Worship leaders must set a good example beyond their regularly scheduled service times.
- We aren’t just worship leaders when we’re on a platform in front of our congregations.
- Our role is not confined to an assigned instrument or microphone.
If we truly love our God and desire to worship Him, we will exhibit spiritual, truthful worship not only from the stage but when we’re standing in the gathered congregation.
Worship leaders (this includes all members of a worship team), if our attendance at our gathered worship services is limited to the times when we’re scheduled to serve, what kind of example are we setting for those we are called to lead? We’re likely sending them these messages:
- It’s not important to attend every time the congregation gathers to worship.
- We don’t need to participate in worship from the congregation since we’re only called to lead in front of the congregation.
- We’re so spiritual that we’re exempt from participating outside of our regularly scheduled service times.
If you do attend regularly even when you’re not scheduled to serve with the worship team, consider whether your worshipful participation in the gathered congregation continues to lead your people well. Are you actively engaging in the worship service? Do you sing out with all your heart? Do you lift your hands to the Lord? Do you sincerely participate in the liturgical prayers and Scripture readings? Are you worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth (whatever that may look like for you) when you’re not in the leadership spotlight on stage?
Our goal should not be to actively engage in worship from the pews in order to draw attention to ourselves. Rather, we should seek to continue leading the congregation in worship by modeling a worshipful and thankful attitude as we worship alongside them. We should be eager to gather with the church and to worship our Great God together, whether scheduled to serve and lead from the front, or whether we “have the week off.”
Is our worship genuine if we’re only modeling worshipful and thankful hearts when we’re on the stage, or are we just performing and not truly worshiping?
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Good reminder! And the biggest indictment in this is probably that lots of staff worship leaders brush it off because they never attend their home church, they’re never “in the pews.” 🙁
I think this can also go for when we finish leading worship during the service. I have had some of my worship team members that will walk out of the service once they leave the stage and go hang out in the fellowship area and it drives me crazy. We need to make sure that we are not sending the message that our part of the service is the only important part to us. So we need to make sure that we are participating and paying attention to the rest of the service as well. Just thought I would add that in there.
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