Participation Over Pageant: Wisdom for Worship Leaders

Since the mid-90s, worship leaders have been caught in an exhausting cycle—chasing cultural relevance and cranking up production value until Sunday morning feels more like a Broadway show than community worship. But here’s the uncomfortable question: while perfecting our stage presence and sound, are we accidentally excluding the very people who make our church family beautiful—kids, elderly, those with special needs—because they don’t fit our “excellent” aesthetic? This isn’t about lowering standards; it’s about rediscovering what true excellence looks like when worship becomes participation, not performance.

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