By Darin Browne
Recently, as part of research for a new Worship Leading book by Sheena Doorn, I was asked " What factors have hampered the move of the Spirit in your experience during Praise and Worship leading? What has facilitated it?
This was my answer, and I thought it might offer you some insight into the situations we as worship leaders meet when worship leading. OK, where's my soapbox! Gosh, I could go on for ever about this! But allow me summarize...
1. Me: The number one obstruction to worship should lay on my shoulders, since I am responsible for the worship while I am the worship leader. My heart should be right, and I need to listen and observe during worship. If I hold back and things fail, the buck stops here. Even if the band makes a mistake, I constantly take personal responsibility for it, for the reason that that is good leadership. If we need to be great at worship leading, if we require the blessings, we must take responsibility.
2. Religion: OK, this is a enormous one, and I am not talking about candles and incense. There is, shock horror, only as much "religious spirit" in Pentecostal churches as there is in conservative, it simply looks different, but it can have an effect on our worship leading in a comparable manner.
Religion requires things like...
a) The formula: If we do 3 speedy and 2 slow, God will demonstrate up. Utter rubbish really, but countless pastors think like this
b) Rapid songs: if you don't do a quick song, nobody settles and God will not move
c) Set programs, which we are on no account to vary, such as "we simply ever do 2 songs, then we have announcements, then one song then the missionary spot, etc."
d) Free worship: we have to have open worship every Sunday, since that's what God likes. But, asks I, what if God is doing something different that Sunday morning? He won't, they answer, God's a Pentecostal, and He loves everyone singing in the Spirit.
Some one the most horrifying, un-anointed times I have ever experienced in worship, both as a worship leader and as the congregation, have occurred when, clearly, the leader has been concentrating on doing a "singing in the Spirit" session and has forced it. You can simply sense that it is not only lack luster but also simply painful.
3. Fear: As a worship leader, we reach lots of times a point where we have to allow go and permit God, we just listen and comply with. This might be whether we do one more chorus, go into open worship, roll to the next song, have a period of silence, allow a new song or prophetic song, etc. Real worship leading is letting go and letting God have His way, and that's surely is the style of worship leading we ant to aspire to!
4. The Band not following: Often, particularly with inexperienced musicians, I can perceive where the worship is going, but the band totally misses the moment. If you work with excellent guys, maybe may not happen, but in my world it is common.
At times you sense it welling up, other times fading down, and if the band does the reverse it becomes a big muddle and definitely halts the flow of the Spirit. When leading worship, I will often offer quite commands off mike, saying things like, "come on, guys, let's go for it," or "just pull back for a bit."
5. The incorrect decision: We might be worship leaders, our interest is to be leading worship in a absolutely anointed way, but we are all mortal, and get it wrong sometimes. In the heat of the moment though worship leading I will occasionally may the wrong choice. This is reduced by having a close walk with the Lord, and investing a lot of time with Him.
If I do make this wrong decision, most often the worship time is still OK. I just confess it, and roll to the next song or section and this time, depend on God and listen to what He has to say. When worship leading, I try and avoid making the same mistake more than once!
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