As worship leaders or leaders in general, we tend to focus on one thing: Leading. That sounds reasonable, right? Isn't that what we are supposed to be focused on? Yes, but not just leading. Leading people into a place of worship and setting up a meeting between the congregation and the Lord should be our goal and focus. However, it can be very easy to get distracted from that ultimate goal as a worship leader.
This distraction can come from many things. It can come from getting caught up with things within your worship or just the daily "ins and outs" of scheduling, planning, coordination, etc. Then, when we come into the worship setting, our minds are occupied by these things and our focus suffers as does our ability to lead. It's important to keep a clear vision of the end result that you are attempting to achieve. This is true for any type of leadership, not just worship leading.
I think one thing that we should keep in mind is that we should be a leader worth following. Not every leader is a good one; would you agree? Not just thinking about the worship setting, but have you ever had a leader that has not been worth following and had no idea where he was leading his group of people? Of course; we all have. It's almost painful being led by a person like that and you question their every move. But, have you ever been led by someone that knew exactly where they were going and had your best interest in mind? Let's hope so. The perfect example of this is Jesus. Think about that; we know that Jesus definitely has your best interest in mind and is driven by His love for you and constantly extends grace to you. Now that is a leader worth following.
We know that He will never lead you in a wrong direction and will stick to you closer than a brother ever could. With that said, for me, this is where being a worship leader ties in with our relationship with Jesus. What I mean is sometimes it's easy to get so caught up in leading that we forget to follow. Personally, I have to keep a constant check on this. One thing that I have learned is that if you are not following Jesus, you cannot lead other people. If you haven't cracked open a Bible in a while or prayed in two weeks, then it's hard to expect to effectively lead others to a meeting with Him. It's hard to lead your people to a body of water that you yourself haven't found yet.
If you are focused on your own relationship with him, seeking after Him and looking for the next place He is leading you and your people, then, when you step onto the stage or platform and focus on that congregation, having their best interest in mind, they will see that and want to be led. To be a good leader, you must focus less on your ability to lead and more on your ability to follow Christ. That will point your congregation to the greatest leader that is worth following....Jesus.
Peace,
Justin
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