Each week, I feel like I am learning something new as a worship leader. While I have been helping out with worship since I was in middle school, I don’t think I have grown as a worship leader as much as I have in this last year.
God has been stretching me a ton!
Not only musically or in leadership, but in my theology of worship and the church.
In this last year, I have experienced God telling me that I am to do more than pick out songs to sing. My job is to be a pastor with a guitar. I am to lead and teach people about deepening their understanding and their relationship with God.
But I want to hear from you! Worship leaders, what do you wish someone would have told you before you started leading worship? Worship team members, what have you been learning as of late as it pertains to leading worship?
I want to hear from you! Share the love by commenting below.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
How much fun it could be. Sure, there’s a lot of work involved in learning EPIC skits and trying to figure out how to get the message to the kids, but that’s the fun part. I love knowing they remember when I’ve done something particularly entertaining and then can remember WHY I did it (the lesson). It doesn’t happen much, but I have had it happen a couple of times. Now I get to write the scripts (thanks Polly) and can hopefully influence the kids even more!
The funny part about all of this is … before I started EPIC I couldn’t STAND to be around kids. I was uncomfortable and felt out of place. The Lord works in mysterious ways!
True stuff to think about man, when you can actually get yourself and others to really think about the deep meaning of simple words then it makes worship better. People get caught up in the dynamics of a band but actually keeping it simple is sometimes the best thing.I'd rather had sick simple worship instead of sick vocals and nice drum, key, and guitar playing..So that's basically what I've thought about worship lately.Oh yeah I've also noticed that it's not good to incorporate more than 1 new song a week the church hasn't known because learning the song seems to take away a big part of worship. Many people are satisfied with familiar songs no matter how overplayed they can seem to get. But that's my opinion bro.
Very insightful, Cody. Good stuff.
My major organ professor in college was very thoughtful about worship construction and the deeper meaning of the text of hymnody. I'm glad to be able to use the instrument to paint a picture of the words everyone is singing on Sunday morning.
You didn't have one of those classes at Southern?? Or maybe a practicum?? I certainly didn't lol
People don't pay attention to how much of yourself you put into a service, and there will always be someone who will criticize just simply because it's not what they've heard before, or are used to. It's like being at church gives them the permission to not have a filter!