SOME THOUGHTS ON WORSHIP TEAMS

When I was growing up, my church had an amazing worship leader - called a song leader back then.  His name was Morrison Baker.  He was a kind, handsome man who was a clear leader in our church, but in a quiet, humble way.  His family was musical and many of them attended our church.  His youngest daughter, Martha, was usually at the keyboards.  She was a remarkable accompanist and seemed to rarely need music to play.  We always had someone at the piano and organ to assist with the 'song service'.  The worship on Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings was always inspiring as we sang from the hymnal.

Things have changed!  😂

Now we often have a platform of performers who lead us in worship.  Rather than singing old, well-known, familiar hymns, we are being constantly forced to learn new songs and sing them without any music score.  Some of us old-timers long for the familiar 'four-part-harmony' of a day long past!  

We don't have a lot of instruction from the bible about worship music, but we do have some.  A quick flip through the book of Psalms and I found the following:

• Psalm 4 (title) - accompanied by strings
• Psalm 4 (title) - accompanied by flutes
• Psalm 6 (title) - accompanied by the lyre  [a stringed instrument of the harp class]
• Psalm 8 (title) - accompanied by the harp
• Many other similar notes...
• Psalm 150 includes:

Praise Him with the blast of trumpets high into the heavens,
    and praise Him with harps and lyres
    and the rhythm of the tambourines skillfully played by those who love and fear the Eternal.
Praise Him with singing and dancing;
    praise Him with flutes and strings of all kinds!
5 Praise Him with crashing cymbals,
    loud clashing cymbals!
6 No one should be left out;
    Let every man and every beast—
    every creature that has the breath of the Lord—praise the Eternal!   [vs.3-6]        [All quotes from The Voice Bible unless otherwise noted]

It's difficult to be critical of a lot of musical instruments being used in worship in light of these observations.

Yet, as a pastor, there is so much more that enters into the making of an effective worship team [using today's lingo].  

Let me mention just a few:

FIRST AND FOREMOST

Everyone who stands in front of the congregation is perceived by congregants as being a leader!  Consequently, the following are very important:

• Are they good examples for the whole body in the way they live their lives?
• Do they maintain some measure of spiritual discipline in their lives? 

        >  Some Bible reading

        >  At least a modicum of a prayer life

        >  A desire to share their faith in Christ

        >  A testimony of love for Christ

        >  Do they love and honor their fellow parishioners?

        These are things we would expect from all leaders in the church - right?

• Do they have wisdom in how to dress appropriately and present themselves - especially while before the congregation?
• Can they get beyond the performance mode and fully understand that they are leading worship that is focused on GOD and not themselves or their skills?
• Are they able to bend to the will of the pastor/worship team leader with humility and avoid creating conflict?

To the casual reader, this might all seem a bit overboard, however, when a new person walks into a church and sees a platform full of people leading the worship time, they assume that these people are leaders - and therefore, models of appropriate Christian life!  

That observation raises the bar significantly for those who desire to be a part of a worship team!  

Worship teams lead us in our worship of God!  It's about God!  It's not about showcasing skills and abilities of our people!  Believe me - if they are effective in leading us to worship, people will highly value their skills and ability!  

Being part of a worship team is a privilege and an honor!  

______________________________________________________

I was the worship team leader at a large and growing church for nearly six years!  It was a challenge to maintain peace in working with this diverse group.  But they loved the Lord and lived for Him daily.  And our worship atmosphere was AMAZING!  The energy was high and the unity of the church reflected the unity of the worship team!  

This dedicated team led every Sunday in three packed out services!  Many Sundays, when we would slip out to attend a class or take a break, one of the dear ladies who sang with me would say repeatedly:  "Pastor Hal, do you believe we get to do this two more times today?"  That's the kind of person you want leading your people in worship!