Lead Worship Without Walking Backward
First, a few words from my personal hero, Soren Kierkegaard; then, some thoughts on worship leadership.
When a man turns his back upon someone and walks away, it is so easy to see that he walks away, but when a man hits upon a method of turning his face towards the one he is walking away from, hits upon a method of walking backwards while with appearance and glance and salutations he greets the person, giving assurances again and again that he is coming immediately, or incessantly saying, “Here I am”—although he gets farther and farther away by walking backwards—then it is not so easy to become aware. And so it is with the one who, rich in good intentions and quick to promise, retreats backwards farther and farther from the good. With the help of intentions and promises he maintains an orientation towards the good, he is turned towards the good, and with this orientation towards the good he moves backwards farther and farther away from it. With ever renewed intention and promise it seems as if he takes a step forward, and yet he not only remains standing still but really takes a step backward. The intention taken in vain, the unfulfilled promise leaves a residue of despondency, dejection, which perhaps soon again leave behind only greater languor. As a drunkard constantly requires stronger and stronger stimulation—in order to become intoxicated, likewise the one who has fallen into intentions and promises constantly requires more and more stimulation—in order to walk backward.
- Soren Kierkegaard, Works of Love
So what does this have to do with worship leadership? Let’s take a look back at an unorthodox, although very Biblical, definition of worship.
“Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Isaiah 58:3-7
So, by this definition, the point of worship is not an internal choice, but an external life in line with God’s ideals—and, again, an external life measured by its impact on others rather than its own perceived morality. Worship is measured in love and love is measured in sacrifice.
I think, as a worship leader, that I sometimes struggle with trying to bring people to outward signs of an internal choice, but I have no real desire to make sure that internal choice (and its eventual external expressions) are actually being made real. For instance, I feel I’ve succeeded most when I see a congregant raising her hands or singing with feeling—those are our fasting and sackcloth and ashes—but I have no idea how many of the congregants at my worship service are participating in service activities.
To make matters worse, I feel I reward those initial expressions rather than meaningful, impactful change by measuring success based on that criteria and altering my approach to elicit more of those responses that may or may not spring into something more.
Such an approach can turn into a backwards march when we fail to connect the cause with the effect, turning the mean into the end in our minds and theirs. Don’t get me wrong—worshiping God through intellectual, emotional, and philosophical self-sacrifice are important—but the goal is to lead them into a deeper level of love through a deeper level of sacrifice on all levels. Let’s say a congregant goes to the worship service on Sunday, and then has to choose between another worship experience or a service opportunity. As a worship leader, I feel like I would measure my own success by counting attendance at the former when I should be counting attendance at the latter. So really, we’re not worship leaders so much as worship instigators.
Please don’t read that I think true worship is limited to service opportunities. I just think one should not be at the expense of the other.
Anyway, those are my thoughts, and my confession, as a sometimes-misguided worship leader. Any other thoughts? Any other ways we lead a backwards march?
March 24th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I’m not sure how accurate it is, but I remember hearing once that the amount that someone is involved in service is generally directly related to their level of engagement in worship. It might be that you’re helping people both worship and serve though you only get to see the former.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
First of all, I think it is awesome that you recognize that you are a worship leader (even though you are not the “front guy”).
There definitely has been a trend on the last decade or more (as worship leaders have become pop stars) to string themselves out from one spiritual high to the next.
I think in Vibe, sometimes I look out at the people and scan for signs of a life-altering worship experience. I feel like we led them well if lots of them were singing, closing eyes, raising hands, dancing with scarves and tambourines while shouting “MORE LORD” – oh wait, got carried away on that last one.
But if the room feels dead and the people are not engaging, I internalize that as us not leading well.
This is a good challenge for me.
1. Whatever is going on in the soul of the worshipper – I need to leave that up to the Holy Spirit and stop thinking it has anything to do with me!
2. We should try to find ways to connect with our congregation before and after worship. Stretching ourselves as leaders to care about the internal/external reality of the worshippers in our community.