does it take to be a worship leader?
I’m of the opinion that it simply means somebody else is following your cues and your example.
If you’re stuck in the idea that worship is what happens in church from the first downbeat to the final note of the last song, this won’t make sense.
But if you’re ready to treat worship as a lifestyle choice—like the Bible does—then this isn’t a leap of faith at all.
Leadership is mostly influencing. Providing an opportunity for someone else to “do as I do”.
So live AS IF you’re leading. And provide an option for others to follow. Leading worship starts and ends with how we live our lives. Not what we do on a public platform. Encouraging others to glorify Jesus Christ is an activity that extends far beyond the few minutes we give to it in a church service.
Let worship be your life and not simply a role you sometimes step into.
Putting worship on like a cardigan suggests we can remove it at will. Let’s be honest—That’s a practice that goes back to ancient times. And an unchanging God can’t like it any more now than he did then.
That is why the Lord, whose name is the God of Heaven’s Armies, said this:
“I hate all your show and pretense—the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”
Amos 5:21, 23-24 NLT
What does God desire?
For our lives to be overflowing with the joy of the Lord and glory of the Christ we have been pursuing all week long. And not just on Sundays. Through our devotions, at our jobs or schools, with our families, and in our free time. That’s what David was referring to when he exclaimed:
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!
Psalm 34:1-3 ESV
Today, as David did, make your worship evident in your life. Bless him, praise him, boast of him. In such a way that people around you can notice and be glad.
And may your example provide them with an invitation to join you.
That’s leadership. And that’s worship.
–Pastor Steve.