Ten Challenges Facing Worship Leader Training

Top Ten lists are popular, perhaps because of curiosity or conciseness, but here’s one more that centers around the challenges facing the training of worship leaders. Comments and suggestions are  welcome. Despite the fact they are listed in a specific order, I’m not trying to say which is the greatest or least; it is simply a listing.

1. Need to embrace multi-generational worship –  The biblical model of worship is one of unity in diversity, not segregation based on likes and dislikes. The Body of Christ consists of many members, all with a God-called function. The foundation of the local body of believers must be deeper than collective personal tastes, it must be rooted in the common purpose of carrying out the mission of our Lord. Those involved in worship and worship training must be at the forefront of bringing the Body together, not pushing to fragment it.

2. “It’s all about me” Mentality – The Body of Christ finds itself buried in a self-absorbed culture. Virtually everything around us is designed for “our convenience” or to “have it our way.” What might have been a goal for a previous generation has become a right that they are entitled to have and demand. This sense of entitlement is seen in the challenge of multi-generational worship. Training worship leaders must address attitudes that would demand of worship what they would demand of a hamburger. The truth is, “it’s not all about me, it’s all about God.”

3. Need that overwhelms supply – Simply put, there appears to be more churches looking for leaders in worship than the number of leaders available. The need seems great enough that churches will look for almost anyone who can do it, whether or not they have formal training. This could be rooted in many causes besides just great need. For example, there still exists a perception that formal training “ruins” someone for the local church. Some church leadership may fear that formal training makes the candidate out of touch with the average member. Such attitudes were based from those who attempted to convert the musical mission of the congregation to a music appreciation class, rather than use the training to enhance biblical worship. The “need that overwhelms supply” could also be a result of churches not willing to search for a qualified candidate and a willingness to settle for whoever comes along. Both of these issues must be addressed in formal training. Worship is worth the effort to have someone leading who truly understands, practices and helps train others in biblical worship. The central focus of training will involve studies outside the direct use in the local church, however those studies should never become the end in themselves, but the means to biblical purposes.

4. Lack of understanding of what biblical worship is – If I were to choose one among the rest as the one I would stress to be a focus in the local church as well as those leading, this would be it. Confusion reigns as to what worship is and what the Bible teaches. Classes for new converts need to include this in the material. Many times I hear students parrot back to me that they understand that “worship is not the music,” however  when it comes to applying or analyzing actual practice, the understanding is not really demonstrated.  Leadership cannot take others where they have not been, nor can they lead and train others without the clarity of the objective. As worship leaders are trained, information must become life practice; biblical worship must become more than the answers on an exam, but the essential practice of the leader.

5. Entertainment/performance  mentality – If there is a clear understanding of what worship is and who the central focus is, clarifying the difference between worship and entertainment is simplified.  Entertainment or performance is geared toward audience approval, many times preplanned with those things that manipulate the listeners for effect.  In worship, the focus is not on the “performer” or the congregation, but on God and God alone. The message should be in a format that is understandable, [not repeating the error of  the church in medieval times which had services in Latin, even though the congregation could not understanding what was going on],  but God must remain the central focus. Worship leadership must lean on the work and moving of the Holy Spirit and not on attempts to manipulate through other means.  Part of the formal training of worship leadership is training in the performance arts, since there is a need to learn how to become an effective communicator of the message through the medium given. However, if those involved shift their understanding that their true audience is God, those things “performed” become sacrifices of praise rendered to the only One who is worthy to receive them.

6. Enrollment driven curricula – Obviously schools are dependent on student enrollment for survival, so there exists a constant pressure to maintain, and even increase enrollment. Schools that only depend on reputations of past accomplishments or become careless about recruitment, may find themselves in difficult circumstances over a period of time. One way to attract new students is making available a curricula that appeals to the individual likes of prospective students. Flexibility in classes and class delivery systems is no longer a luxury, but necessity in a tight economy and a “have it your way” culture.  As important as these things are, there are some potential dangers that exist in following these ideas without restrictions. Allowing students to only take the courses they believe they need or might need might increase enrollment, but amounts to the patient taking the medicine he or she thinks will help, without consulting those who are trained to prescribe it.  How many people would choose to go to a medical doctor who took only the classes he or she wanted to take? There must be a standard developed by those who know the needs and the field.  In the world of education, accrediting agencies aid some in this way, but the school has the final say whether or not they will choose to submit to accepted standards.  There are few substitutes for hard work and discipline, and many seeking training in worship leadership seek the easiest and quickest way. Perhaps that is one reason that worship training conferences have become big business. Conferences that serve for inspiration have become the bestowers of certificates that imply “the training you need for leading worship” all in just three days, something similar. How much more effective it would be for these conferences to be the catalysts to promote further preparation, rather than pretend to be its culmination? Another danger in pushing the enrollment envelope is reflected in the recent fiasco of the Toyota car company: the drive to produce more and more without maintaining the quality and quality checks of the end product. All the boasting of being the number one car maker was converted into the humiliating spectacle apologizing for lowered standards just to keep the numbers up.
   
7. “If you build it, they will come” mentality – The growth of the mega-churches has spawned the blind copying of methods and strategies, many times without proper analysis whether or not such methods or strategies were appropriate or not. For every church that successfully changed and grew, there seem to be more stories of how a rush to adopt something new was the cause of division and broken ministry. What these groups seemed to be saying was, “if only we just _____, then they will come.” While there are significant factors that reflect a healthy church, there are no “quick fixes” that bypass the individual members becoming spiritual healthy believers who are actively involved in helping others become that way. Training must include how to become healthy believers that can mentor others.
   
8. Understanding the limits of technology– Our dependence on technology is a given. What only seemed to be a dream only a few years ago, now is commonplace. Our faith and expectation seem to follow technological trends, sometimes more than our faith in our Creator. While our training must include these technologies, it must never bypass how to survive without it. The student needs to be able to function “unplugged,” as well as online.

9. Fundamental change in the understanding of the nature of the church – House churches and cell groups are increasingly becoming part of who and what churches are, apart from the more traditional building, pews, sound equipment, etc. What adjustments and tools are needed to train leadership for a the group that may only fit in someone’s living room? Worship leader training must include how to train other leaders for situations other than just praise team or choral formats. No one knows what will happen in the future, so the best preparation must include a well-rounded balance so that the leader has the tool belt full and be as prepared as possible.

10. The desire to “lead worship” is greater than the desire “to worship” – Perhaps the second greatest danger is deceptively silent, and involves our desire to “lead worship” to slowly replace our desire “to worship.” I am not saying that those who lead worship are not worshiping; I’m saying that there is a danger when the joy of leading and the thrill of the congregational response becomes greater than our personal seeking of the Lord in private worship.  As we train worship leaders, or perhaps a better term, “lead worshipers”, the development of healthy personal spiritual disciplines is a must.

What is Congregational Worship?

I realize that the question may seem obvious or perhaps even not worth considering, but Mark Galli, Senior Editor for Christianity Today addresses this issue in part in his article, “The End of Christianity as We Know It.”  [http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/aprilweb-only/25-41.0.html]   If you will allow me just a few moments, I would like to just briefly touch on some aspects that might help us reconsider what it means when we gather together for “church.”

What is congregational worship? I will throw out my 2 cents worth and realize that it may not be worth even that, but perhaps it will at least get the conversation started.

    Congregational worship is more than just a group of individuals having quiet times in the same place. It is the Body of Christ gathered together in unity and diversity centering adoration on the King of kings and Lord of lords and responding in obedience to Him. The emphasis is not on "my personal experience," but "our obedient response" to His revealed nature and character.

To understand where all of this started, I must go back to an email from Eric Benoy, our librarian at the Seminary, who really helped me begin to start thinking about “congregational worship.”

    We gather together for corporate worship; a group of people to do something in one accord.  If that is the case, then why do some worship leaders today want to make corporate worship a personal experience?  It is oxymoronic in a way.  If we have gathered intentionally for corporate worship, then should we not then be striving for a corporate offering of praise, adoration, et al and hear from God as a body of believers?  We have come together specifically to be the church gathered; to worship and become equipped to be the church scattered.    [4/16/2010, used by permission]  
  

Besides being our librarian, and a fine one at that, Eric is a pastor and a dear godly friend whose opinion is worth the time to ponder. I’m not sure I had spent much time thinking about the efforts being made to make “corporate worship” a “personal experience,” but the more I began to mull over the idea in my mind, the more I began to see some of the possible ramifications of the idea.

Biblical worship is God-centered. Scripture describes it as “in Him, through Him, by Him, to Him, and about Him,” that is, the focus of worship is Christ, not our tastes, style, opinions, etc.  If we look at the Isaiah 6 model, as God takes the initiative and reveals Himself, the prophet not only sees the revealed nature of God, but sees himself as God sees him, sinful and unclean. He confesses and is forgiven and the prophet is able to hear God’s voice: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”  Worship then completes itself in obedient response as Isaiah responds, “Here am I, Lord, send me!”  

How does all that fit into a congregational setting?  A great question.  The idea of the “congregation” is in reference to the “church,” not the church building, but the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. This body, whose Head is Christ, Himself, is seen in worship in the book of Revelation as thousands upon thousands are gathered around the Lamb on His throne. He is the one central and only focus. Angelic beings circle around Him declaring His nature and glory, hallowed saints cast their crowns toward the One who is worthy. If we could look around at the worshipers in heaven, we would notice that it is multi-generational worship: Not only are there throngs of believers from all the ages, generation after generation, but old and young. It is also multi-cultural worship: tribes from every tongue and nation lifting praise and adoration to God.    

In Acts 2:42 we read that “They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” [NET] There may be discussion as to what exactly is meant by each of these four activities, but central to each is the fact that they were done corporately. Paul deals with the abuses of the agape feast and the Lord’s Supper in I Corinthians 11, emphasizing the need for self examination, so that when they came together they would not be condemned. It is not by accident that he then deals with spiritual gifts and explains that they are each members of Christ’s body, each with different gifts for the building of the body. In I Corinthians 14, Paul deals with the fact that worship was participatory: “When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church.” [14:26 NET] The focus was not on building up the individual participating, but the body as a whole.
                   

A simple focus on the pronouns in the Model Prayer that Jesus left us in Matthew 6:9-13 will also help us see that the corporate emphasis:
This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [bold type added]

It may be that because we live in a culture that prizes individualism we look at Scripture with “individualistic” lenses. While it is true that we come to Christ as individuals, our “cultural lenses” may filter the importance of seeing ourselves as the Body with Christ as its Head and as the Bride preparing herself for the Bridegroom. Though we are aware that this theme is central to the New Testament idea of the church, what implications are there to worship? Where does the church “see” itself as a the “Body of Christ” and not just a group of individuals? Is it not as believers gather for worship and join together unifying their focus on the Risen Lord?

Seeing ourselves as the Body of Christ is not to demean personal experience, but a help to guard against allowing our focus to shift to “our” personal experience rather than on who Christ is and what He as done.  If we are not careful the desire to achieve a “personal” worship experience becomes a goal in and of itself and misses the object for which the worship should have been directed. We can begin to desire the “experience” more than the “Savior.”   Brian Wren put it this way in book, Praying Twice: The Music and Words of Congregational Song:

    Oh, I’m thinking of me praising Jesus, and loving the feeling I feel.
    When I think of his touch I am feeling so much
    that tomorrow I’ll praise him for real. [page 225]

Corporate worship can help us avoid the “me and mine” mentality and can help us see ourselves as Christ sees us. Being mindful that we are part of the Body can also help us avoid delusions of our own importance before God. This is especially needful for those who are in positions of leadership in worship; it is just too easy to fall into the trap of self engrandizement. When our focus is on worshiping as the Body of Christ, we are less likely to define our worship experience by the limited standards of our own experience. Personal preference is surrendered for the good of the whole.

What is the role of personal experience? The responsibility of every believer is to maintain a right relationship with the Father, to confess known sin, receive forgiveness and continue to grow and deepen the relationship.  As we come together in worship, we then come prepared to meet with Him who loved us enough to die to restore the relationship that He knew we so desperately needed. We come together as members of the Body of Christ, different in gifts and abilities, but all functioning for the good of the Body. As we worship, we reflect the “unity in diversity” that is His body.

In corporate worship can we see the unity of focusing everything on Christ. In the same way that a wheel is  recognizable as a wheel when each of its spokes is rightly related to the hub, so the members of the Body are recognizable when rightly related to Christ. Just as a wheel is more than a collection of spokes hub and rims, corporate worship is more than a group of believers in the same room at the same time.

So now what?  What difference does all this mean in relation to what should happen on Sunday morning as we gather together? Glad you asked. For a start, let’s consider the following:

    1. We must teach what biblical worship is and isn’t. There are still many people that believe that “the music is the worship...”
    2. Personal worship is indispensable. We must feed daily on God’s Word; we must immerse ourselves in His presence in prayer. There are no substitutes for personal time with the Father.    
    3. Personal worship is not a substitute for corporate worship. We are baptized into the Body of Christ and are members of His body. There is no biblical idea of a member of the body existing apart from the body.
    4. Corporate worship must facilitate worship that centers itself around Jesus Christ as His Body. The focus of corporate worship is not a focus on personal experience.
    5. We must begin to learn what it means to live and worship as the Body of Christ. Personal preference is willingly subjugated for the good of the whole body.