Worship Leading

I've been the youth worship leader now for about 3 months now, which has definitely changed my perspective on worship, and has caused me to grow in certain areas to say the least.

Worship is such a general term, but is usually associate with music worship.  But that's not how it should be.  Worship is the act of giving glory to God, and praising His name, and music isn't the only means to do this.  With the way we talk, the way we walk, even the way we spend our time is an indicator of worship.  It is the use of the members of our body in a way that honors Him.  Romans 12:1 says to present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship.  It's a presentation of your newly renewed members, renewed by the blood of Christ, to our God who deserves to be praised.

But not to diminish the role of musical worship, as it plays a specific part in worshipping our God, musical worship readies the heart for the reception of God's word, either through sermons or personal Bible reading times.  It makes us sensitive to the truths hidden between each lines, because as we sing, we shouldn't just say the words, but contemplate on the meanings, to look for the goodness of God between each beat, which will soften our hearts to the gospel.  Musical worship is also effective in responding to the Word.  After hearing the truths of the Word from sermons or quiet personal times, it is appropriate to since a response to show that the Word has truly convicted you, and your desire to raise your voice and praise Him should overwhelm you.

The role of a worship leader shouldn't just to sing songs about how great God is - though this is true, that should be the content of all the songs we sing - but as one who prepares the congregation for spiritual worship. Worship, as a term, should not be a stand alone term, but a whole-encompassing term that includes song and sermon and other components of a worship service.  Each song should be meaningful and relevant for that particular day, not random.  The songs should prepare the hearts of the congregation for what they are about to hear from the sermon, as to keep their hearts and minds on the same topic so that it becomes a theme throughout the whole service.  A theme that lasts from beginning to end, without breaks, so that the mind of the congregants would be aligned with the Word of which they are about to participate in.

My goal during my time of being the youth worship leader is to promote this unity between musical worship and the message.  So it's not two different messages that the congregation hears, but one.