Twelve Lessons for Worship Leaders from the Life of David

1. Have a heart after God’s own heart. What does that mean? Look at the context from which the phrase comes: “But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” [1 Samuel 13:14] Samuel tells Saul that his lack of obedience cost him the kingship. Having a “heart after God’s own heart” is tied to obedience. Look at how Luke repeats the idea in Acts: “After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”[Acts 13:22] But it was more that just obedience, it was also a heart dedicated to worship God alone: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” [1 Kings 11:4] Having a “heart after His” means that you delight in the things that God delights in. Your focus is pleasing Him, not to earn His favor, but because He alone is worthy. If we are to be the worship leaders that God desires, then we need to desire to worship God and be wholly obedient to Him.

2. Don’t let any sin get a stronghold in your life. David was a man after God’s own heart, but was not perfect. He allowed lust to dominate his life in that he continued to marry many wives and reflected more the accepted practice of the cultures around him, than devotion to a single relationship. The writer of 2 Samuel relates to this continued practice of David, once he becomes King of the united tribes: “After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.” [2 Samuel 5:13] What David did in moderation, Solomon did in excess. Sin is like that.

3. Do what you're supposed to do when you're supposed to do it. Simple? Perhaps, but Scripture affirms that “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army." [2 Samuel 11:1] David stayed in Jerusalem, couldn't sleep, went walking on his roof and saw Bathsheba. The rest is tragic history. Not only did he stay in Jerusalem, but he sent others to do what he, himself was supposed to be doing. Worship leaders need to do what they have been called to do, and be where they are supposed to be and not put themselves in situations that could compromise integrity, or raise questions.

4. When you make mistakes, admit guilt, don’t try to make excuses. When Nathan the prophet confronted King David about his sin [2 Samuel 12], he immediately confessed and sought God's forgiveness (Psalm 51). There was an immediate confession. We will all make mistakes; some will have greater consequences than others, but they will occur. A readiness to admit guilt is not a sign of weakness. Pride resists any admission of failure, and Scripture clearly states that "pride comes before a fall." [Proverbs 16:18]

Misplaced understanding of our self worth is another reason that some resist confession of guilt. When self worth is based on our perceived performance, failure to perform adequately destroys the image we see and measure ourselves and we will do almost anything for the self preservation of who we think we are, or believe that others think we are. The truth is that our worth comes from what Jesus Christ has done for us, not from what we might be able to do. That’s part of the beauty of God’s grace.

5. Listen to the counsel of those around you. An interesting situation arose toward to end of David’s reign as recorded in 2 Samuel 24:2-4:
“So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.” But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?” The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.”

Here, David’s pride was and self-aggrandizement forced the hand of those who were trying to give him better counsel. Unfortunately, he did not listen and those under him paid the price for his actions. Verse 10 states: “David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.’” After the killing had begun, David was even more grief stricken: “When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, ‘I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.’” [v. 17] Our refusal to seek out and get wise counsel can be costly to us personally, as well as to those for whom we are responsible. Stubborn refusal to seek out wise counsel has been the fall of many worship leaders. Fortunately in David’s case, he did repent, which stopped the slaughter.

6. When everything seems to collapse around you, find your consolation in God. Once, when David was fleeing from Saul, he stayed in the land of the Philistines with his men and their families. If being away from one’s homeland and the opportunity to worship God as one pleased were not enough, consider the following account in 1 Samuel 30:3-6:
When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
David had lost his wives and children as well, the others were ready to stone him, but Scripture says that he “ found strength in the LORD his God.” God uses difficult times in the ministry to stretch us and mold us to help develop His character in our lives. This is never an easy or painless process, but one in which we can grow if we focus on what God is doing rather than trying to escape the pain. David calls for the Lord’s direction and everything is recovered.

7. Maintain a sense of fairness and avoid favoritism. In the previous story an interesting opportunity for division among David’s men arises. After they had begun the search for their families and belongings which the Amalekites had raided, 200 of the 600 men stopped at a gorge and watched the baggage while the rest carried on a hot pursuit. After everything had been recovered, some wanted to just give these that had stayed their wives and children and nothing more. However, David intervenes with a statement that became common policy from that moment on: “The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” [1 Samuel 30:24] Leadership positions in ministry often afford opportunities that can be ripe for playing favoritism. Avoid it. Run from it. In the long run it will not be blessed and will cause division among the group.

8. Be faithful and consistent. This is similar to number 3, but more specific: When David is first anointed by Samuel, he is with the sheep. [I Samuel 16:11] When Saul is afflicted with the evil spirit and sends for David to play and sing, he is with the sheep. [I Samuel 19:19] When he fights Goliath, he has been tending the sheep. [I Samuel 17:15, 28] Over and over again though he had been anointed by the prophet of God for a greater task, he never shirks his responsibility. He is faithful and consistent. When a lion or bear would attack the sheep, David didn’t run away, but kept his place killing the attackers. [I Samuel 17:34] The old saying is “when the going gets tough, the tough keep going,” and certainly was true of David. Ministry is tough. People are not perfect and it is easy to let things pile up to the point where you just want to give up and go home. Be faithful. Be consistent. Remember what Paul said in I Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

9. Do all for the glory of God. The story of David and Goliath is so well known, sometimes we forget some of the maintain points. The truth here is not that little boys can kill big giants; the truth is that God is in control and will not allow His name and honor to be treated lightly. Hear David’s own words:
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” [I Samuel 17:45-47]

10. Live a life of praise. The “sweet singer of Israel” was known for worship, for his skill in playing his instrument, and for composing almost half of the book of praise, the Psalms. What will your legacy be? For what will you be remembered? We will be then what we do and practice today. A life of obedient worship begins with a day of obedient worship. When we fall, we confess, thank God for His grace and forgiveness and keep going. My father, who is now with the Lord, used to tell me when I was little, “It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down, you just have to get up one more time than you fall.” I have never forgotten it. It’s a good word for worship leaders as well.

11. Learn to be honest and transparent with God and others. The Psalms are an incredible collection of faith and honesty. A deeper relationship with God requires that we get to know Him through in all of life's circumstances. Read through the psalms and develop a more intimate relationship with Him.

12. Don’t ignore problems and hope they’ll just go away. When David’s son, Amnon violated his sister, Tamar, David did nothing: “Now when King David heard of all theses matters, he was very angry.” [2 Samuel 13:21]. He was angry, but didn’t do anything about the situation – no rebuke, no comfort for his daughter, – nothing. Perhaps even a more telling indication is found in 1 Kings 1:6, when Adonijah declared himself king in his father’s place: “His father had never rebuked him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’” It is possible to freeze when overwhelmed with problems, but it is also possible to respond like the ostrich and just put your head in the sand and hope it all goes away. The results of such behavior can be tragic, as the results in David’s family. Absalom kills his brother, and two of his sons try to take over the throne.

To bypass the most obvious issue here would also be tragic. As worship leaders we must lead our homes and be the example for our children. David failed to set boundaries for his own sex life, and had numerous wives and children. It is no wonder that he failed to set limits in their lives. As my wife and I were discussing this, she reminded me that one expression of love is that desire to get to know deeply the one we love. Scripture states that God knows even the number of hairs on our head, – He loves us. Our response of love to Him in part is shown by our desire to know Him intimately. David had so many wives and children, he most likely did not know them very well. He set no boundaries in their lives, and being the sons and daughters of the king, they grew up with a strong sense of entitlement. Just as we cannot ignore the problems of ministry and trust that they will just go away, neither can we neglect the problems that will arise in our own families and expect good outcomes.

God help us to learn from David and the examples given in Scripture so that we can become conformed to the image of His Son!