It was a Sunday morning like any other, and I and the worship team had arrived early enough to practice our songs and be ready for the service. I had no way of knowing that on this day, God would use a simple peculiar incident during the song service to transform my thinking – for good – for my good, and for His Good. It was an initiation into the power of praise and worship!
Everyone was in their place when we started the service, and everything was flowing like it was supposed to, until I began to notice that something wasn’t quite right. I noticed that the people in the congregation were not really singing. Like a worship leader would, I quickly assessed what problem may have developed to cause this.
Yolanda was responsible for changing lyrics from the verse to the chorus so the congregants could follow along.
And then I saw the ‘problem’; we were playing the verse, but Yolanda hadn’t changed the lyrics from the chorus to the next verse, so the the people, not knowing the words, were only clapping.
And then I saw what was going on – Yolanda’s eyes were closed, with hands lifted, and she was ‘caught up’ in the moment. If I had to describe it, it appeared that she was a lot less aware of the surroundings than a lot of us were. She was caught up in worship and praise. That’s great, because after all, we were in the praise and worship part of the service. The only problem is that you can’t change the lyrics with the flow of the music team if you aren’t paying attention.
There’s something you have to understand – back in those days (this was before the sophisticated projectors that we have now), Yolanda and those who were the ‘lyric changers’ were at the front of the church. We used a transparency machine – the one like your teacher uses to layer one pic over another to show layers of something – geography, or anatomy.
So technically, Yolanda wasn’t quite doing her job. But you have to admit that she was filling a much needed role – a sort of ‘acting worship leader’, right? And as the worship leader, I would naturally encourage everyone to worship. In the front of the church was a good place for her to be – a competent worshiper.
I’m grateful that it wasn’t a big deal; Yolanda surely would be allowed to continue as ‘lyric changer’, because it was important to have her genuine example of worship in front of the people.
The incident helped me to realize that even though I wore the title of ‘the worship leader’, that it’s very possible – and encouraged – that others be competent (and if necessary, more than me) – as a worship leader. I had instances after that, where it was obvious that someone in the congregation was more prepared than I was, to participate in the worship service (expecially during the times that my children were younger). And in time, I came to realize that the more help that I had, from people who were genuine worshipers – the better. Worship T.E.A.M. – Together Everyone Accomplishes More! It’s hard to argue that someone like Yolanda doesn’t add value to the worship team, even if the lyrics fall behind some!
As a worship leader, it’s good to seek to be the most competent worshiper in church – and the worship leader should strive to be that and to do that. And obviously, worship leaders, being people like anyone else, coping and dealing with life’s turns, ups, downs, and curve balls, can readily have ‘off’ days. So even if we find ourselves in a place where someone is more competent than us, all The Glory is for The Father anyway. The goal is that ministry is propagated, no matter where from.
Would you like unequaled competence? Visit my website WaterfallWorship.com to check out the resources that can show you how to get there. Check out Ascribe Worship – the worship concept that you won’t find anywhere else. (The Home Page explains a dilemma of frustration that I found myself in, and how God answered my deep yearning to become a worshiper with far greater depth and richness than I ever dreamed possible).
And lastly, to Yolanda (and Charles), wherever you are today, thank you for being such a great example of a worshiper – something practical that God could use, in my own life, to steer others toward a deeper and more meaningful worship experience!.
For the saints of God and for The Lamb! Until next time, I ‘m Charlie with WaterfallWorship.com
Charlie, a former worship leader, (who was an active praise and worship leader after traveling with the christian rock band WISDOM as their bass player/backing vocalist), now blogs and shares from his experience as well as providing tutorials on current worship songs (YouTube channel Chord Confidence). He is passionate about worship, because of how broadly and richly it can impact the life of the believer. His ebook, To The King Who is Worthy, includes the very unique worship concept Ascribe Worship, that demonstrates extremely prolific worship of God in His many Attributes, by memory. Exponentially multiply your worship ability with Ascribe Worship.