The Faith of a Worship Leader

I’ve really been sitting on this verse lately:

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. Romans 1:8

Paul is just starting his letter to the church in Rome and going through his initial remarks.  In the midst of introductions he quickly, almost in passing, mentions that the church in Rome is being spoken about by everyone he’s coming in contact with.  He’s hearing about how strong their faith is and of how much good they are doing.  He wasn’t receiving letters from them, he didn’t have to hear from their leaders about what they’re doing.  He was hearing from other people and churches that the church in Rome is the one to model.  It’s the one to be like.

They were known for their faith.

I think you probably know where I’m going with this so I’ll pose it in two ways:

Are people talking about my faith?

Do people hear about how strong you are in the Lord through others?  Do they tell you that they are encouraged by the way you show your faith in difficult situations?

I’m convicted by this thought and I think it’s important to take stock in our own lives and ask this simple question:  “Would people know I love Christ through my daily life?”

Let’s take away for a moment all the things we do in church.  Let’s put the guitar away, forget the fact that we’re on the platform often, drop the “worship leader” title.  You’re just a guy or gal going to the store on a Monday.  Would people know of your faith, of your love for Christ, through your interactions while you’re there?  Were you looking for opportunity to be Christ to people in small interactions?  I think the first step is for all of us to make a point to see how we’re doing this in the little things every day.

At the end of the day, do you think that people are talking about your faith?  Are people inspired to know Christ more through the love that you show for Him?  Once we’re aware of this, it’s also important to look at our team and our church.

Are people talking about the faith of my team?

This is more about the pastoral role that you have when you lead your team.  Are your team members pointing people to Christ?  Do you talk with members of your church who tell you how blessed they are by the ministry and faith of your vocalists?  I’m not talking about the complements on your worship service. Are your team members intentionally blessing people off the platform?  One of the real dangers in worship ministry is that we begin to define ourselves through our platform time.  We see what we’re doing on the stage as our identity and as our service.  I guarantee that at least one person on your team feels this way.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a high calling to serve on the worship platform but this high calling demands that we take stock of our lives and the lives of those we join to lead.  Take the time to talk with your team about what you want to see.  Be transparent with where you’re at and walk the journey with them.  Help them know Christ more and become burdened with making him known.  Our worship leadership becomes stronger as we come to know and serve Christ more.

It’s funny how it works like that. Give it a try.