When we worship, we worship God.. When we lead worship, we lead others to worship God. We need to know God to worship him. We need to know those we are leading worship so we connect with them to support them in worship. Is that a fair comment?
For a start, I’d prefer to be able to hear how the congregation is singing, and I can then respond to that to lead further on music. If where I am playing my instrument is so far from the congregation that I cannot see or hear their singing, I am disconnected from them.
Imagine you are having a meal with a few other people. If you don’t know them intimately, very soon you will realise some of their personal preferences, habits, just something a bit unique about them. You just realise this person is left handed even though he plays the guitar the “right-handed” way. Then, another person says the way you hold your cutlery means you get through your food quicker. Maybe you also notice another person keeps his eyes on his food, eats a large part of it, before he joins in conversation, and then he goes back to his food.
What is special in a meal is the closeness we are to each other, i.e. if this is a “sit-down” meal. Different culture might have different rules or preferences. But even if you don’t make eye contact, you know the potential is there for lots of eye contact. You can get to know each other very well.
Sharing a meal is fundamental to forming fellowship. At some point in the day everyone needs to eat. With a bit of prior arrangement, we can have a few people sharing a meal together.
Sharing a meal is fundamental to forming fellowship.
What I am proposing how we lead worship is that the way we lead worship ought to be as intimate as being able to relate to individuals in the congregation, almost being able to see their eyeballs. We can tell if what we are saying connects with them. We can feel from their gaze what their emotional situation is like.
I think the first question to ask is whether “connecting” with our congregation is so important.
This could mean we plan the worship in such a way that they don’t struggle with confusing items like overly long prayers, or hymns that are too high in pitch, or there’s no certainty when announcement is made. Connecting with our congregation also means feeling what they feel and guiding them, collectively from individuals to one church community, to a place God desires to pray, raise our voices and listen and respond to God.
Leviticus 3 says about peace offering, or fellowship offering. What is interesting with this offering in contrast to other types of offering is that the offerer takes part in the ritual. Actually, it is a meal service, one that is consecrated before God. The meal is often between two or more parties in the presence of God. It might be two parties striking an agreement, or several parties wanting to remember something special they all share, perhaps birthday, harvest, new year, school exam results etc.
Leviticus 3 is equally valid today in deliberately spending time with different parties in acknowledging common bond and fellowship
As you read Leviticus 3, you might find the rules and details of offering too much to bear. Remember the details here no longer applies now that we are no longer in the Old Testament period. Jesus, as recorded in the New Testament, as satisfied requirements of this kind of offering. We no longer need to keep making offering to God in the literal sense in Leviticus.
The principle of Leviticus 3 is equally valid today in deliberately spending time with different parties in acknowledging common bond and fellowship, giving ground to making closer fellowship to know each other more as individuals rather than merely people from a different group.
I suggest this intimate connectedness is fundamental in how we lead worship.
- If our role is Bible reading, how do we do so that helps the congregation realise where the emphasis is, can we tell it in their eyes and body language?
- If our role is leading the music, how do we know what we play and sing strikes up a sort of ‘same frequency’ with the congregation that they flow with the same feeling of music the way the music team does?
- If our role is cleaning and tidying up the worship areas, do we see it in people’s eyes that they appreciate how refreshing the areas are which goes some way in easing into worship?
When I lead music on the piano, I aim to play the musical introduction to “set the scene” for the opening of the song or hymn. I then build up the music to take the congregation on a journey. This might mean a slightly different style of music for the chorus, and then more for the the second verse. For the third verse, when the congregation is almost running on “auto pilot” without having to closely take cues from me, I might then provide music that is highly decorated, only to then morphing back to a more usual style at the end before starting the fourth verse.
This probably tangentially answers the question on why music team prefers to lead music facing the congregation. There are debates about this that will go on and on. It’s too easy to ask whether congregation prefer to have music led from people hidden from view. Since this is not a concert, and we should expect we have maximum participation when we are in the congregation, I think we can at least agree the music that we have connects with the congregation at that time and at that place.