Please carefully consider the following questions, and know that we ask these respectfully:   

   Are you passionate about your worship to God? 

Are you passionate about your congregation’s worship services? 

Do you look forward to the next worship service… anticipate it… 

long for it, even as soon as the previous service ends?

   Or…   Is your worship to the Almighty rote? (is it truly “worship” then?) Is it simply a designated time to “check off” the required items of worship? Is there no sense of anticipation, except for it to end?  

There are so many directions to go in addressing these questions. However, we want to narrow our thoughts for this video to a few comparisons that will, hopefully, encourage and motivate us to not only have a passion for worship, but to even make it our passion to better provide services in which our fellow members can truly worship.  

Where many do express a passion towards the worship service, thankfully, is toward the minister. So many compliments toward a congregation by her members… so many invitations extended by members… are based on their good feelings toward their minister (e.g., his lessons, his charisma, his sincerity). Truly, it is wonderful that they are so happy with and proud of him! I am blessed to count a number of gospel ministers as friends. In fact, a few of my closest friends are full-time ministers. It thrills me to hear good, kind, complimentary things said of men who, so many times, seem to be at the receiving end of the wrath stick for reasons such as: “he sometimes doesn’t wear a tie”; “he referenced a translation that King James didn’t authorize.”   

However, for far too long, many congregations have seemingly built and gauged the success of the worship service solely on the backs of the ministers and their sermons. Consider some of the shortcomings of this approach: it deprives our Father of the worship He seeks; it can deny the congregation a true opportunity to worship because emphasis and effort toward the rest of the service is lacking; and it does a great disservice to the minister. Too many ministers are over-burdened by this expectation, leading to stress and burnout, resignations/firings, and sometimes even leaving the pulpit permanently.   

 Elderships and congregations would do a great service to all involved if we accepted, personally, the same challenges and expectations we place on our ministers: preparation, enthusiasm, passion, and even emotion. We are each responsible for our individual worship and for our participation in corporate worship.  These responsibilities are not ones that can be doled out or delegated to others. These responsibilities are ours, and we should look at them not only as personal responsibilities but great personal privileges.   

Further, we should encourage those who lead and preside in worship to adequately, diligently, and prayerfully prepare for their roles. Ideally, these are men who not only display a passion for worship, but who are also passionate about serving. As much as possible, we should provide them with as much notice as possible with our request for their service, thoughts or a theme of the service on which they can focus, a plan for the order of the service so that there is no confusion or question to distract them from their worship or their role, and opportunities for training and encouragement toward their future service.   

Even further, for those whom we ask to lead the largest part of our worship services, our song leaders, we should especially encourage them to invest time and effort toward planning our songs and services. Because they are often in our pulpits as much as our ministers, and especially because they are usually the ‘first impression’ in our services, their efforts in planning and execution have much influence on the tone and momentum of our services.   

Such tone and momentum also has a great impact on our ministers. Too often, a poorly planned and executed song service can put a minister in a hole before he utters the first syllable of his sermon. Knowing this, the minister may be stressed and distracted even before he steps to the microphone.  In spite of hours of study and preparation, he may now feel like a swimmer with an anvil strapped to his back… week after week after week. This situation too often leads a minister to unhappiness and even burnout, with dire consequences for all involved.   

Conversely, the minister who is blessed to serve an eldership and congregation who expect and receive as much from the song service as the sermon is the minister who has a teammate in his ministry. He is the minister who feels like he has a head start and momentum, the wind at his back and a prepared audience as he begins his presentation. He is the minister who is energized and more effective, and is looking forward to his next opportunity to preach even as he is wrapping up his current sermon.   

As we’ve stated, this latter situation requires elderships and congregations to have higher expectations for their worship services, specifically their song services. It then requires that the song leaders be asked to put more effort and planning into our services, to study and prepare, to work with themes, and to lead the songs selected in a way that communicates the true message. Parallels can and should be drawn between the way a minister delivers his message and the way a song leader expresses and leads the message of his chosen songs.  

 Additionally, song leaders should be provided and encouraged to seek opportunities for additional training, similar to opportunities many ministers seek (e.g., lectureships, seminars, etc.). These opportunities should enhance the leader’s knowledge and skill, be an additional source of encouragement with which the leader can be re-energized, and be an aid toward a deeper love for God and the worship of Him, not only for the leader but for the entire congregation.   

All this said, we want to STRONGLY encourage church members and specifically elderships to demand more from your song services by demanding more from your song leaders. Elderships have an immense responsibility to provide the best opportunity for worship to the congregation. To meet responsibility fully, expectations should be placed on those who wish to lead the congregation in worship; expectations such as “use a pitch instrument” or “attend a song leading seminar.” Song leaders with a true heart toward service will gladly seek to improve as much as possible.  

 We realize what a challenge this can be for elderships. If you have questions or concerns about these thoughts, please contact us and give us the privilege of answer those questions or explaining further these points. We will be glad to explore this!   

May we all humble ourselves before God and allow our love for Him to be demonstrated in our lives and in our worship services!