Thoughts on Leading Worship Music

Keith and I were asked to begin leading worship music about two and a half years ago when our church began a new service. The pastor was a close personal friend, and we believed that his inclination was from God. We still do. But the job doesn’t come without its challenges.

New Note: Please don't read this post as a list of complaints. That wasn't at all my intention. I tried to address some frequent comments I read in various and sundry places all over the blog world, but found it difficult to do so without sounding like I was defending myself or whining.
I'm trying to do neither, here, but rather shed some light on the mostly misunderstood task faced by those who lead worship music in congregational settings. If anything I feel that I'm defending musicians in congregations larger than ours because due to the greater number of worshipers, they are subject to more criticism.

(I won’t talk at all about the issues associated with leading a team or band, because we don’t do that. That’s a much larger more complex set of challenges.) In addition to highlighting some of the challenges, I also here address some common criticisms that I read on the internet. Our own church is very supportive and rarely if ever offers criticism (to us, anyway). It nonetheless makes a deep impression on me whenever I read harsh critiques in the blog world. I know not all of you lob these assaults, and I certainly hope I don’t sound defensive here. I’ve wanted to address a few of these things for quite some time, now. So, if you don’t mind I’m taking a lot of space here to do so. Forgive the length of this post. As you know, I rarely make long posts.

What are some of the challenges faced by leaders of contemporary worship music?

1- There’s a lot of music to learn. Contemporary style services generally expect more songs than traditional services. The catch is that the songs are almost all new. No, they may not be musically difficult, but learning and teaching a congregation a new song every couple of weeks is a challenge. It seems that I read equal numbers of online complaints about music leaders who don’t do enough new music and those who do too much. It’s hard to find a good balance.

2- The music still needs to be excellent. How many times do we hear the fiery critiques of song leaders and praise teams that aren’t “up to par.” I agree! But the pressure to continuously introduce new music and for it to be perfect the first time out can be exhausting. Have a little compassion for the musicians.

3- It’s difficult to choose good music all the time. There is a lot of music out there since the demand for new songs is so high, but there is admittedly a lot of music that doesn’t satisfy my requirements for worship:

*The lyrics must be biblically sound. A lot of songs sound good, but when examined closely reveal unsound doctrine.
*The song must be sing-able by a congregation who can only see the words. This isn’t the place to debate whether or not they should have the printed music. Fact is, most don’t these days, and music leaders have to deal with it. Again, so many times I read complaints about music that isn’t complex and musically original.

I challenge you to present a congregation with a musically complex song, give them only the words, and then ask them to join in. You have a group of people (with possibly one or 2 exceptions) who are neither singing nor worshiping. Instead, they’re frustrated and self conscious over their inability to join in on the song. This too, hurts the worship service and reflects badly on the music leader.

4- Every contemporary worship-music leader is all too aware of the criticism that worship should not be a performance or a rock concert. I agree! The problem is that we’re given this caveat and then: 1- Handed a microphone and told 2- Stand in front of the congregation and lead songs 3-Teach news songs regularly (which requires singing solo until everyone catches on). 4- Practice enough that the music is excellent.

Yet it should never look like a performance! This is what psychology calls a double-bind situation. It is impossible to lead contemporary worship music on a regular basis and never appear to be performing to some extent. This may cause some of you to gnash your teeth and tear your clothes, but it’s the truth. A well rehearsed choir and/or orchestra is also performing somewhat. I’ve never heard a complaint that a choir was too performance oriented when they offered an excellent rendering of Handel’s Messiah! This is not a new phenomenon, it only has a different face.

5- Congregations don’t always sing. I read frequent complaints about music leaders who cajole, beg, plead the congregation to sing or sing louder. We hear this interferes with worship because some folks desire to worship silently, others feel pressured and that also interferes with worship. The point is well taken. I, too, sometimes prefer to pray rather than sing in worship (when I’m not leading). And nobody likes to feel pressured.

Here’s the problem: we’re concerned- very concerned- that we don’t appear to be performing (as previously discussed.) If you’ve never led singing in church, take a moment to imagine that you’re up front, charged with the leading of a song. You know better than to appear to be performing, but only about 4 people in the congregation are actually singing with you. What do you do? If you sing louder, up goes your chance of the performance problem. If you ask them to sing louder, you’re interfering with their worship. If you do nothing, it looks like half the congregation may actually fall asleep. I’m serious. What would you do? Sometime the job of music leader feels more like cheerleader.

I have to admit that I’ve caught myself asking the congregation to sing out a number of times. Never fear, I duly berated myself for it afterwards. I try not to be bothered if few are singing, but then there’s another challenge. Why aren’t the rest of them singing? Do they dislike the song, or are they moved to silent worship by it? Is the song too hard to sing? Is it too easy? Too old? Too new? Pitch too high? Too low? Are they sick of hearing my voice? Is my microphone too loud? Is it too soft? Is the guitar too loud/soft? Did I close my eyes for too long? Did I make eye contact with everyone in the room? WHY DO THEY LOOK SO BORED?!!! Those are the questions that go whirling through my brain while leading a song. I rarely leave worship without a headache. So, just for me, the next time you hear a worship leader ask a congregation to sing out, try have compassion on him/her, even if you don’t sing any louder.

6- Finally, if other music leaders are like me and I suspect many are, we’re faced with the conflict over whether we should be up there at all. In many cases, like ours, we didn’t go looking for the job. Our church asked us to serve in that capacity. Yet we are bombarded (especially in emerging church conversations) with criticism that worship music shouldn’t be done that (fill in the blank) way at all (such as contemporary worship music).

If I didn’t already feel self-conscious enough, this would certainly do the trick of causing angst all by itself. Am I doing violence to the universal Church by leading contemporary songs with a microphone, up in front where everyone can see me- as if I’m better or more spiritual or more worthy than anyone else in the room? I don’t feel better or more worthy than anyone else in the room. The only difference is that I was asked to do it. The truth is that when I look around the congregation, I know that almost no one else in the room has any interest in doing what we do. The ones who are willing are the ones I ask to help out sometimes.

Music leaders are often criticized on the internet for doing exactly what they’ve been asked to do. I know it’s easy to focus on the ones up front, but the reality is that those people are probably doing exactly what church leadership has asked them to do. Let’s try to think of our worship-music leaders as sincere folks who are trying to follow God’s will and serve well in the community of faith. Changes in the form and appearance of worship have taken a toll on many of us, even when we’re glad of the overall progress. I’d be thrilled to see a change of tone in the blog world regarding worship music and those who lead.