Finally, worship leading

This month the finally download runs to five pages. What can I say? Worship Leading has been a bit of a hobbyhorse of mine since my earliest endeavours back in the early 1980s. My book (School of Praise) explains far more, as the final chapter, Appendix C, is deliberately autobiographical as I attempt to put into words my own praise odyssey. The three blogs on this site, intriguingly called Led Zeppelin & Worship Leading also offer a window into my own reflective journey from leading songs in small group environments to facilitating, as a worship leader, two-hour slots in extended periods of 24 or 48-hour prayer events.

My cry, my prayer, is that churches embrace the breadth of biblical praise, so the once crafted song-list becomes more like some Spirit-infused ‘signposts’ to allow worshippers to honour God, celebrate God, give thanks, bring timely intercession and even engage in spiritual warfare. Obviously 15 minutes during a crammed Sunday morning service is not a great starting point for this – but, once the ‘copycat song-leader’ starts to emerge from their ignorance into an informed true worship leader, then even a 10-minute slot can take on an extraordinary level of spiritual authenticity and intensity.

I once witnessed a piece of church drama on a Sunday morning. Though on this occasion, one of the actors was a professional. He had been in television dramas and performed in many London theatres. When he spoke on that Sunday morning amidst the keen amateurs his voice was instantly immersed in his character – it was striking, unexpected but undeniable. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking you to act! However, when pneumatic integrity manifests in your ministry – the result is highly detectable. Well, at least to those longing to worship in spirit and in truth, for their spiritual (pneumatic) integrity will resonate with yours. Of course, your musical prowess and vocal skills will instil a sense of confidence to the congregation, but greater (in addition to these natural talents) will be your pneumatic integrity and anointing for that specific occasion.

Let me explain, talent, gifting and anointing are three components. All three are needed. Psalm 33 tells the musicians to play skilfully – this is about natural talent or having a natural ability. Gifting (in this context, I mean, spiritual gifting), though not a specific spiritual gift (as listed in various New Testament passages), but the growing spiritual awareness of your ministry, grounded in Scripture and often enhanced by teaching and personal experiences through leading and receiving. Finally, anointing. The Spirit is within you for your benefit; and comes upon you for the benefit of others. I believe the latter anointing here is not a permanent reality, whereas talent and spiritual gifting (awareness) are… and these two things can increase in measure. From Scripture and personal experience, external anointing is both a specific moment in time and a spiritual variable. Remember, no methodology can force God’s hand. Never forget, the anointing is a Person! The (Person of the) Holy Spirit anointing Jesus, the indwelling Holy Spirit John talks about in 1 John 2:20-27. Recall from Psalm 22, God inhabits the praises of His people, and again the presence of the cloud in the Temple – there are ‘sounds’ that attract heaven. Likewise, there are attitudes that weaken faith and diminish (in that place, at that time) the workings of God (Matthew 13:58). Your anointing as a worship leader is undoubtedly linked to your pneumatic integrity and your ‘in the moment’ desire and expectation to serve God and His church. Sadly, external pressures, personal fatigue, and annoyingly the less than expectant congregation can all diminish that anointing. Grace still wins! I have stories of God’s presence manifesting in some of the most surprising and unexpected environments.

And now, the difference between praise and worship – oh, that old chestnut. Social media is full of critics denouncing charismatic churches and what they perceive as emotionalism replacing true worship. As always, ignorance, misinformation and at times deliberate disinformation reign in the ‘air’ of the internet environment. Jesus announced in John 8:44, the devil to be the father of lies, so don’t be surprised that a piece of global technology that has so many features for our good, was so quickly riddled with horrors and deceit. Back to praise and worship. The words have gained their own meanings by different uses over the last few decades. So, let’s put the record straight. Our English word for worship comes from an old English word for worth. You can see the similarities. We worship what we deem worthy. Revelation 5:9 deems the Lamb upon the throne as ‘worthy…’ Romans 1 argues that if we fail to worship God, we still end up worshipping something. And that something will be, by definition, inferior to God. The Creator becomes replaced by creation. Idols that look like reptiles, or bulls, or cats! Or perhaps we’ll hug a tree to gain its life energies. The other biblical truth is that we become like the thing we worship. Teenagers dress like their idols, copy their words and even attitudes. Gloriously, 2 Corinthians 3:16, talks of believers being transformed (literally transfigured) into the likeness of Christ as we reflect upon His glory. Worship is an attitude. Worship ought to touch every aspect of our lives – our language, our priorities, our finances, our thoughts. With such a rich biblical concept you can see how people can get annoyed when someone on a Sunday says, “Let’s have a time of worship.” Aargh!

In Hebrew, the word praise has at least seven different words. These are explained (in part and very briefly) in this month's Finally download. Praise is rooted in song and music, and the human responses our bodies make to such praise – raised hands, clapping, kneeling, shouting etc.

Whereas worship affects every aspect of our lives, praise is more a God ordained niche moment of specific worship. Not all worship is praise, yet all praise ought to be an act of worship. The world is full of languages that contain words that need a context to be fully understood and interpreted. Therefore, if someone on a Sunday morning, whilst standing in front of a group of musicians all ready to play some songs, says that we are going to have a time of worship – I’m not going to pull my hair out! The context is clear. For accuracy, they could say, “We’re going to have a time of praise.” Please (in English) DO NOT say, “A time of sung worship”. The word ‘sung’ sounds like ‘sun’ and sends your thoughts in a very different direction!

Enough said? Are we clear? Do we need to make a further comment about emotionalism? Sticking ‘ism’ on the end of a word seems to be a red flag. John 11:35, Jesus wept. Luke 19:41, Jesus wept again, and earlier in Luke 10:21 He was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit. From Scripture, my conclusion is that God is an emotional God, moved by witnessing our distress and joys. Therefore, as His image-carriers (Genesis 1:27) we too have emotions. Emotions shouldn’t be suppressed, nor recklessly uncontrolled. The problems I see with emotionalism in some church settings, are those who can scream at their favourite football team and weep when watching a movie yet seem only to be vaguely intellectually stimulated in the presence of the Living God. Now, that’s what I call, out of order.  

For me, once we’ve separated out the almost deliberate confusion around worship and praise, the far more important challenge is unpacking the different biblical Hebrew words for praise, in order to eventually and accurately enhance, broaden and deepen the value, purpose and effectiveness of our times of corporate praise. Amen and hallelujah!!

Finally, finally, finally… Worship Leading – the download.