Worship Leaders and the Word
Every follower of Jesus should be spending time in the Word of God daily. It is such a foundational and imperative part of being a disciple of Jesus. Reading His Word is one of the best ways we can learn more about Him and become more like Him. This should be a high priority for all of us, but especially worship leaders.
At my church, my Pastor has a saying: “At our church, we read our Bibles everyday.” The entire congregation knows this saying and will join him in declaring it every time he says it. This has created a culture of not only saying this aloud once a week but making it a lifestyle. When new people come to the church, they unknowingly walk into a culture that prioritizes the Word of God. There is so much truth to that single statement, but let’s change it a little.
“As worship leaders, we read our Bibles every day.”
It’s not uncommon to see a church require their pastors and preachers to have some sort of bible degree, but at the same time, we see that worship leaders are usually held to a lower standard when it comes to knowing their Word. This blog is not making the case that worship leaders need a qualifying degree; however, it seems that as long as someone can play the guitar and sing, they are given the role of worship leader. I have asked myself so many times why the requirements are less for those who lead worship than the preachers?
Consider Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” and 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV) “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Simply put, why is a mastery of the Word of God not a requirement for most worship leaders? I understand the importance of skill and talent but those things cannot replace a personal relationship with Jesus forged out of time spent in His word. Our jobs as worship leaders are to point people to Jesus and His goodness - to literally usher others into His presence.
In order to point people to Him we have to know Him. To know Him we have to spend time with Him. We cannot successfully introduce or lead people to Someone we don’t know.
WORSHIPING IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:23-24 (NKJV)
In John 4, Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman about worship. She thinks worship is about a location, but finds out worship is about a Person. The religious spirit says “I will worship when I am in the right place, at the right time, with the right songs, and am in the right mood.” Jesus doesn’t call for that kind of worship. He wants so much more. He deserves so much more!
When we know the Word, we know the truth and the truth sets us free from needing to feel like worshiping. The truth is we were made to worship. We were made to be in communion with our Creator. We were made to minister to the Lover of our souls. It’s only natural that worship and praise arise when we understand how good He is and what He has done for us.
As worship leaders, we have to know how to worship and minister to the Lord with no one else around. In essence, we need to lead ourselves in worship. The time has come to lay down the desire to be in front of the crowds debuting a new song and record the next track for an album. The Lord is seeking worship that no one else sees and songs that no one else will ever hear but Him.
When the applause dies down and the lights fade away we need to be the ones found on our knees with an open Bible and an open heart.
2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV) reads, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The right spirit of worship cannot be separated from the Word of Truth. When we commit ourselves to reading His Word every day, we are saturating our hearts and minds in the truth. When we see Him rightly, we will fall more in love with Him. Worshiping Him in spirit and in truth must come from this place.
WORSHIP LEADERS LEAD OTHERS TO HIM
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)
Leading others into His presence is a great honor and privilege. It is an important part of what worship leaders do. We do exactly what Colossians says: through songs, psalms, hymns, and melodies we create a space where others can encounter the Lord.
What we have to understand is that we can’t properly lead people to someone we don’t really know. We need the Word of Christ to dwell richly in us - we need to know Him. Yet, a great mystery of our faith is that we can never fully know Him. Consider Revelation 4:8 (NLT), “Day after day and night after night [the four living creatures] keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the One Who always was, Who is, and Who is still to come.””
The more you behold Him, the more you love Him.
There is always more to discover about God. We can never “arrive” when it comes to knowing Him. This is why we must not rely on our talent and skill alone to lead people to Jesus - it will always fall short. We must know Him ourselves and fall deeply in love with Him. Leading others is the overflow of our personal relationship with Jesus. If we are not spending time with Him we won’t know Him, and if we don’t know Him we can’t lead others to Him.
The best way to know Him is reading His Word, as through it He tells us exactly who He is. The Word helps us know and understand His voice. This becomes especially important when leading worship. There are moments where He will speak to us and we must have the discernment to recognize, listen, and respond to what He is saying in the moment.
Let’s consider the songs we pick for our sets. We want to pick songs that are about Him and who He is, not just about us and our feelings. Songs that focus solely on the characteristics of God will always lead others to Him because they are about Him. Often these songs are loaded with scripture, if not just simply singing straight from scripture.
While songs of declaration, celebration, or testimony aren’t bad, they cannot be all we sing. Those are all aspects of worship, but we cannot have a worship set without songs that are completely directed on who He is and what He has done. When we know who He is we facilitate that through the songs we pick.
Worship leaders hold a big role in the church. We are not just singing songs, we are leading others to Him and teaching people about Him. The songs we choose are what people will remember about a service. It is what will be repeating in their minds during the week. Not the message, but the songs.
Will they be singing songs about who God truly is and what He is done?
As worship leaders, we need to fall in love with the Word of God and commit ourselves to reading it daily. If we want to worship in spirit and truth and lead others in that same way, the Word has to be a part of our daily lives.
