Tongue-tied Worship Leaders

-Guest post by Micah Chollar (Jason’s brother)

If there were two words I could delete from today’s worship leader vocabulary it would be “just” and “continue”.

Have you noticed there seems to be a growing trend of worship leaders who are quite gifted musically yet lack the ability to communicate any coherent thoughts through speech? This has been a gradual shift from a few decades ago when the worship leader used to be quite eloquent. His responsibilities used to comprise selecting hymns, starting off each verse on the right note at the right time (as the accompanying instrument would often slow down and hold the note between verses) and perhaps most importantly, to MC the whole event with verbal segue between songs. (For those too young to remember, just listen to the intro of the DC Talk song “Free at Last” to hear an example.) In today’s setting, the new stereotype for a worship leader seems to be that of the artistic instrumentalist who is very comfortable on an instrument, decent enough to sing out a chorus with backing vocalists and marginal at public speaking. Whether or not he/she can say anything intelligent between songs seems to be irrelevant. Oftentimes when they do try to say something or offer up a prayer, it seems very deer-in-headlightish with lots of verbal pauses, ‘ummm’s, ‘just’s, and ‘continue’s.

(e.g. “Ummm.. let’s just.. um.. let’s just really continue to worship God with this next song”)

Upon discussing this with my wife, she quoted the old adage that it’s better to be thought of as a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. I agree with her in part, but it saddens me to see that the tub seems to contain neither baby nor bathwater anymore.

Before I go any further, allow me to confess that I have been the incoherent, deer-in-headlight, ‘ummm-ing’ worship leader myself. A few years ago I recognized it to be an area of weakness and by God’s grace have found helpful ways of improving. Here are a few lessons that I have gathered along the way:

Have something useful to say.

I believe leading worship is more than just being a musician. By speaking you not only welcome people, but you show them who you are and that you mean what you sing. People will have a deeper trust and be able to connect with you, with the team, with the music, and – the ultimate goal – with God. If you have nothing to say at all, you will remain an unknown to people and it will feel shallow. Can’t think of anything? You’re probably not reading enough or having enough stimulating conversations with godly friends. There’s your problem. Fix that and you will find yourself having to pick which of several exciting thoughts you really want to share with the church.

Limit how often you speak, as well as for how long.

Everybody’s had to sit through the 5 sermonettes in between songs and then sit through the sermon at some point or another. Too much of a good thing. As a rule of thumb, I usually only speak once to welcome people, once to focus their attention on the content of the worship time (at a strategic point in the music), and once as a prayer at the end. In many churches the welcome and the prayer are handled by other people (elders, pastor, etc). In those cases, I only speak once for the whole service, so I make sure it counts.

Prepare your thoughts in advance.

Just because some people are good at off-the-cuff improv, doesn’t mean it’s the best way for everyone. Better to have a prepared thought come across as a bit less than spontaneous than to not even prepare and sound like you have no idea what to say. With practice delivering prepared ideas, you’ll actually develop the ability to articulate a thought without preparation. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but true nonetheless.

Practice what you want to say – out loud, preferably in front of someone you trust.

You might find that the one cool thought you had isn’t quite as easy to explain as it sounded in your mind. Or maybe trying to tell that story about what happened to you during the week would end up really making you sound like a motard, or worse yet – offend someone. (“So the waitress at Hooters turns to me and says..”)

In execution, focus on what it is you want to say, not on the fact that EVERYBODY is staring at you.

They want you to succeed. If you’re comfortable up there, they can relax too.

(I could tell stories to explain each one of these little lessons. Some involved me while others are things I have had the misfortune to endure as a pew-warmer.)

Well delivered, thoughtful words, observations and prayers can make a big difference in a worship experience. It’s a part of the craft that often gets overlooked. Putting in some effort can yield great results to the budding worship leader.

Now let’s just continue to lead God’s people in worship that is befitting the King of Glory!

If there were two words I could delete from today’s worship leader vocabulary it would be “just” and “continue”.

(e.g. “Ummm.. let’s just.. um.. let’s just really continue to worship God with this next song”)

Have something useful to say.
I believe leading worship is more than just being a musician. By speaking you not only welcome people, but you show them who you are and that you mean what you sing. People will have a deeper trust and be able to connect with you, with the team, with the music, and – the ultimate goal – with God. If you have nothing to say at all, you will remain an unknown to people and it will feel shallow. Can’t think of anything? You’re probably not reading enough or having enough stimulating conversations with godly friends. There’s your problem. Fix that and you will find yourself having to pick which of several exciting thoughts you really want to share with the church.
Limit how often you speak, as well as for how long.
Everybody’s had to sit through the 5 sermonettes in between songs and then sit through the sermon at some point or another. Too much of a good thing. As a rule of thumb, I usually only speak once to welcome people, once to focus their attention on the content of the worship time (at a strategic point in the music), and once as a prayer at the end. In many churches the welcome and the prayer are handled by other people (elders, pastor, etc). In those cases, I only speak once for the whole service, so I make sure it counts.
Prepare your thoughts in advance.
Just because some people are good at off-the-cuff improv, doesn’t mean it’s the best way for everyone. Better to have a prepared thought come across as a bit less than spontaneous than to not even prepare and sound like you have no idea what to say. With practice delivering prepared ideas, you’ll actually develop the ability to articulate a thought without preparation. It’s a bit counter-intuitive, but true nonetheless.
Practice what you want to say – out loud, preferably in front of someone you trust.
You might find that the one cool thought you had isn’t quite as easy to explain as it sounded in your mind. Or maybe trying to tell that story about what happened to you during the week would end up really making you sound like a motard, or worse yet – offend someone. (“So the waitress at Hooters turns to me and says..”)
In execution, focus on what it is you want to say, not on the fact that EVERYBODY is staring at you.
They want you to succeed. If you’re comfortable up there, they can relax too.

(I could tell stories to explain each one of these little lessons. Some involved me while others are things I have had the misfortune to endure as a pew-warmer.)

Now let’s just continue to lead God’s people in worship that is befitting the King of Glory!