In Worship Matters, author Bob Kauflin laysout his working definition of a Worship Leader. He states,
A faithful worship leader
magnifies the Greatness of God in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit
by skillfully combining God’s Word with music,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to proclaim the gospel,
to cherish God’s presence,
and to live for God’s glory.
Let’s unpack this definition and get at the heart of what Kauflin is saying.
A Faithful Worship Leader…
Here faithful is defined as “adhering to the observance of a duty, keeping your word, fulfilling your obligations. It involves being loyal, constant, and reliable.” Kauflin rightfully argues that God isn’t concerned with the worship leader being exalted with fame and/or popularity. God is first and foremost seeking worship leaders who are faithful to Him. In my favorite section of this chapter Kauflin writes,
Although we never know exactly how people are going to respond during a meeting, we tend to reap what we sow. If we sow to God’s glory in Christ, we’ll reap the fruit of people in awe of God’s greatness and goodness. But to do that we must faithfully paint a compelling, attractive, biblical picture of the Savior. God isn’t hiding from us, waiting to see if we’ll find the right combination to unlock his blessing. He is eager to work through us as we faithfully lead our church into a clearer understanding of his glory.
In the margin of the book I wrote a great big ole “BOOM!” around this passage. Kauflin is exactly right. We can’t be faithful to tends because they come and go. We can’t be faithful to styles or to particular songs. We are called to be faithful to God Almighty. Anything less would be foolish.
Magnifies the Greatness of God…
When leading others in worship, I always seek to begin with songs that proclaim the greatness of God. I love hearing the church sing songs like We Praise Thee O God, Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah, How Great Is Our God, Indescribable, and Awesome God. I often will read a Psalm that reminds us of the nature of the God we sing to and pray to and worship. Kauflin begins this chapter by quoting Psalm 145:3:
“Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”
Kauflin believes that when leading worship the leader must be clear and specific about God’s nature and acts so that we remind people just who this God is and what he has done. Basically, we need to make sure that we communicate through the songs that we sing, the scriptures that we read, the prayers that we pray, and everything else we do proclaims that God alone is worthy of our worship. He warns that unless there is a strong biblical foundation for our worship we will run the risk of worshiping a feeling, emotion, or style. Reminding people of who God is and what he has done- not an upbeat song or warm fuzzy feeling- provides the appropriate foundation for our affections.
In Jesus Christ…
One of my biggest complaints with some churches and ministers is when I gather with them we can often spend an entire worship experience together and the name of Jesus rarely, if ever, comes up. There is a guy on TV that preaches and I have never-NEVER- heard him talk about Jesus. What’s with that? It isn’t just guys on TV. Too many ministers and preachers have forgotten to heed the example of Paul and have failed to deliver the message of “first importance.” The message of Jesus Christ and his death for our sins.
Kauflin encourages those who lead worship with this challenge,
Everytime we step up to lead the congregation, we should present a clear picture of “the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Cor 4:6). We come together to retell, remember, and respond to the gospel and all that it accomplished. We have been saved to trust in, love, desire, and obey the matchless One who is the only Savior of the world and the radience of the Father’s glory.
Therefore, one of our primary thoughts as we plan a Sunday meeting should be: Will our time together cause people’s view of, trust in, and desire for God’s glory in Christ and him crucified to increase?
That is a great challenge and one I will take with me every time I step up to lead.
Through the Power of the Holy Spirit
I know sometimes I get so wrapped up in the lighting, the mood, the right songs, avoiding the wrong songs, pacing, verse numbers, atmosphere, sound system that I feel like leading people in worship is my job and mine alone. I believe that by controlling all the right elements that I can change peoples focus and attitudes toward God. While I don’t really believe that my actions/focus might say otherwise.
Kauflin begins by saying that churches can magnify the greatness of God in Christ and still “fail to demonstrate the kind of empowered living and passion that the gospel should produce” because churches/leaders “attempt to worship God apart from the power of the Holy Spirit.”
One of the most haunting conversations I have had was with a leader with one of the ministries I served. We had had numerous issues with spiritually impoverished people- infighting, rampant sin, rebellion against authority, ill-will, and lack of leadership. One day while lamenting these issues he turned to me and said, ‘Micheal, maybe were are seeing these things because the Holy Spirit has never been welcomed here. We are wondering where his presence is in the middle of all this and I’m thinking he isn’t here because people have never invited him here.”
There is so much we speculate about when it comes to the Holy Spirit. We spend nearly 100% of our time when speaking about the HS either avoiding talk about the HS or arguing about the unknown mysteries of the HS. I think it is time we remember what we do know about the Spirit’s role in worship.
Tomorrow: The Spirit’s Role
