Worship Matters

Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God

By Bob Kauflin

Good News Publishers

Copyright © 2008 Sovereign Grace Ministries
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-58134-824-8

Contents

Foreword by Paul Baloche,
Part One: The Leader,
1 The Important Things,
2 My Heart: What Do I Love?,
3 My Mind: What Do I Believe?,
4 My Hands: What Do I Practice?,
5 My Life: What Do I Model?,
Part Two: The Task,
6 So What Does a Worship Leader Do?,
7 A Faithful Worship Leader ...,
8 ... Magnifies the Greatness of God ...,
9 ... In Jesus Christ ...,
10 ... Through the Power of the Holy Spirit ...,
11 ... Skillfully Combining God's Word ...,
12 ... With Music ... (Part One: What Kind?),
13 ... With Music ... (Part Two: Planning Sunday's Songs),
14 ... Thereby Motivating the Gathered Church ...,
15 ... To Proclaim the Gospel ...,
16 ... To Cherish God's Presence ...,
17 ... And to Live for God's Glory,
Part Three: Healthy Tensions,
18 Guiding Principles,
19 Transcendent and Immanent,
20 Head and Heart,
21 Internal and External,
22 Vertical and Horizontal,
23 Planned and Spontaneous,
24 Rooted and Relevant,
25 Skilled and Authentic,
26 For the Church and for Unbelievers,
27 Event and Everyday,
Part Four: Right Relationships,
28 Always People,
29 Your Church,
30 Your Team,
31 Your Pastor,
32 Some Thoughts for Pastors,
A Brief Annotated Bibliography,
Special Thanks,
Notes,

CHAPTER 1

THE IMPORTANT THINGS

It was my dream job. I'd just become Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries. After pastoring for twelve years, I was now studying worship and training worship leaders full-time.

I was leading worship at a conference and should have been exhilarated. After praying with the worship team I headed up the stairs to start the meeting. The room was overflowing, the atmosphere electric. Every heart was ready to praise God.

Well, almost. From the outside I'm sure no one could tell what I was thinking. That was a good thing.

As I made my way to the stage, I suddenly found myself battling doubts.

What difference will this make tonight? Will it have any eternal value? People will sing, raise their hands, get excited ... and go home. And I'll do this over and over and over again. For the rest of my life.

Suddenly it all seemed empty. Dry. Pointless.

Ever been there? Have you found yourself wondering where your joy went or if what you do really matters?

A friend of mine confided that one of his greatest struggles in leading worship is fighting the feeling that he has to "get up and do it again" for the two-hundredth time. He has to resist going through the motions and simply "mailing it in."

I don't think he's alone.

IS THIS WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR?

Don't get me wrong. I think leading God's people in worship is one of the most fulfilling, enjoyable, exciting, sobering, life-changing jobs on the planet. We're helping people connect with the purpose for which they were created — to glorify the living God. We're pointing their hearts toward the Sovereign One who is greater than their trials and kinder than they could ever imagine. We get to display the matchless Savior who died in our place, conquering sin, death, and hell in the process.

We watch in amazement as the Spirit of God transforms lives and gives people a fresh encounter with God's faithfulness, love, and power.

At times like these we think, I can't believe I get to do this. (And if you're on a church staff, you might add, "I can't believe I get paid to do this.") But then come the times we'd be happy to pay someone else to do this.

• You lead vocalist is sick, your bass player's out of town, and your keyboardist slept in. And no one called to find a sub.

• A small but infulental group in the church just informed the pastor they don't like the songs you've been teaching.

• After two years in your new church, you still don't have a drummer who can keep steady time.

• Your best singer just told you she's not coming to this week's rehearsal unless she gets to sing the solo.

• For the fifth week in a row, your pastor e-mailed to say the music went too long and you talked too much. Moments like these make you think that leading worship would be a joy if it didn't involve working with others.

But just as often we struggle with our own hearts:

• No one seems to appreciate or even notice that on top of a full-time job you put in at least ten hours each week for the worship team.

• The last time you taugh a new song was eight months ago, and CDs are piled on your desk that you still haven't listened to.

• You put off confronting a guirarist whose critical and proud attitude is affecting the whole team.

• You can't remember the last time you prayed more than five minutes, and you feel like a hypocrite as you lead on Sundays.

• You never have enough hours to plan, prepare, study, practice, or work with the music team. Which makes you wonder what in the world you're doing with your time.

And yet ...

Despite these and other difficulties, you believe the joys of leading worship far outweigh the challenges. You wouldn't think of giving it up.

You just want to do it better. More effectively. More skillfully. More faithfully.

I'm guessing that's why you picked up this book. I hope so because that's why I wrote it.

But I have to confess something.

I didn't write this book simply to help you be a better worship leader. There's more at stake here.

After thirty years of leading worship, I've realized that worship isn't just an opportunity to use my musical gifts. It's more than a heightened emotional experience or a way to make a living. It's way more than what we do on Sunday morning.

Worship is about what we love. What we live for.

It's about who we are before God.

This book is filled with practical ideas for leading worship. But we don't start there. These initial chapters are about the way we think and live. I want to challenge, encourage, and inspire you to live your life for the glory and praise of Jesus Christ. Holding nothing back. Giving no ground. It's the only kind of life that makes sense for someone who leads worship.

But first, a little background.

HOW I GOT HERE

My first experience of music in a church context came as a Catholic, when I played the organ for Masses, weddings, and funerals. There wasn't much "leadership" involved. I just played what I was told. When I could, I'd sneak in "sacred" versions of Beatles tunes, college fight songs, or nursery rhymes to make it interesting.

In the early seventies, I majored in piano at Temple University in Philadelphia. I became a Christian during my first year and started visiting a Baptist church on campus. When my friends and I noticed we were the only people in the church under sixty, we tried starting our own church in the dorms. That lasted two meetings.

Then someone invited us to a charismatic church in Center City Philadelphia. We heard the meetings were pretty lively, especially when they broke into line dancing around the pews. I helped with the worship team there and eventually was asked to lead, to use the term generously.

Between my junior...