Leading Worship vs. Performing

Leading Worship vs. Performing

The World is Not a Stage

Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it.  It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding.  "When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself.  You've seen them in action, I'm sure - 'playacotrs' I call them - treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds.  They get applause, true, but that's all they get.  When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks.  Just do it - quietly and unobtrusively.  That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out. ~Matthew 6:1-4

You've probably seen this: you're trying out new churches or visiting a friends church (or maybe this is even your own church) and the service begins with a rock show.  Guitars are shredding, drums are jammin, people are jumping up and down, hands are raised, tears are flowing, smoke is billowing across the stage......the only thing missing is the pyrotechnics......oh yeah, and God. 

Music is a huge part of the Christian culture these days.  There are hundred's of thousands of Christian Musicians, there are Christian music labels and recording studios.  If your church doesn't have a rock type worship band then you're church is out of date.  The days of the organ lady piping out hymns is over and when was the last time you saw a hymnal? 

Of course with this change in the music scene, a new thing has been created - The Christian Music Performer.  I've been to a few concerts where the performers are Christians but the concert is not really any different than a typical rock show (of course maybe minus the beer garden). God wants us to spread the gospel and I know that the more famous you are the more people you reach, so if Swiftfoot or any other crossover Christian band, can stay true to their Christian morals and appeal to the Christian AND secular crowds, then go for it.  But when it comes to your basic worship team in church, we need to remember, this is not a performance, this is all about worshiping the One True and Living God and leading the congregation to the throne for 15 minutes or so.

A great example of how a worship team can make a worship service a performance is this youtube clip - enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJp98hoqy5I - wrong worship

Yes, there is humor in this video but it makes me more sad then it does happy.  Worship should always be about God. Period.  But our human nature loves to make it about us, even if it's just a little bit.

Here are the questions that I handed out to the youth band.

When we mock something, it's usually only funny if there is some abount of "truth" in it.  This video is unfortunately funny for that exact reason - while we may think, "I would never act that way or think that way", there are many who look to the Sunday morning worship as a way to cast the spotlight on themselves.

1. We are on a stage, we do have mics and instruments, and there is an audience, so how do we NOT perform?
2. We rehearse, we try to perfect, we make changes to make it sound better, we think about the musicality of the song in order to what? Why do all that just to lead others in worship?
3. For you, what makes it a worshipful experience? Where is your mind when you are leading?
4. When is it "leading" and when it it "look at me"?
5. What about things like raising your hands, closing your eyes - if you don't do these things when you aren't leading, is it OK to do them when you are leading?

He Took on the Status of a Slave
If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care - then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.  Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top.  Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.  Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage.  Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. ~Philippians 2:1-4

The bottom line is this, God know your heart at all times, everyone else watches your actions on and off stage, if we are humble and lift others up ALWAYS, then it doesn't have to be an act on the worship platform - it is who your are.

    6.  How can we pray for you tonight?

Personal reflection:
In Matthew 18:20 it states, "For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them. "Will the Holy Spirit be a part of our worship every time we are on stage (and off)?

If you have ever worked with teenagers, they are special - I mean this in a good way, really I do, but they tend to be self focused so one other thing that I have done in order to get them to focus on God rather than how amazing their music skills are, is the name our youth band - Equal Ground. It is very easy to elevate ourselves to be above others when we have a speciality and so I bring up on a regular basis that we are not any better than the other youth group kids that come to worship with us and we are no better than the kids at school that we know don't attend church or don't have the same morals as us.......I think this is a concept that most understand - but it's not in the understanding, it's in the application, which is always a work in progress no matter what they age.

Finding a song that would drive the point home further was a bit challenging because I wanted something that again reflects that this life we lead, is not our own if we've given it over to Jesus and it's in giving our lives fully to Him that we take the spotlight off of ourselves and on to Him.  I picked Jimmy Needhams song - Yours to Take because if we come to practice and to worship with that attitude - "not my will, but Yours be done", we can fix a lot of the human nature issues and come before the cross with a servants attitude.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enSkoZALQ2k - Yours to Take by Jimmy Needham