Singers Vs Worship Leaders

“Morris, please teach us microphone techniques…”
“I cannot sing in that key, it is too high for me…” 

“I am not able to sing as backup while he/she is leading worship… their key is too high, er, guys, can you please tweak that key a little… just a little?” 

“This is how I am used to singing, if you don’t like it that is your own problem. I just can’t sing in the manner you are recommending… I just cannot…”

“That keyboard player/instrumentalist/drummer/guitarist ain’t playing what I want the way I want it… they ain’t bringing out that hook as it should… they are making it too hard for me to sing…”

If you are a leader in a worship team, the above concerns from team members are as common as it can get. You probably have heard it from your team members hundreds of times (depending with how long you have been in charge of singing in that given congregation.) It is also likely that whenever these team members bring up these issues, they actually are not so much interested in making corrections or improving in the art of worship and singing, and in the area of their complaints.

Today, in a short but very direct way, I want to help us differentiate between so-called singers and lead worshipers with reference to a worship team and a church congregation of any size.

First things first though…

I describe singers as anyone who can sing. They sing in the bathroom, while doing laundry, while cooking, while out with friends partying… they just can sing. They may sing with or without order and may or may not be committed members of a worship team. That is what they are.

On the other hand, worship leaders (and not necessarily worship team leaders)are members of a singing community or team that are able to lead and teach others how to sing, and can interact with a crowd (or congregation) and make them (through conviction, gentle persuasion or whatever way) on how to sing whatever they want them to sing – how to sing anything. One unique thing about them (worship leaders) is that they command the stage and everyone falls in tune with whatever they are directing or guiding them to do.

Inasmuch as there are these differences, it is good to note that there is a close resemblance between the two (singers and worship leaders) because they both sing and are both involved (in one way or another) in standing before an audience while singing.

Notable quote: Everyone can sing, but not everyone can lead others in singing. (Especially a congregation full of diversified people from different classes – okay, classes shouldn’t be in Church, or should they? – and cultures.) Everyone knows a song or two, but not everyone can teach that song to everyone else so that they may come out knowing it as much as they should.

So you may be asking yourself, “Morris, why in the whole good world of music are you talking to us about such obvious things…?” Obvious things, huh?

Well, note the following…

The definition of music and worship in the Church has changed a lot over the years. Since the times of The First/Early Church, corporate/congregational worship has changed exponentially. You will agree with me that our differences in denominational upbringing have not only influenced our doctrinal inclination within the Christian community, but that it has also affected the manner in which we worship God. The way we structure our services (on whatever day we have chosen to worship God), the tools and instruments we use, the manner in which we display acts or worship, the stance of our worship leaders, the kind of songs each congregation sings, the way we include others in our singing/worship, the way we incorporate Scripture in our singing/worship services etc… have influenced and redefined the general aura of congregational worship in every church across the world.

Of course, the centre of argument within most worship leaders and pastors in the Christian fraternity around the world will be that we are all seeking to worship God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24), but notably, the truth is that while seeking to worship the Creator in spirit and in truth, we have formed for our own selves differing views on corporate worship and the fruits thereof. This in itself has changed how (or has helped redefine how) members of a given worship team interact with each other and afterwards, with the congregation. This also defines how well they will rehearse and practice before presenting the aftermath of this to the congregation.

For instance, a worship team that cares less about the quality and influence of the music they produce before God and the congregation will have more singers than worship leaders. It will have a greater number of its team concentrating on performance than on a relationship and intimacy with the God that is being worshipped. This team will practice less, mind less about knowing their strong and weak points while working as a team and will neither pray for a better presentation and the movement of the Spirit of God nor about the people being ministered to during the worship service.

You probably have also heard of the emergence of the so-called commercial worship leaders/singers or worship-rock-stars found within many “mega churches”. They have a tendency to not submit to authority and they lack spiritual fervency while “ministering” in those “mega churches” or the spontaneous crowds they are given to “worship” with. They move from place to place “ministering” and “preaching” to these oblivious crowds/congregations and have little or no commitment at all to wanting the impartation of something new and something from God, within the people they “minister” to. This also has contributed to the increase in the number of singers in our worship teams as compared to the number of those who can actually lead worship.

In the preview I read of a book by Stephen Miller called Worship Leaders, We Are Not RockStars, he reiterates that the manner in which a worship leader chooses to worship God even at an individual level, is very determinant of how well they are going to interact with their fellow team members and the congregation that awaits their ministry. He also adds that as a member of a worship team, the central thing should not be to compete on who strums the guitar best, who plays the piano best, who sings best or who knows best but on how much as a team, you are positively moving your church/congregation towards worshiping God in spirit and in truth.

The table below summarizes what I am talking about (Singers vs Worship Leaders);

No.	Singers	Worship leaders/Lead worshipers
1	They can only sing and have fun. They care less about the influence their singing has on the audience.	They can sing and lead others in worship as well. They enjoy the singing yeah, but are also keen on making the congregation meet with their Creator.
2	They claim to have difficulty in singing in set-up groups with other singers within the worship team. They are oblivious of the team’s strengths and weaknesses.	They can sing, lead and back-up. They interact well with team members and can point out strengths and weaknesses within the team.
3	They have no understanding of their vocal or voice range.	They understand the whole concept of where their voice or vocal range is and can alter it at any time.
4	Have a high affinity to blaming others when things go wrong and would rather teach than be taught.	Are reluctant to lead and think themselves as imperfect and still need to do a few things with their skills before they are ready to lead.
5	They concentrate on performance rather than on intimacy and a relationship with the One being worshipped.	They concentrate more on a relationship and intimacy with the One being worshipped rather than on performance.
6	They are more of people-pleasers than they are God-pleasers. They therefore seek excitement and “a feeling” first before the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit through their singing.	They are more of God-pleasers than they are people-pleasers. They therefore seek the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit through their singing before excitement and a sense of “feeling”.

As a warning to most of us who care less about worship as a ministry that plays an important role in the spiritual growth of a church, and one which cuts across all the major offices of the church, Christ Jesus our LORD said the following in Matthew 15:13 (NKJV) “But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which my Heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch…’”

Till next time,

Bonface Morris.

Do Not Come Alone!

More often than not, a question pops in my mind: "Do I really do the things I do in the manner that they should be done when it comes to worship and leading worship?" "Do I follow the right steps and the prompting of the Holy Spirit in order to have the right impact on the audience I am serving?” “Am I too apt or too exotic?”

I do ask myself such questions because, first, most of the time, I am concerned about how I lead worship; and second, it is because this is what happens to every worship leader or singer out there (or anyone interacting with the public from time to time). We always feel insufficient on how we deliver whatever we are assigned to deliver.
Last Sunday, I was privileged to visit a certain church in a remote area some few kilometres from where I stay, and good enough, with it came the opportunity to finish writing this blog post that I had started writing a few months back but still needed “enough inspiration”.
Just the day before Sunday, I had been talking to a friend of mine about something I call “the music style of a church or a congregation.” I was telling him that it is not possible for all church congregations to have the same music style. (Music style in this case being the way a worship team within a congregation sings, the type(s) of songs they sing (whether English or vernacular or Swahili or local contemporary or hymnals or African or songs with an Afro fusion), the musical instruments they use in worship, their number of singers, song arrangement, the way they involve the congregation in worship or dancing etc).
This came about after realizing that my church (after being here for a while) has a certain music style ardently followed by the members, and although I know that most of us are in limbo of its reign upon us, it is a reality we can’t evade. The truth is that only certain songs sang in a certain manner blend well with us. (This is not to mean that we can’t sing “other types of songs” or “other types of songs in another kind of way”, but that singing them would complicate the whole issue that I am addressing in this post.)
It therefore means that any kind of creativity being introduced in my church will still have to flirt with the baseline that is its music style. Only then will any new songs being introduced be “acceptable” by at least 90% of its members. This “music style” depicts what songs and how songs are sang in our church, and also if these songs can still be needed (be on demand) or liked whenever we come to worship in singing.

Now, back to talking about my visit to that small church…
There are a few things I learned in the worship sessions from that small congregation;

a)      The originality with which they sing their songs

b)     The coherence and unison in their “music style” – how well the members pick up a song right after the first line is sang

c)      The passion both in the worship leader and the congregation while engaging in worship

I learned that they are these “tiny” things in life that possess the greatest lessons we can ever learn. You don’t need “big congregations” or “thunderous voices” or “award-winning Gospel artists” (although they are all good in serving one purpose or another) in order to learn a lesson or two about worship. No, you just need your sensitivity to the voice of God.
Of course this church did music in a way that my church never does. In fact, I didn’t even understand or blend well with some of their songs and dancing, but you know what? they made me like it – they moved me within them until I was able to be like them - so I sang and danced along to what I didn’t even understand! And did it really matter that I did not understand what they were singing or their dancing styles? Or that their music style was “out of place”? I don’t think so. The worship leaders were achieving their goal: taking the congregation to their Father and their Maker – that is all that mattered! They didn’t go before the throne of God alone! No, they didn’t…
With the few lessons I learnt above, I realize that  role of a worship leader – whether they belong to the biggest or the smallest congregation in this world – is to lead people to God. The worship leader should achieve, at least in one moment of worship, the task of taking people to God. He/she should never go to God alone. After all has been said and done, God will still be sitting on His throne waiting to see the worship leader bring His people home - that is a worship leader’s responsibility.
There are a few things that may warp this great commission though;

a)    Lack of good communication or linkage between the worship leader and the congregation -  I am always of the opinion that if the worship leader realizes that the people in the congregation need him/her to be social with them and freed-up, interaction with these church members during or before worship, or yet still outside the confines of the church should be made more of a priority than a option. A cat can’t lead dogs to war nor can a horse race with donkeys. The results will be utter prejudice. If the worship leader is stuck “into his/her own world” from which they don’t want to get out of, how do you expect it to be a simple task, that one of holding people’s hands and leading them to their Father? If he/she can’t meet them where they are, taking them to where he/she wants them to go will be the hardest thing to do on this earth. He/she needs first to move with them at their pace, understanding them and tolerating them, and then pull them up to the unknown. They should start from the known to the unknown. Connecting with people before connecting them with God is the greatest thing a worship leader can ever do in the way of achieving the goal of not going to God alone, and it is the most basic thing every worship leader should ever understand.

b)    The viral desire to become like every other famous/modern church you know – most campus students (and mostly those who come from the countryside) will confess that the type of fellowship (or cherch, as many will put it) they have at campus overrides what they experience when they go back home during the holidays. This is also true with most people living in towns and cities when they go back home to these “small churches”. In such circumstances, or to the worship leader who happens to experience “another level of worship” in other churches, wisdom should be practised when wanting to change a few things in these “remote congregations” when they go back to them. Yes, it is not easy to change a church’s music style overnight and it may not even be possible, but it is important to be keen on the following things:

-      God’s timing - everything needs the intervention of God. Everything. Never override God’s intentions for your worship team by replacing them with your own selfish desires. Pray before commencing to effect any desired change in activities. Seek Him first. Let this always take centre stage, so that even if it fails (and it doesn’t have to), you will still be confident that it was of God, and that He had your back.

-      A church’s teachability - does your church take long to learn new stuff? What about the members of your worship team? Are they able to sing songs in the music style you are introducing? This will determine “how much change they can receive and tolerate” before it blows into your face.

-      Taking risks - Yes, it may not be possible for these people to adopt a new way of doing things, but you also need to learn to take risks. Introduce these new things in bits, ensuring that neither the worship team nor the congregation is overwhelmed by what you are bringing in. Remember that maintaining the status quo won’t lift you to a new level of worship, so always dare to do things differently even if it may not be mutually accepted by all.

My parting shot: always, as a worship leader, as you consider what I’ve said above, never ever go to God alone… because even right now, somewhere within me, I can still hear Him whispering to us, "The next time you come, boy/girl, don't come alone!"


Bonface Morris.