I have been involved with leading or assisting in worship times for nearly twelve years. As my walk with God has progressed, my definition of worship leading has changed. So much so, that I can confidently declare that you too are called to be a worship leader. Not in the confined sense of playing an instrument or singing songs on Sunday, but in a lifelong-look-at-me sort of way.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever had the experience of staring into a sea of unreadable faces, but if you can, imagine with me what a challenging prospect that would be. It’s a tremendous pressure to feel that you are supposed to move a group of people towards some sort of outward response, when there is no positive indication that they intend to do so. I used to think that way. It was frustrating to play music with the hopes of herding the crowd. But that was the goal: to find out where the people were and get them where God supposedly was.
However, I have just recently began to grasp the concept that leading worship is not about pointing to where God is, it’s about standing beside Him and beckoning others to come. Not, Oh there He is! Let’s go over there! but, Come, see! Isn’t He beautiful? Isn’t He amazing? My job as a worship leader is to go there first; to be the one who recognizes the fulness of who God is, and draw attention to the fact that He is worthy. How could we not worship this God who has made his love for us so evident, so obvious? Worship, our lifestyle of continuous pursuit to know God, is the most intelligent response we can have when we are faced with the reality of who Jesus is. And this is the only lifestyle that is attractive enough to be a magnetic force in the world.
This is your call to become a worship leader. If your life does not hold the authority of the words, “I know who I have believed in,” then what authority do you have? Our lives are the only reflection of God to this world. If your mirror is broken, if your perception of God is skewed, what kind of image are you presenting? Our lives should be testimonies of the goodness of God. “You are living epistles, read and known of all men.” The desired result is that people would see God's goodness in our lives, and that ultimately, it would lead them to repentance, and restored relationship with God.
