Worship Leader Forum

On Friday, we had a great chance to hang out with worship leaders from seven other churches and talk shop. We covered a wide variety of topics. Here were a few:

- Off-Platform care for volunteers
- Dealing with discipline issues - tough talks with team members
- Rehearsal Structure
- Auditions process
- Creative Programming

One thing, that I thought after our workshop that I would like to understand more is about the role of the worship leader. What makes a person a worship leader vs simply a song leader? I think that just about any decent musician could lead a song. There is something different about helping people engage with God in this thing called corporate worship. I found this article that talked a little about the difference.

A few of my thoughts:
- a worship leader is a facilitator or guide for God's people to experience Him - comments like: "Wow, I really sensed God's presence tonight! Thanks."
- a song leader can become the focus - comments like "man, you are amazing!"
- a worship leader keeps the focus on God while allowing the music to enhance the words
- a song leader looks for ways to make the musical experience "the main thing"
- a worship leader has an idea where he/she is taking people since he/she has prayed through the worship set and can sense the Spirit's guiding ahead of time and in the moment.
- a song leader really has no idea where the "song time" may go. They just have to make sure the right chords are played and the powerpoint is completely accurate.
- a worship leader strives for excellence since they know that it honors God and inspires people.
- a song leader can either fly by the seat of their pants or become so perfectionistic that it can stifle any spirit.

Any more that I need to add?