On Leading Worship - What Not To Do

Typically my intent with this "On Leading Worship" series is to get away from the links to articles and movies I often post and keep my sharing limited to my own words and personal experience. But honestly, if someone says something that I would say, but better, I might as well just quote them directly. That being said, I was amused by this article and the way it communicated some of the same advice I would give to sound guys, visuals people, musicians and leaders on what not to do. A few excerpts...

Turn It Up

Turn the volume up so loud that would-be-worshipers would have to scream in order to hear their own voices...

Projecting Confusion

...project the lyrics on the screen(s) out of sync with the songs. If you wait until a couple of lines have gone by before you put them up, most of the congregants will give up trying to sing along...Try using fonts that no one can read or projecting the words onto backgrounds that have very little contrast...

Close Your Eyes

Pretend that the congregation is not even there. Shut them out and act as if you are worshiping in your own private prayer closet...

(See Bob Kauflin's elaboration on this topic, it's not a big deal when eyes are closed a little here and there, but it is a problem when it happens for long durations throughout a service)

Go Emo

Pick songs filled with sentiments like: "Lord, today I totally love you with all my heart, soul strength and mind, and nothing else in the world matters at all to me." Do your best to avoid songs that speak of the work of God. Just keep the attention on yourself and your victorious spirituality that no one else can attain.

(That really isn't an exaggeration; prior to reading this I had just deleted a bunch of mp3's from an artist that sang lyrics just like this)

I could have done with a little less of the author's sarcastic tone, but I still think all 8 of his points are worth consideration, so read the full article. We need constant reminders that our job is to facilitate and encourage the whole congregation's participation in God-centered worship. Besides just asking ourselves if we do any of these things, it might be a good idea to find some people in the congregation that can give you feedback on these points as they apply to your role on the worship team. We ought to welcome and seek out any observations that can help us limit distractions, maximize participation, and keep everyone's focus on Christ.