{"id":1203,"date":"2011-07-02T01:22:08","date_gmt":"2011-07-02T06:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=1203"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:38:56","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:38:56","slug":"what-does-success-mean-for-a-worship-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/07\/02\/what-does-success-mean-for-a-worship-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does Success Mean for a Worship Leader?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Yesterday, I considered what successful worship might be. Today I want to build on that foundation by offer some suggestions about what it might mean for a worship leader to be successful.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The sanctuary of Irvine Presbyterian Church, where I helped lead worship for sixteen years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let me start with something obvious but essential: Successful worship leadership facilitates successful worship<\/em>. If you are a worship leader, you have led well if those who have followed your leadership have offered themselves to God genuinely.<\/p>\n

Notice what successful worship leadership is not? It\u2019s not creating an experience. It\u2019s not getting people excited. It\u2019s not helping people to feel God\u2019s presence. It\u2019s not leading a moving performance by the band or choir. It\u2019s not preaching a fine sermon. It\u2019s not getting people to like you. It\u2019s not being popular. It\u2019s not growing your church. It\u2019s not musical perfection. It\u2019s not doing great art. It\u2019s not a chance for you to express your creativity or individuality. Of course all of these things might be connected with successful worship leadership. But they are not the point. The point is leading people to offer to God his due, which ultimately includes all that they are.<\/p>\n

You have been successful as a worship leader if, in any given gathering, those you have led have genuinely given themselves to God. This means that they come away from the service, not impressed by you, but by God. If on their way home they\u2019re talking about how great the music was or how great the sermon was, you have not been successful. If they\u2019re talking about how great God is and how they\u2019re going to live in response to God\u2019s greatness, then . . . bingo!<\/p>\n

Successful worship leadership cannot really be measured in the moment, however. You can only truly know your success as a worship leader in the long run. If the people you lead in worship learn to offer themselves to God in every facet of life, if they live out the truth of God in the world, if they see their daily life as worship, if they serve God at school and in the office, if they seek to honor God by living lives of justice and righteousness, then you have been a successful worship leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut,\u201d you may be thinking, \u201cthat\u2019s a whole lot harder than getting people excited or helping them to feel inspired in the worship service.\u201d Indeed. It\u2019s much, much harder. You might also be thinking, \u201cBut, wait, what you\u2019ve described isn\u2019t something I can pull off on my own. I can\u2019t ensure that people will actually worship authentically.\u201d That\u2019s true. I believe that the success of a worship leader (or pastor, or mission trip leader, or . . .) does in fact depend on the response of those being led.<\/p>\n

This means you cannot produce your own success. Not only do you depend on those whom you lead, but also and mainly upon God. You will never succeed as a worship leader apart from the help of God\u2019s Spirit. Thus, we who lead worship join the Psalmist in praying: \u201cO LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success\u201d (Psalm 118:25).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday, I considered what successful worship might be. Today I want to build on that foundation by offer some suggestions about what it might mean for a worship leader to be successful. Let me start with something obvious but essential: Successful worship leadership facilitates successful worship. If you are a worship leader, you have led […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[539],"tags":[1095,10460,21630],"class_list":["post-1203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship","tag-success","tag-successful-worship-leader","tag-worship"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Does Success Mean for a Worship Leader?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yesterday, I considered what successful worship might be. 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