Worship Leader Tip #1
KNOW WHO YOU ARE
This is critical for people who are leading. A lack of authenticity is something that can smelled a mile away. A mistake that many young worship leaders make is that they find a particular person that they admire and then begin to emulate their style. Emulation is not bad in and of itself, but when it starts to eat away at the nature of the individual, becoming a sort of costume or mask, this is not good.
I started off "back in the day" highly admiring the leadership and skills of Tommy Walker, who was and is an influential leader in the worship music field. I bought all of Tommy's CDs. I got the DVDs. I went to concerts. I even got the headset microphone that is his trademark. (I even left it on once while I was in the restroom... but that's another story!) Besides his hair, since I have very little, I was a kind of mini-me of Tommy. I kinda lost my own voice in all of that.
As I've matured, I've found that pulling ideas from various artists/leaders across the spectrum of music has helped me form more of my own sound. Do I still borrow/rework/recycle ideas? You bet! But now the emphasis is much more on what is helpful for the people I lead and not so much about me finding my identity. Reminding myself with verses like Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do." This has helped me realize that God made me uniquely for the tasks He calls me to.
When people see the "real deal" on the stage, someone who is comfortable in their own skin, there is something contagious about them. Shakespeare said in Hamlet: "This above all: to thine own self be true." Great wisdom. Living out of a God-honoring, authentic self, is the best way for all of us who lead others to show them Jesus. Hope this helps.
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