7. Your worship leader should be committed to the explicit worship of Jesus.
This is less about the tone and more about the words of certain songs. The vast majority of a church’s music must be distinctly Christian—exalting not only the characteristics of God but the truths of the gospel.
We should sing few songs an unconverted Jew could happily sing—that is, we should sing about Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection. Words like “sin” and “gospel” and “cross” should come up frequently and perhaps even be explained for those in attendance who, frankly, don’t know the difference between a Baptist church and a Jewish synagogue.
Assuming all present are Christians and know what words mean is a recipe for confusion.
8. Your worship leader should encourage and enlist congregational participation.
In addition to encouraging loud congregational singing, a great worship leader could also ask various church members to pray during the service.
This provides opportunities for visibility and participation for many, not just the few with musical talent.
9. Your worship leader should be chiefly concerned with honoring God and upholding Jesus and the gospel, more than reaching the next generation or any other predetermined demographic.
Every church needs to be culturally informed (this is why you likely avoid African tribal songs), but no church should be culturally driven. If conversations about fruitfulness begin displacing those about faithfulness, then the first step has been taken toward a mindset of man-centered worship that will need updating in a few short years.
Apart from Christ, every generation from the root of Adam is dead in their sins, in desperate need of the enlivening words of Christ. Because of this, after leaving your church on Sunday, no one needs to think to themselves, “Man, that music was great!” More than anything, they need to have heard the gospel clearly and explicitly; they need to be have been made aware of their dire situation apart from Christ and—even more—his held-out hand as their all-sufficient and ever-gracious Savior.
[1] The parlance for this kind of job is amorphous: music minister, pastor of music, pastor of music and arts, director of contemporary arena jamz and the occasional traditional dirge, defense against the dark arts teacher, etc. I’m only using “worship leader” since it seems to me a catch-all.
This article originally appeared here at the 9Marks blog.
Note: An earlier version of this article was also posted at the TGC Worship blog.
Also, here’s another perspective on what makes a great worship leader from Ron Edmondson.
