How to Model Worship While Leading
There is a fine balance in worship leading that every leader has to deal with: How much do I focus on my own personal worship and how much do I focus on leading? Focusing too much on your own personal worship means that you aren't leading because you're focused on your connection between yourself and God. Focusing too much on leading means that you don't engage with God during worship on a personal level. Personal worship is how you model what worship looks like to your congregation.
Here are 3 ways you can model worship while leading:
1 | Expressiveness
As a leader, you are setting the tone for the room. The act of you simply being in front of people automatically means that you are modeling what worship looks like - for better or for worse. That means, if you stand up front with your hands in your pockets staring blankly at your lyrics - that's what people will associate with worship. Show your people what it means to worship - your congregation won't go where you don't lead them.
2 | Thoughtfulness
Times of reflection are powerful in worship. Those moments where you let the song breathe and contemplate on what you just sang show your church that worship is more than just singing through a list of songs. It's a conversation between the church and God. It's not a script to be memorized but an organic conversation. So show your church how to reflect during worship.
3 | Explanation
Sometimes you just need words. This isn't a half an hour teaching on the systematic theology of worship. This is identifying key aspects of worship and interjecting them throughout your set. "We aren't just singing songs, we're magnifying the greatness of God." "I'm not singing you a song and you're singing along with me. We are all singing to God together." Identify a key component of worship and highlight it in a transition this Sunday.
How do you model worship? Let us know in the comments!