Who Is a Worship Leader?
Translated by AI.
The reason I decided to write this article was the discussions circulating these days among Christians of various teachings and denominations about whether or not a worship leader is necessary in the church. Some believed the worship leader is one of the essential pillars of the church; others did not hold this so firmly; and another group believed there is no need at all to give a special position to a worship leader or leaders in the church — and each group had strong arguments for its view. Here I will offer a few points about worship and its leadership, and explain who I believe a worship leader is and what responsibility they carry in the church.
Moments of worship
Personally, if I were to define worship in the Christian faith, I would certainly consider it something beyond the moments when we sing, pray, or even fellowship and receive teaching in church. From the Bible's perspective, worship means that after salvation we are being conformed to the likeness of the God who saved us, so that in living with Him we become like our saving God. By this definition worship embraces the whole of our life, not just one particular day or moment. But my question is this: given that definition, can we disregard the moments of worship in which God's people praise and adore Him in His presence?
To answer, let us look at Psalm 22:3 and see what God's Word says: "Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel."
This verse says plainly that the songs of praise and worship of God's people are like a throne on which God sits. In other words, when the church sings its songs of praise it creates a space and a setting on which God's presence rests. A throne is the place of a king. At the time this psalm was written it was kings who sat on thrones, and the psalmist's point is that when Your people sing, they are declaring: You are this people's King; You are worthy to sit on the throne of this people's kingship; and this people needs Your presence and Your reign.
Perhaps this is the place to mention a misunderstanding about worship times. Sometimes our definition of a good worship time is wrong. Many of us judge worship to be good when we enjoy God's presence — as if worship peaks whenever our emotions are stirred; or, to put it more plainly, worship ends up revolving around us and our feelings. But worship is the moment when we love God, and the one who should first delight in that is God, not us. In other words, worship is the moment the church takes the position of giving — and God's Word says the joy of the Lord is our strength. So if God's people build a throne for their King with their songs of praise, and the church loves God with one heart and pleases its King, then His glorious presence will surely bless His people in turn.
Throughout church history, worship in song has been an inseparable part of church devotion. Some traditions have stressed it more, in others it is more marginal, but its place in the church cannot be ignored. Moreover, the Bible's emphasis on praising God with a variety of instruments strengthens our conviction that times of praise and worship lie at the heart of God's Word and cannot be dismissed.
Psalm 150:3-6: "Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet! Praise Him with the harp and lyre! Praise Him with timbrel and dancing! Praise Him with the strings and pipe! Praise Him with the clash of cymbals! Praise Him with resounding cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Hallelujah."
Can I be on the worship team?
Before answering, let me note that it is the whole people of God who offer the praise and worship worthy of the One enthroned, and every one of us, as members of the body of Christ and of the local church, plays an important part in the church's corporate worship. This question, then, concerns joining the church's worship team as a specialized ministry of worship.
Over the years in which God gave me the grace and the opportunity to serve in worship ministry in various churches, I constantly met many people who eagerly asked to join the church worship team. When I asked the reason for their insistence, almost all of them answered: I have an intense longing to worship God.
Here I want to address precisely whether longing is enough for entering this ministry, or whether something more is needed.
Broadly speaking, once people give their hearts to Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God dwells in them and the barrier of sin is removed, and a person becomes eager to commune with the Beloved who loves them, has saved them, and has changed their life. A believer in Christ becomes thirsty and eager to worship Him — indeed, if that longing is absent, their faith is open to question. So mere eagerness for worship does not qualify us to enter this ministry in a specialized way.
Sometimes people tell me, "I feel God has called me to this ministry" — and you know that once God and His message are invoked, the sentence carries the implication: if you do not put me on the worship team, you are walking against God's will. I do not claim that in every case the call was not from God, but usually I ask those dear people: do you play an instrument? Their answer is no. Then I ask: in which part of this ministry do you want to serve? Their answer is singing. And when I invite them for a vocal audition, some cannot sing even one note correctly and in tune — yet they still insist the call is from heaven.
A brief look at the Bible and its worshipers shows that in the Old Testament, within the tribe of Levi, whose work was the service of God, there was a group known as the sons of Asaph. The sons of Asaph were God's musicians and worshipers, whose sole work was playing and worship, and they were professional musicians generation after generation. King David, one of the greatest songwriters of the Bible, was a professional musician and kept for God an orchestra of some four thousand skilled players.
I am not saying that being a musician is sufficient reason to be in this ministry. God's call and anointing are certainly vital. A holy life in God, being His true worshiper, and walking with God are certainly prerequisites of this ministry. My point is that worship ministry is a specialized service for which one must be prepared. Someone may sense God's call to this ministry — and yet may still need to be prepared and equipped for it.
The role of the worship leader in the church
The role of the worship leader differs from church to church. Some churches regard this as a specialized ministry; in others the worship leader functions like a meeting chair, sometimes a presenter who simply introduces one song after another.
The reason I raised the two earlier points before reaching the main discussion was to show how much the moments of worship matter, and how important our role is — whether as the church worship team or as members of the body of Christ worshiping in one spirit and one body. I stress again: in its moments of worship the church is truly preparing a throne for its King to sit upon.
In light of that definition, the worship leader is the one who guides God's people in building that throne — or, to use the more accurate word, who leads God's people toward that end. As the name shows, a worship leader is someone with the capacity to lead people; more simply, someone who can move people from one place to another. The worship leader helps people in corporate worship so that the whole congregation moves in one direction and worships God together.
A while ago I read an article that sharply criticized describing worship leaders as those who bring God's people into the Lord's presence, saying it is Jesus Christ Himself who, by the Holy Spirit, brings us into God's presence.
Amen — through our faith in Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit we are able to come into the presence of God the Father and praise and worship Him. But let me offer you a picture. Imagine four friends decide to go out together. The first condition is that they stay together. One says, let's go to the cinema; the second has plans for the amusement park; the third, just released from a weeks-long diet, wants first of all to go to a restaurant for kebab; and the fourth, who hates crowded places, suggests staying home and watching a film together. Just imagine for a moment: could everyone in church sing whatever song they like? Worship out loud, for as long as they like, whenever their feelings boil over? One musician play one song and another musician a different one? Certainly not. I am not saying the worship leader's job is merely to coordinate people; I want to go further and say that worship leaders shepherd people in worship and give the church direction on this path. The worship leader keeps the church alive in worship, and one way of keeping the church alive is singing new songs. God's Word says plainly: sing to the LORD a new song. Writing and singing new songs keeps the church fresh and vibrant in worship, and it is the worship leaders' task to add new songs to the church's worship gatherings — indeed, one of the things worship leaders should set aside time for during the week is finding or writing new songs for the church.
A worship leader is someone who knows music well and is therefore able to direct the musicians and singers. A worship leader cannot know nothing about music and yet lead a team made up mostly of players and singers. So the mere fact that I can lead the church does not necessarily mean I can be a worship leader in it.
A worship leader is someone on whom the anointing for leading worship rests. Worship and its leadership are, in my view, a calling; and just as God anoints people for different ministries, He also anoints and equips people to lead worship. Above all, a worship leader learns the skills of leading worship, and learns much in walking with God.
In my view, the worship leader is not a presenter who introduces songs one after another. The worship leader is the one who uses every means available — worship songs being one of them — to move God's people forward in building the throne on which the King will sit.
Leading worship is an anointing, a specialty, and a particular calling, and people must be prepared for this position. How can a worship leader who knows nothing of music tell the musicians how to play? How can a worship leader who does not set aside even one hour a week to find new songs for their church shepherd and guide God's people in worship?
Finally, to encourage the church and the Christian leaders of the church of Iran, I want to note this: the fact that few people are available in the area of worship, so we simply use everyone, does not excuse us from this responsibility for the future of the church of Iran. We must train leaders and worshipers for God — and that takes time and expertise.
Roozbeh Najarnejad
