Worship Blind Spots

For those of us who drive, we know that a blind spot is an area that cannot be seen due to an obstruction. The best way to overcome these blind spots is by acknowledging them and finding other ways to see around them. As worship leaders, we have a duty to lead effective and meaningful times of worship, yet sometimes we have our own blind spots that hinder us from driving the congregation in the best direction. What are some of these possible blind spots and what can we do as worship leaders to see the big picture more clearly?

Song Requests

This is something that has recently come up again in my church. Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely great to connect with your congregants to get a feel of what songs are on their hearts these days. But it is our role to lead and facilitate our times of worship, which probably means you have already set up a particular vision with your leadership. While I do listen to these song requests/suggestions, I will apply them when they fit with the church’s vision, direction, or season. If you start fulfilling requests, the danger here is that you may find yourself getting comfortable (or uncomfortably comfortable) doing so, to the point where everybody else has a say in song selection except for you! Remember that worship isn’t like a karaoke session. Consider all the factors before using a song suggestion.

Time Constraints

Many of our churches will have a worship service time limit… perhaps because of Sunday School pick-ups, the next service waiting to enter, parking volunteers needing to attend to cars, or people just have places to be! Whatever the reason, it might put a strain on your timeliness. But don’t try to squeeze as many songs as you can for the sake of being able to play more. I know we may want to make the most of that particular week’s musicians but be flexible and be receptive to the songs, to the moment, and to the way the Spirit leads. Fully leading two songs could have a bigger impact than rushing three. As Tim Hughes has said: “By serving the song, we’re serving the church; and by serving the church, we’ll be serving God.”

Musical Limitations

We can’t always get what we want, and that might be the case with our team/band. Your band members’ ability or availability could put a damper on your confidence as a worship leader, causing you to rush through a set because you aren’t sure if the team can “pull it off”. But just because you can’t execute a song as “professionally” as you did 5 weeks ago doesn’t mean that the song loses any of its power. Take advantage of your team’s strengths – if you’re led to a specific song but aren’t sure if your team can handle it musically, overcome this blind spot by drafting a creative way to present it the best you can. Work with who you have and try shifting your musical perspective to adjust to what they are capable of.

Life Situations/Circumstances

I don’t want to overdo the driving metaphors but sometimes we hit speed-bumps in life. And since we’re human, we can’t help but get affected by them when we step up in front of our church on Sunday. But just like our congregations, we need to set our hearts straight before we begin so that we aren’t distracted by our own circumstances. Maybe it’s an argument with your family on the drive over, or you received some bad news just moments before you start the set, or some personal plans fell through… It’ll be easy to turn on your cruise-control (okay, last one) just to get through your set(s) but we, too, need to come before the Lord genuinely, not despite these times, but even through them. Don’t let what’s going on behind the scenes negatively affect what’s going on at the forefront. You could even use them and share a little to connect with the congregation.

Arrogance

We think we know what we’re doing and take pride in it. This could possibly be one of our biggest blind spots! Above all, stay accountable. This could mean you may need to consult your worship/head pastor more often and become more transparent with your team(s). Everybody has room to grow… especially us, the ones who have been doing this for a while! We can’t let our position or platform get the best of us. Correct your course and make sure your ego doesn’t get in the way of leading and leading well. I do this by staying in the Word and staying in prayer so that it isn’t my thoughts and ideas that are always running things. A false notion of superiority will make us blind to what can be spoken and revealed to us by God, who is the superior.

Let’s be mindful of what’s going on around us. Whatever they are, acknowledge any blind spots you might have, or seek help from others to do so, so that you can work on disciplining yourself to overcome them.