Lesson 8: Planning and Leading Worship

Memorize 2 Chronicles 5:13-14.

► How much planning time do you give to each week’s worship service? Do you match the songs with the sermon? Is this type of planning necessary or does advance planning hinder the freedom of the Holy Spirit in worship?

Imagine a lady who is preparing a meal for special guests. As the guests arrive for dinner, the hostess says, “I don’t believe in spending too much time cooking a meal. Here is some leftover bread, meat, and vegetables. Just put them together the way you want.” Would you do this for special guests? Of course not! You want to give your best to your guests.

Imagine a pastor who is bringing worship as his gift to God. He says, “I don’t believe in spending too much time planning worship. I want to give the Holy Spirit freedom to speak through me, so I won’t plan anything. I let the Spirit guide me.”

Some leaders believe that the Holy Spirit cannot work through a well-prepared sermon or well-planned service. The Bible, however, shows the value of planning for worship. From the careful preparation of musicians for Temple worship to Paul’s directions regarding worship for the church at Corinth, scripture shows that planning is important for leading in ministry. We must not bring an offering that costs us nothing. Since worship is our sacrifice to God, God deserves our best offering.

In this lesson we will look at two aspects of worship leadership. First, we will study the importance of planning for worship. Then, we will look at effective leadership in the worship service.

► Read Exodus 28-29. Notice the careful preparation of those who led in Israel’s worship. How do you prepare spiritually, mentally, and emotionally to lead worship?

Preparing the Worship Leader

Planning and preparing the worship service is important; preparing the worship leader is even more important. We cannot lead people where we have not been. Because of this, we must prepare our hearts before we try to lead others in worship.

In Lesson 2, we saw God’s requirements for worshippers. God calls his worshippers to have clean hands and pure hearts. Before beginning to prepare the worship service, we should prepare ourselves as worship leaders. We must be spiritually prepared to lead worship.

[1]Begin worship planning with prayer and scripture reading. Spend time in God’s Word for your own spiritual development. A constant danger for worship leaders is allowing ministry preparation to substitute for personal spiritual development. We can study the Bible to prepare sermons to others while failing to allow God’s Word to speak to our own spiritual needs.

Before choosing scriptures and songs that speak God’s Word to the congregation, take time to let God’s Word and God’s Spirit speak to you as an individual. Then as you begin planning for Sunday’s service, ask God to guide you to the scriptures, sermon topic, and music that will speak to the needs of the people.

Checkup

How do you develop a healthy pattern of private worship in your life? What hindrances do you face? How do you respond to those hindrances?

Planning the Worship Service[2]

Fred Bock described the preparation of the pastor under whom he served, Lloyd John Ogilvie. Dr. Ogilvie planned his sermons for an entire year. Many times, a sermon topic chosen in January was the perfect fit for the needs of the congregation when it was preached in July. Why? “Our God is the God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He knows our needs well in advance, long before we do. …And when we are prepared and organized, this makes us a more useable, pliable tool for the Holy Spirit.”[3] The Holy Spirit knows who will be in your service; he can guide you to the songs and scriptures that will speak to their needs.

Maybe you should not plan a year at a time, but planning worship is important. Careful planning frees us to focus on worship during the service instead of worrying, “What comes next?” When we don’t plan, we tend to fall back on what we did the previous week. Planning frees us to be creative.

Start with a structure.

Most of us like order in life. We prefer to eat breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening. We usually read books from chapter 1 to the end rather than reading pages at random. No traveler wants to get on an international flight and hear the pilot say, “We haven’t decided what route to take today. We will just take off and see what happens.” We like structure.

[4]Structure in worship does not limit our freedom to follow the Holy Spirit when he changes our plans! Structure gives guidance to worship, while remaining open to the Holy Spirit’s leadership if he overrides our structure. At the dedication of the Temple, there was a planned structure, but God’s presence changed the order for the service (2 Chronicles 5:13-14).

In Appendix A are outlines that some leaders use for worship planning. You may find it helpful to adapt one of these for your services. These are not a rigid format but can provide a structure that you can adapt to your needs.

Some common structures for worship planning include:[5]

(1) Structure centered on the sermon

• Proclamation of truth: hymns, scripture, sermon

• Response to truth: invitation, offering, closing hymn

(2) Structure based on the activity of God’s people in worship

• God’s people gather: call to worship, hymns of praise, prayer

• God’s people hear the Word: scripture reading and sermon

• God’s people respond to the Word: hymn of invitation, prayer, offering

• God’s people are sent out: closing hymn, benediction

(3) Structure showing a dialogue between God and His people (based on Isaiah 6)

• God reveals himself (verse 1): call to worship

• God’s people respond with praise and confession (verses 3-5): hymns and prayer

• God speaks to his people (verses 6-8): scripture reading and sermon

• God’s people respond in commitment (verse 8): invitation hymn and offering

• God commissions his people (verse 9): benediction

(4) Structure based on Psalm 95

• Enter with joyful thanksgiving (verses 1-5): call to worship, hymns of praise

• Continue with reverential worship (verses 6-7): hymns of consecration, prayer

• Hear God’s voice (verses 7-11): scripture reading and sermon

Communicate a unified message.

Worship speaks to God, but it also speaks to the congregation. In worship, we bring God’s Word to the worshippers. When planning a service, it is helpful to ask, “What message does God want to bring to his people in this service?”

Have you ever attended a service like this?

What message will remain with the worshippers? They have sung about prayer, praising God, heaven, and the Holy Spirit, and then heard a sermon on a completely different subject. During the following week, will people remember the challenge to evangelism? Perhaps, but the structure of the service did not reinforce this theme.

Now consider a service planned around the theme of evangelism:

Because the leaders have planned the service to communicate one theme, the people are likely to hear God’s voice throughout the week, reminding them of the call to evangelism. As they drive past people whose lives are empty, perhaps they will remember that “People Need the Lord.” As they are working on Tuesday, perhaps they will rejoice that “Jesus Saves” and remember that because Jesus has saved us, we must share this joy with others.

Can God work through a service with no central theme? Of course! However, we help our congregation focus on the message if we take time to plan carefully. Is this always necessary? No. A service will sometimes have multiple themes that God uses to speak to various needs in the congregation. We must never fall into the trap of thinking that God works through one system only. However, a unified theme often helps worshippers focus on the message of the service.

Maintain a balance in worship.

All of us have favorites: favorite foods, favorite music, favorite books, favorite games, and favorite Bible books. In planning worship, it is important that a leader include more than his favorite songs, scriptures, and sermon themes. Balanced worship will speak the entire gospel to the entire congregation.

(1) Balanced worship shows both God’s majesty and God’s presence with us.

God is an exalted God who reigns over all the earth; God is also a present God who dwells among his people. We see this balance throughout scripture.

After crossing the Red Sea, the people of Israel sang of God’s power; “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” They sang of God’s care; “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode” (Exodus 15:11-13).

Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. He was majestic and far above the earth. The Lord was exalted, but He spoke personally to commission Isaiah to “Go, and say to this people…” (Isaiah 6:1-13).

The psalmist praised the exalted God; “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.” This exalted God has stooped to become intimately involved with mankind; “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8).

In worship, we give attention both to God’s majesty and to God’s presence with us. When our worship forgets God’s majesty, he becomes a casual friend who no longer requires obedience and service. When our worship forgets God’s present involvement with us, we worship Him as a distant God who cares nothing for our concerns. In planning worship, we should give attention to both aspects of God’s relationship with mankind. We must remind worshippers that we fear God; we must also remember that we delight in God.

Putting It into Practice

Worship of the God who is both exalted and present with us means that we will sing songs that recognize his majesty (“O Worship the King”) and songs that recognize his relationship with mankind (“Immanuel, God With Us”). In prayer, we will praise him for his mighty works, and we will bring our intimate personal needs to him.

► Look through a collection of hymns and choruses. Find an example of a song that recognizes the majesty of God. Find another song about him being in close relationship with us.

(2) Balanced worship is both corporate and personal.

The Book of Psalms includes both corporate praise and individual praise. Some psalms speak of “our” praise; some psalms speak of “my” praise. At the Temple, Hebrew worshippers worshipped together; at home, they prayed as individuals. Jesus often went to the synagogue for corporate worship; he also went to a desolate place to spend time alone with his Father (Luke 4:16 and Mark 1:35). Biblical worship was both corporate and personal. In worship, we must provide opportunities for the congregation to worship as a body and opportunities for individual worshippers to express their personal devotion to God.

Putting It into Practice

Worship that is both corporate and personal will affect all areas of the service. We will sing songs for the entire body (“How Great is Our God”); we will sing songs of personal worship (“You are My King”). We will pray to “Our Father in heaven”; we will have times of group prayer allowing each member to pray individually within the body.

More than at any time in history, corporate worship is a challenge. In an age of cellphones, tablets, texting, and constant internet access, we can sit in a worship service while remaining emotionally and spiritually detached. A commitment to corporate worship requires us to detach ourselves from distractions and worship with the body.

► Look through a collection of hymns and choruses. Find an example of a song whose lyrics are written from a corporate perspective. It may include pronouns such as “our,” “we,” “us,” or terms such as “all the people.” Next, find an example of a song whose lyrics are written from one person’s perspective. It may include pronouns such as “my,” “I,” “me.”

(3) Balanced worship includes both the familiar and the new.

This balance is practical instead of theological, but it is important if we want to actively involve the congregation in worship. In planning for worship, we should balance the familiar and the new.

Too much of the new causes a congregation to become observers rather than worshippers; they cannot participate because they don’t know the songs. C.S. Lewis once complained that many pastors forget that “Jesus told Peter to ‘feed my sheep,’ not ‘teach my performing dogs new tricks.’” Too much novelty makes it difficult to focus on worship.

Too much of the familiar leads to empty routine. A service that has become completely predictable causes the congregation to lose focus and to disengage from worship.

Worship planning should include both the familiar and the new. For instance, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” is a new hymn about the atonement. The hymn ends, “His wounds have paid my ransom.” This new hymn showing the cost of the atonement could be followed with the familiar “Jesus Paid It All,” calling us to respond to Jesus’ sacrifice. A balance of the familiar and the new encourages the congregation to active worship.

Putting It into Practice

Worship that balances the familiar and the new will include both old and new hymns. It will include both familiar and less familiar scripture readings. Before reading a familiar passage such as John 3:1-21 in which Jesus teaches about the new birth, we can read a less familiar passage such as Ezekiel 36:16-38 in which God promises to wash Israel with water and to give his people a new heart. These two scriptures are closely related in theme. Reading them together will deepen the congregation’s understanding of Jesus’ teaching in John 3.

If you are introducing a new song, surround the new song with familiar songs. When we open worship with an unfamiliar song, the service begins on an uncertain note. It is wise to open with a familiar song and then to introduce the new song.

A church in Taiwan had a creative approach to introducing songs. Most of their congregation were new believers and did not know many of the songs that were sung. This church had a rehearsal before each service. Twenty minutes prior to worship, the people sang the songs that would be part of the worship service. The pianist played the melody so everyone could learn the tune. Since this was a rehearsal, the leader could stop and repeat a phrase until the congregation learned it well. By 10:00, the people sang even new songs with confidence.

► Look through a collection of hymns and choruses. Find two songs on the same theme or two songs that have related themes. There should be a clear connection between the two songs. One of the songs should be very familiar, and one should be unfamiliar. If you were to use these two songs in a worship service, which would you sing first? How would you transition to the second?

Plan as a team.

Ecclesiastes gives this practical advice; “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their toil” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). Worship planning should be a team activity. Everyone involved in the leadership of the worship service should have a role in planning.

As the pastor, song leader, and other church leaders meet together to seek God’s will for the service, each person’s gifts are joined together. By working as a team, the strengths of each member of the church leadership contributes to worship.

Plan for the long term.

No single service includes the entire message of the Bible, but over time we should communicate all aspects of the gospel to our worshippers. Each of us has favorite topics; we must push ourselves to preach and sing the topics that are not our favorite.

Some pastors and worship leaders use a calendar that schedules themes for teaching through the Bible in three years.[6] Others plan weekly but are careful to work through the entire message of scripture over a period of time.

Even if you do not follow a strict teaching calendar, an awareness of the primary seasons of the Christian year will guide you through important aspects of the gospel. Important seasons in the Christian year are:

• Advent (four Sundays leading to Christmas): A focus on both the first and second comings of Christ.

• Christmas: A focus on the incarnation and the birth of Christ.

• Lent (six Sundays leading to Easter): A focus on the suffering and death of Jesus, as well as the demands of discipleship for every believer.

• Easter: A focus on the resurrection and ascension of Christ.

• Pentecost: A focus on the Holy Spirit and the church.

Whether you follow a formal sequence or plan on a weekly basis, make sure your congregation hears all the gospel as a part of worship.

Plan peacefully.

Worship isn’t about us; worship is our sacrifice to God. Our worship planning is part of that offering. We plan worship without the guilt-driven pressure of thinking, “Is this good enough?” We worship a God of grace. Our offering is accepted not because it is good enough, but because God accepts the willing offering of his children.

This is important in avoiding the pressure that “We must keep up with XYZ church.” In today’s world of technology and multi-media, many church leaders feel a constant pressure to be as up-to-date as other churches. Pastors compete to have the latest technology. Music directors compete to sing the newest songs. Worshippers become shoppers looking for a church that offers the newest attractions.

Do not yield to the temptation to try to impress God with your offering. Do not allow the tools of worship, such as music and technology to substitute the actual worship. Bring him your best knowing that the God of grace rejoices in the sweet smell of your sacrifice. Give him your best, and then trust him to accept your offering. Worship is not a competition with other churches; it is a gift to God.

The Most Important Question: Who Is the Audience?

► What is the role of the congregation in worship? What is the role of the worship leaders? What is God’s role?

Many people view worship like a concert. The congregation listens as the pastor and musicians perform. The sanctuary is a concert hall.

Barry Liesch described this view of worship like a football game:[1]

• The worship leaders are the players doing the worship.

• The congregation is the audience in the stands watching the game.

• God is the coach who tells the worship leaders what to do.

The biblical picture of worship is much different. In biblical worship, the congregation worships while the worship leaders act as coaches guiding the worship:

• The worship leader is the coach guiding the congregation.

• The worshippers are the players who doing the worship.

• God is the audience who receives our worship.

In a drama performance, you never notice the director. The director knows every line of the play and cues each actor when it is time to enter. If she does her job well, the audience never notices her. That is the role of worship leaders. Our job is not to worship for the people; our job is to guide the congregation in worship. The congregation worships, with the pastor and music leader, in the presence of God. Our goal in worship is to please God. In a biblical model of worship, God is the audience for our worship.

However, God is more than an audience; God empowers all that we do in worship. And, the worship leader is more than the coach or director. The worship leader is both a director and a worshipper. Worship involves multiple relationships:

• God invites worshippers, receives worship, and guides worship leaders as they minister to the congregation.

• Worship leaders guide the congregation in worship, listen to God’s voice, and participate as worshippers.

• The congregation offers worship to God, listens to God’s Word, and speaks to one another in worship.

How to Avoid Worship as Performance[2]

1. Sing songs people know or can learn easily. Sing them in congregational keys. Use new songs in moderation.

2. Sing and celebrate the power, glory, and salvation of God. Serve your congregation. Fill them with the Word of God. Don’t sing songs with bad lyrics or weak theology.

3. Keep the lights up. Stop talking so much. Don’t let loops/lights/visuals become your outlet for creativity at the expense of the centrality of the gospel.

4. Adapt your worship leading and the songs you pick to the majority of your congregation. Lead pastorally.

5. Point to Jesus. Don’t draw attention to yourself.

Qualities of the Worship Leader

Regardless of your title, as a worship leader you serve a pastoral role. If you are the pastor, you already understand this. If you are a lay leader, you must understand that your role places you in a position of spiritual leadership.

In choosing a worship leader, we must consider spiritual qualifications, not merely musical or personal qualifications. When the apostles chose deacons to care for the Grecian widows, they looked for men with a good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3). Ethical, spiritual, and moral qualifications were of primary importance.

In some churches, the choice of song leaders, musicians, and other leadership roles is based on popularity. If the deacons who served tables were chosen for their spiritual qualifications, certainly worship leaders should be chosen for spiritual qualities.

If you lead worship in your church (as the pastor, musician, or other leader in worship), you should seek to develop qualities that make an effective worship leader.

• Spiritual discernment. “Am I sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit?”

• Sensitivity. “Am I sensitive to the needs of the congregation? Do I choose songs and scriptures that speak to those needs?”

• Cooperation. “Do I serve effectively on a team? Am I cooperative when the pastor asks me to change the closing song? Do I yield to the needs of the entire team?”

• Knowledge. “Am I growing in my knowledge of God’s Word? Do I make God’s Word central in worship?”

• Wisdom. “Am I growing in wisdom to understand and respond to conflicts over worship? Do I discipline myself to be quick to listen and slow to speak?” (James 1:19)

• Patience. “Am I patient when the congregation is slow to respond to my plan for the service?”

• Humility. “Am I willing to sing a song that speaks to the needs of the less trained members of my congregation? Am I willing to preach in a simpler style that meets the needs of uneducated members of my congregation? Do I lead with humility, or do I see myself as superior to the church where God has placed me?” As a leader of worship, your creativity must yield to your pastoral responsibility. Your first obligation is to minister to the people.

• Creativity. “Do I look for ways to make worship meaningful? Do I avoid falling into a repetitious pattern in which every service is the same?”

• Discipline. “Do I discipline my creativity to avoid distracting from worship? Do I avoid making each service so new that people cannot focus their attention on God?”

• Excellence. “Do I bring my best offering each week? Am I continually growing as a worship leader?”[3]

Practical Steps in Leading Worship

A leader cannot force people to worship; however, a leader can make it easier for the congregation to give their attention to worship.

Leading by example

One of the privileges of leading in worship is the opportunity to worship with the congregation. The leader must worship while leading the congregation in worship.

Unfortunately, worship can be a challenge to the worship leader. We can become so busy leading worship that we fail to worship! If you are the music director, you may find yourself trying to worship while you think thoughts such as:

• “The soloist is late. I hope she gets here in time for the special song!”

• “People didn’t sing well on the first hymn. Is that song too difficult for our church?”

• “It feels like we are singing too slowly. Should I speed up the next verse?”

If you are the pastor, you may find yourself trying to worship while you think:

• “We have 10 people fewer than last week. Where are they?”

• “Should I finish the sermon with an invitation?”

• “That song doesn’t fit with my sermon! How can I move from a song on heaven to my sermon on the Judgment?”

We must not allow the mechanics of leading the service to replace worship in our lives. As we lead worship, we must worship. This inspires worship by the congregation. One speaker said, “As worship leaders we are not sheep dogs who nip at the heels of the congregation to force them in the direction we want. We are worshippers who invite the congregation to go with us into God’s presence.” A congregation doesn’t worship when the leader tells them to worship; they worship when the leader worships. The worship leader leads by example.

Leading with encouragement

Susanna was up until 3:00 a.m. caring for a sick child. After three hours of sleep, she arose to prepare breakfast and get ready for church. She arrived at church exhausted from lack of sleep, discouraged because she reprimanded her son harshly when he forgot to put away a toy, and spiritually drained because she had little time alone with God this week.

Pastor Joel wants to see more involvement in worship. After the first song, he steps to the pulpit, “What is wrong with you people? We are in the presence of God. We are worshipping the King, and some of you look like you would rather be at home asleep! You should be embarrassed. Join in worship!”

Pastor Joel’s intentions are good. He wants his congregation to be active worshippers, but what does Susanna hear? “I’m a failure as a mother; I was too hard on my son. I’m a failure as a Christian; I missed my devotions yesterday. I’m even a failure at attending church; God is angry because I didn’t sing.” By using guilt as a motivator, Pastor Joel has made worship even more difficult for Susanna.

As worship leaders, we should encourage worship; we should model worship in our own life; we can then leave the results to God. It is God’s grace that makes worship possible; it is God’s grace that empowers true worship; it is God’s grace that draws the heart of a worshipper.

We should encourage worship with positive words, but we should not try to manipulate worshippers with guilt or by trying to artificially stir the emotions. Our goal is to point worshippers to God. He inspires worship; worship is not dependent on our motivational techniques or emotional manipulation. We as worship leaders do not need to do God’s job!

This section began with the story of Susanna. Let’s finish with a true story of a humble, encouraging worship leader. David struggled to get youth active in worship. He found that they were more focused on text messaging than on worship. Some leaders would have started service with something like this: “Kids, we are here to worship. Put away those phones and pay attention to worship. You are being disrespectful to God!”

David did something much different. As the guitarist played a quiet song of worship, David gently said, “As we come into God’s presence, I know you don’t want to distract your neighbor from worship. Let’s all put away our phones and listen to God’s voice this morning.” Every person in the room put away their phone. David humbly taught his youth to worship.

Leading or Manipulating?

Listen to the testimony of a contemporary worship leader:

“As a freshman, I visited a church near my university; its… flashy lights and loud music [were] exciting. The worship leader had styled hair, jeans and an expensive guitar. At the beginning of the service, I noticed an unused microphone set up at his waist level. ‘What purpose could that serve?’ I wondered, and then I raised my hands and lost myself in the tunes.

“The sound was wonderful, the praise team was outstanding, and the music was carefully planned to lead to the last song. As the leader sang the final words (‘I’m falling on my knees, offering all of me’), he fell to his knees. It was at this point that I realized the purpose of the unused microphone. It was placed at the perfect height so the leader would be able to sing and play the guitar while on his knees. I do not want to judge the intentions of this church, but I could not help but feel like I was being manipulated to react to this emotional moment, which had clearly been planned ahead of time.”[4]

This example comes from contemporary worship, but we could also use examples from traditional worship. The problem of manipulation is not limited to one worship style. Regardless of our musical style or sincere intentions, we can treat the congregation as puppets that we manipulate into a particular emotional response.

Is emotion in worship wrong? No; we see many biblical examples of the emotional impact of worship. Is it wrong to attempt to inspire an emotional response? No; good communication touches both the mind and the emotions. However, if we are not careful, we can work to create a particular emotional effect, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

How can we tell the difference between worship leadership and manipulation? Manipulation comes when the response of the congregation depends on the effectiveness of the leaders’ actions rather than on the power of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we can never perfectly distinguish between leading and manipulating, but there are some signs that suggest we may be crossing the line into manipulation.

1. We are in danger of manipulating worship when we confuse emotion with worship. We begin to feel that it is our responsibility to create an emotional response. Some worship leaders have even said, “Fake it until it is real. Fake the emotion until people feel it for real.” This assumes that our job is to use emotion to create worship. Worship leaders lead worship; we do not create worship.

2. We are in danger of manipulating worship when we assume that a state of high emotion is required for heart change. God can work in a church service filled with emotion, but he can also work in quiet moments at home. We are in danger of trying to manipulate the congregation if we believe that it is only through our efforts that God can bring change in the hearts of those we serve.

3. We are in danger of manipulating worship when we equate a particular physical action with worship. Sometimes a leader wants the people to respond, so he says, “If you love Jesus, you will raise your hands.” Obviously, it is entirely possible that someone in the congregation who does not truly love Jesus will have their hands raised! Or, someone in the congregation who does love Jesus may not have their hands raised. Worship is not equated with a particular physical action. Clapping while singing does not prove that we are worshipping any more than sitting quietly during prayer proves that we are praying. Only God sees the heart of the worshipper. “When worship leaders make external actions the main test of internal attitudes, they are treading on dangerous ground.”[5]

4. We are in danger of manipulating worship when we attempt to duplicate what God has done at another time or place. We should not assume that because God blessed a particular song last week, he must bless the same song this week. When God works, he works in his own way. Worship leaders must leave God free to come as he chooses. There is no magic recipe that creates the same spiritual response in every situation.

5. We are in danger of manipulating worship when we measure our ministry by our ability to gain a response from the people. Any public speaker or musician loves to get a response from the audience; that is normal. But when we measure the effectiveness of our ministry by these reactions, we are in danger of relying on our skill rather than on the Holy Spirit.

This topic is difficult. Many times the same words spoken in two different situations represent very different motivations. On one hand, if we are careless we can begin manipulating worship. On the other hand, if we are too fearful of emotion we may provide no leadership at all!

Because of this, we should be slow to judge someone else’s worship leadership but quick to evaluate our own leadership. We must ask God to show us our motives in leading. We must be careful to lead in worship without manipulating the worshippers to a particular response that we desire.

Practical Questions

How do we begin the service?

A bad example:

At 10:00, it is time to begin service. The pastor is trying to find the song leader. Three ladies are sharing a recipe. Four men are talking about the lack of rain for crops. How do we move from all this activity into worship?

One of the important responsibilities of the worship leader is the opening of the service. How do we invite God’s people into God’s presence?

• Some churches begin with a moment of silence. The leader simply begins, “Join us in a moment of silent prayer as we enter God’s presence.”

• Some churches begin with a musical “Call to Worship.” This can be sung by a choir or individual, or it can be a chorus for the congregation. In some churches, the pastor will step to the front and begin singing a chorus such as, “I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart….”

• Some churches begin with a verse of scripture, often drawn from the Psalms.
  Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! (Psalm 95:1-2)

Psalms that invite worshippers into God’s presence include Psalm 15, Psalm 66:1-4, Psalm 96:1-4, Psalm 100, Psalm 105:1-3, Psalm 107:1-3, Psalm 149:1-2, and Psalm 150.

Are announcements worship?

A Spanish pastor asked, “Where do announcements fit into worship? We try to focus on worship and God’s presence in our church. We have a wonderful service and then end with a long list of boring announcements. This affects the spirit of the service. How do we make announcements part of worship?”

Regardless of where we put announcements, they can disrupt the service. Announcements are rarely worship; instead, they interrupt worship. What can you do? There is no perfect answer, but a few suggestions may help:

• When possible, print announcements rather than reading them aloud. When you must make public announcements, keep them short.

• Use an overhead projector to project the announcements before the service starts.

• Some churches have the announcements, a time of prayer, and then the service begins. There is one church that begins its service at 10:00. This church does the announcements at 9:50. The pastor said, “This accomplishes two things. First, it encourages people to come early because they won’t hear the announcements if they aren’t here by 9:50. Second, it allows us to focus entirely on worship from the first words of the service.”

• Don’t let announcements interrupt the spirit of worship. Instead, see the announcements as part of accomplishing the ministry of the church, make the announcements, and move on. When we recognize that the activities of the church (prayer fellowships, service to the community, outreach events, and church projects) are part of worship, the announcements of these activities are part of the church’s worship. Just as a father might end a family’s devotions by reminding the family of the week’s plans, the pastor might end a worship service by reminding the church family of the week’s activities. Announcements of the church’s activities remind us that we are a family; the fellowship of the family is an important aspect of worship.

A new bride was cooking a ham for Sunday dinner. Before putting the ham in the oven, she carefully cut off one end of the ham and placed it in a smaller pan. Her husband asked, “Why do you do that?”

“That is how you are supposed to cook a ham. My mother always cut one end from the ham before cooking it. I think it helps the flavor.” The young bride began to wonder, “What does cutting the end of the ham do for the flavor?” She called her mother to ask, “Why do you cut off one end from the ham?”

Her mother said, “Because your grandmother, my mother, always cut one end from the ham before cooking. It must help the flavor. Let’s ask her.”

The young bride called the ancient grandmother. The grandmother no longer cooked, but she answered their question. “Yes, I remember why I cut the end from the ham. When your grandfather and I married, we could not afford many cooking pans. My only roasting pan was small. A ham wouldn’t fit in my pan unless I cut off one end!”

For 50 years the lady’s daughter and then granddaughter had continued a “tradition” that had no meaning. They had never asked, “Why?”

As worship leaders, we sometimes do things without considering “Why?”

Reasons churches do things in particular ways:

1. Churches in the past did it. There is value in tradition. If churches in the past did something, we should not throw it out without asking, “Why did they do it?” We may find good reason to preserve the tradition; but if “churches in the past did it” is the only reason, it may not be enough.

2. Big churches do it. There is value in learning from others. If a practice works in other churches, we should ask, “Is this practice beneficial to us? Why do they do it?” We may find that there is good reason for copying a worship practice; but if “big churches do it” is the only reason, it may not be helpful for our situation.

3. People like it. There is value in worship that encourages participation of the people. There is nothing in scripture that says, “Your worship should be boring!” We may find that a favorite song of our people is true and is worshipful. If so, that is wonderful; but if people like a song that teaches false doctrine, we must not sing it.

4. It allows us to worship God in spirit and in truth. This is the ultimate reason for what we do. In planning worship and in leading worship, we should ask, “Does this song help us to better worship God? Does this order of worship lead us into God’s presence? Will an invitation be the best way to invite a response to this sermon, or should we end with a song of praise? How do we worship God in spirit and in truth this week?”

The congregation sang the opening hymn halfheartedly. The choir had practiced, but they sang poorly that morning. The soloist forgot her words. The pianist played wrong notes. The pastor’s sermon did not seem to connect with the people. The service was a disaster. Has it ever happened to you? What do you do when you have failed in leading worship?

(1) Remember, all worship is rehearsal.

Our worship is rehearsal for heavenly worship. We are imperfect people, and our worship will always be imperfect. “We are called to give our best in worship, not to offer perfection.”[1]

(2) Next week is coming.

Don’t resign on Monday. Wait till Tuesday to analyze the service. Learn from the failure and move on. In the service just described, the opening hymn was unfamiliar to the congregation. The director thought they knew that hymn; they didn’t. He made a note in his hymnal, “Teach this hymn to the choir before the congregation sings it again.” Learn from your mistakes, seek God’s help, and allow God to work through you the next Sunday.

(3) Remember, worship is about grace.

Many worship leaders are perfectionists; we are never satisfied. Worship is not about perfection; worship is about grace. God works even through our failures to achieve his goals. This is how it should be! As we realize that it is God who empowers worship, we are brought to a place of humility and submission.

(4) If we have given our best, we have not failed.

That Sunday, the worship leader walked out of the church discouraged. As he left the building, Timothy was waiting for him. Timothy was shy and rarely spoke, but that morning he said, “You played ‘Jesus Loves Me’ for the offering.” (Yes, the worship leader knew what he’d played – he had messed up!) But Timothy went on, “I needed to hear that song. This week the doctor told me that I have cancer; I needed to be reminded that Jesus loves me.”

If we have given our best, we have not failed. God works through our feeble efforts to speak his Word to the people we serve.

► Group discussion. Look at “Lesson 8 in Review.” Are there any points with which you disagree? Which points do you feel are most important for your immediate use?

To view or print Reviews of all lessons, click here for a PDF.

(1) How do we prepare for a worship service?

• Preparation for the worship service begins with preparation of the worship leader through time with God.

• A pattern for planning helps provide structure to the worship service.

• A theme for the worship service helps communicate a central message.

• Balance makes sure our worship speaks the whole gospel to the whole church.

  • Balanced worship shows both God’s majesty and God’s presence with us.

  • Balanced worship is both corporate and personal.

  • Balanced worship includes both the familiar and the new.

• Planning for worship should include the entire church leadership team.

• Planning for worship should look at the long term.

• We can plan without pressure because worship is not about us; it is about God.

(2) What is important in leading a worship service?

• The most important audience in worship is God.

• The congregation, worship leaders, and God all interact in the worship service. The leaders do not perform worship for the audience.

• The worship leader must worship. He leads by example.

• The worship leader should be encouraging, not condemning.

• The worship leader must lead, not manipulate.

• Announcements should be handled in the least disruptive way possible.

• After planning worship, we should leave it to God to enter our services in the way he chooses to come.

(1) In Lessons 6 and 7, you selected songs and scriptures on five different topics. Plan a service based on each of the five topics. Be as detailed as possible in planning a unified service, including congregational songs, scriptures, a sermon topic and text, as well as any other items appropriate for your service. Use one or more outlines provided in Appendix A for this project.

(2) At the beginning of the next lesson, you will take a test based on this lesson. Study the test questions carefully in preparation.

To view or print Tests of all lessons, click here for a PDF.

(1) List the two main sections in a worship structure centered on the sermon.

(2) List the four main sections in a worship structure based on the activity of God’s people in worship.

(3) List the three main sections in a worship structure based on Psalm 95.

(4) What three things should we remember about balanced worship?

(5) In a biblical model of worship, who is the audience for our worship?

(6) List three qualities of an effective worship leader.

(7) What are three signs that we may be manipulating worship?

(8) Write 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 from memory.