We don’t want to be like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day calling people to holiness and not begging the Spirit for it in ourselves. Know this: sin is crouching at your door and it’s desire is for you to pledge allegiance to it, but God’s desire is for your life to be His and for you to value and seek godliness.
This is as beneficial for you as it is for the people you’re leading. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:8, “for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”
LIE #3: I DON’T NEED TO KNOW THEOLOGY.
It’s easy for a female worship leader to believe that if the worship pastor has been doing his homework she can coast through. This is completely false! Theology is the study of who God is. We cannot lead people to know a God that we do not know ourselves.
In our worship leader development program we really stress this discipline because we believe that a worship leader has as much responsibility to know the Word and character of God as a preaching pastor. Without this knowledge we don’t know who we are singing to, praying to, or writing songs about.
Imagine you are planning a trip to China and you meet with someone to hear about their experience there. You come ready to learn what you should expect as a visitor, ready to hear about the people that live there, only to get to your meeting and learn that this person has never actually been to China. That would be pretty disappointing and unhelpful to say the least.
That’s a silly example but I really want us to understand that as women who are declaring and prompting people to cling to the truths of God in song we must know the truths of God in our hearts. You’re bound to have women come to you on a Sunday in need of encouragement or wisdom or counsel. There is no better counsel than the Word of God – we can’t lead out of anything else!
LIE #4: I DON’T NEED TO PREPARE FOR A SUNDAY.
I have heard some women say that on Sundays they show up, sing, and go home. I pray that we don’t settle into that when God has so much more for us as leaders. Part of leadership is preparing to be before your people and while you may not be leading a band or planning a set list you can absolutely be engaged in the preparation leading up to Sundays.
Something I ask is any female worship leader to do every week is read over the Scripture that will be taught and pray for the people that will be coming to hear the Word. If you have access to this information each week I would encourage you to use it to help you prepare.
Ask your worship pastor which Scripture will be taught each week and take some time to ask God to center your heart on it. You want to step on stage knowing what you are pointing people toward and seeking to believe it yourself. Also, spend time during the week praying for people in your church. Ask God to move in hearts that week to prepare people to hear truth on Sunday, pray against spiritual attack on their behalf, ask God to bring people through those doors who have never heard the gospel, and pray for wisdom and preparation for your pastors.
We are more than just singers. We are daughters of God and active participants in His mission. We have the honor and responsibility to fight for our church family each week both onstage and off.
This article originally appeared here.
