Postures in Worship

Shout

Sing

Silence

Fall down

Lift hands

Kneel

Dance

These are just some of the physical postures of worship we see throughout Scripture. But often it is not Scripture, but denominational affiliation or culture (family, church, city, country) that carries a greater influence on our physical posture during the gathering.

Let me be clear: our outward posture does not (always) equal inward posture of heart. And very clearly in Scripture, we see wild, exuberant postures of worship, as well as stillness, and awe. Too often as worship leaders, we use external signs as validation that we have done our jobs. Some people are naturally expressive, and others are naturally reserved. Certainly, there are days, songs, seasons, and times when our congregations respond in ways that we would not expect - in expression, volume, general engagement, and enthusiasm. Do we encourage silence without feeling the need to fill with pads, or piano, as much as we encourage people to sing out and raise their hands? Physical posture is not the sole indicator of true worship, but it may be a window into the hearts, lives, and cultures of our community.

How can you encourage a fuller understanding and expression of postures of worship in your gathering? How might you invite people to move out of their comfort zone (whether toward silence, or expression) not in response to the worship leader, but in response to God?

Receiving Compliments

Pride forces us toward two extremes: I am amazing, or I am awful. Sometimes these extremes push and pull moments apart, again and again! And when we stand in front of people with a microphone, an instrument, a voice of authority, and a position of visibility we can quickly begin to size up our value and worth based on the response - or lack thereof - from the people we serve. We can foolishly believe that everything is riding on us. Did the music go well? That’s because we worked hard, practiced, and led well. Did things feel chaotic, disjointed, and a mess? It’s because we are not good and have no business in this kind of role.

Two weeks ago I wrote about responding to criticism. But the truth is responding to compliments is a different side of the same coin. Undoubtedly, we will receive criticism in our role. Undoubtedly, we will also receive compliments. I think we must receive compliments in the same way we receive criticism. First, prayerfully.

One of the ways that Christ equips and builds up His body is through His body. I desire to receive a compliment not as an affirmation of myself and my gifts, but as a testament to the way God uses His people to build us all up toward maturity in Christ. I want my heart and mind to be turned upward to Christ in gratitude, rather than inward toward self when people speak words that spur me on toward godliness.

Second, we receive compliments with humility. This doesn’t mean that we are not grateful, that doesn’t mean we attempt to deflect people’s words with something like, ‘It wasn’t me up there, it was the Lord…’ It means we recognize that we have nothing we did not receive, and so we give glory to God, who does not share His glory with another. It means that we celebrate who God is and what He is doing, rather than seek to build up our own fragile egos with the life-giving words of another.

Finally, we let God’s voice be the loudest and most consistent voice in our minds and hearts. When my heart is treasure the Word spoken over me by my Heavenly Father, I do not have to be swayed or swell with the criticism or praise of another.

“Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou my inheritance now and always,

Thou and Thou only first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art.”

On Nerves + Anxiety

Anyone who says they don’t get a little nervous, or a bit anxious to lead worship is probably lying. There are so many things that regardless of our level of preparation are out of our control. There are so many things that have to work together at once in a corporate gathering.

So how do you deal with nerves if and when they begin to surface?

First things first, pray. Ask the Spirit who indwells you to lift your eyes to Christ. Many of our nerves as worship leaders come from our sense that it all hangs on me. We need the Spirit to remind us that the work is already finished in Christ, He is the One we lift up, He is the One we celebrate, He is the One who deserves all of the glory.

We need to remember. We need to remember that our life is hidden in Christ. We need to remember that we are serving our brothers and sisters, that our family loves us, and is for us as we serve. We need to remember that Christ’s ability to be honored and glorified is not dependent on our ability to perform or execute a flawless setlist.

We need to practice. The times I feel most anxious when leading are when I know I have not spent enough time with a song, or with something I feel the Spirit leading me to share. It can be easy to swing the pendulum to the opposite extreme by rehearsing to the point where we leave no space for spontaneity, but real preparation should be an act of worship. We should spend time engaging with song and Scripture throughout the week so that we can be freed up to lead and serve well because we have traveled the road, familiarize ourselves with the journey before our Sunday services.

We need to come dependent. Often when we feel insecure, anxious, or fearful we can be tempted to try and control. We rehearse and rehearse and rehearse, we map out every second of the service, we run transitions countless times, rather than release and empower others with responsibility and authority, we hoard in an effort to control and minimize risk. This is both exhausting, and it is also the antithesis of what the Apostle Paul reminds us - in our weakness we are strong (2 Cor 12:9-10). When we come dependent we acknowledge that preparation is important, but true power comes from the Holy Spirit working in and through us to point people to Christ.

If nerves or anxiety are a regular part of your experience of leading worship, I’d also encourage you to read Tim Keller’s short book, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness. Seeing ourselves accurately off of the platform will help us see ourselves correctly on the platform.

Leading From The Congregation

One of the things I say most frequently to my team: we lead more off of the platform than on the platform.

For me, there are at least three things that I am trying to help my team understand with this language, first, that each member is a worship leader. Whether they are a musician, vocalist, sound person, running lyrics or lights, or the person who has assembled the set list and is leading the congregation verbally - each person is a worship leader. Second, it matters what we do, where we are, and how we are responding after we step off a platform, out from behind our instruments, and the way we engage in the rest of the gathering. And third, that each team member carries the responsibility of worship leader even on weekends where we are not serving on the platform.


Here are some considerations when it comes to leading worship from the congregation:

Presence.

This means after we serve on the platform, we go and sit through the sermon as a member of the congregation. That our presence is visible not just during ‘our part,’ but that we are identifying ourselves, and being identified, as sheep - not just as shepherds. Our presence in the gathering matters not only on the weekends where we serve up front, but also during those weeks where we are not. My personal conviction is that our team should be primarily made up of people who call this specific congregation their home church, and therefore would be attending this home church even if they were not serving on the team. If team members are only present at church on weekends that they are serving, it would beg the question, why?

Posture

As a follower of Jesus, and as a worship leader I want to be fully integrated. I do not want to have a ‘stage-self’ and an ‘off-stage-self.’ If I see myself as a worship leader, as someone who is carrying the culture of the team in a visible role, or among the people, there should be no division in the way that I posture myself, and respond leading up front or in the congregation. If you raise your hands on the platform, raise your hands in the congregation.

Engagement

What we do in subtle and significant ways communicates what we value. If musicians ‘do their job,’ walk off the stage to back stage, a backroom, or a coffee shop - what does that communicate to the congregation? If we are to be leaders - servant leaders specifically - we must model what is important and valuable for our people, by being engaged in the life of the church outside of our role, responsibility, and jobs. Sit in the sermon, pursue new people, be connected to community, listen, learn, grow, and then pour out from a place of being deeply rooted as a member - not just of the worship team - but of your church.

Another way that you as a leader can encourage your team to lead from the congregation, is providing new music that you will be introducing to the entire team - perhaps even elders, and ministry leaders, so that when you introduce a new song, it is not just the musicians serving that particular week that will know the music, but those people who can also lead from the congregation. We have a responsibility to equip and lift the eyes of our team to the significance of their role - not just in it’s forward facing nature, but in ways they can lead and shape the culture from the congregation as well.