Greg Brewton says there are ways to involve a choir even in a modern worship style:

Have you seen the articles over the last few years lamenting the demise of the church choir? For many years now there has been a trend towards using a worship band and a small group of vocalists rather than a choir. Some think that a choir does not work well in a modern worship setting, but there are ways to involve a choir even in a modern worship style. Perhaps the choir needs to be equipped to sing in some different musical styles and to see themselves as encouragers in worship rather than always singing a choir anthem.

Why should you have a worship choir at your church? These are some of the reasons I support the use of a worship choir:

1. When a choir is trained to be leaders in worship, they bring great energy and involvement in the worship service. They bring visual and vocal vitality.

2. A worship choir can teach your congregation new songs.

3. A worship choir can encourage the congregation with songs that function as prayers or exhortation in worship.

4. A worship choir is also a great encouragement to the worship leader in worship. Having a large group of singers behind you as you lead the congregation is inspiring.

5. A worship choir gives many more people in your church an opportunity to serve. You may not need many singers for the worship praise team, but you could utilize an unlimited number of singers in a choir.

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Russ Hutto says both types of praise songs have their places in the worship environment:

In several places this week I’ve encountered discussions about the “wordiness” of modern worship music. Many of the folks engaged in the discussion were comparing and contrasting today’s songs to yesteryear’s more traditional songs.

What is confusing is that many of the folks who long to get back to a more traditional approach (for whatever reason) are looking back with rose colored glasses thinking that those songs were so much more theologically rich and less wordy than today’s songs.

That is confusing to me, because as a kid of the 80s and 90s who grew up during the Integrity, Vineyard, and Passion worship music movements, the definite move in modern music was actually to SIMPLIFY worship songs so that they’d be more approachable and easier for congregations to latch on to. So most modern worship music seems to be LESS wordy than the traditional four or more stanza hymns of old.

Now, I am not suggesting one way is better than the other. I love traditional hymns and modern songs written with a more hymn-like structure. I also love simple worship choruses with minimal verses and a repetitive chorus.

I believe they both have their places in the worship environment.

Why?

Because “worship” isn’t limited to or by music. Worship begins in the heart turned toward God, and one of the ways that God has blessed us with to express that worship is music. I believe that along with prayer, music is the most accessible expression of worship to the majority of people. This is because music has such power to connect with our inward selves and move us on a level that mere reading or lecture cannot.

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Chris Denning encourages new worship leaders to find a mentor:

Doing anything for the first time can be nerve-wracking, even if its something you want to do.

I believe this is especially true with anything that has to do with artistic expression, because for most people, their gifts and abilities are simply an extension of themselves. “If people don’t like my singing, then maybe they just don’t like me.” It’s never easy to start new things, and I’d say that’s especially true for worship leaders.

It’s one thing to play guitar for your friends around a campfire or something, but making the decision to lead a group of people in worship is a weighty one. There’s the performance aspect, for sure, but there’s also the weight of taking what you’re doing serious enough that you honor God but not taking yourself TOO serious and simply being yourself.

I was fortunate enough to have 2 or 3 guys in my life who helped me for many years as I was learning how to lead worship. I started by just watching them, being a part of the band, and eventually was mentored by them. This kind of experience is INVALUABLE.

I say all that to say this: Being a new Worship Leader is HARD. But I want to take a stab today at giving you a few tips to get you started right. Whether you’re a young pup just learning how to strum a guitar and lead, or even transitioning into leading with some experience in bands, I think that these tips can help you build the foundation for being a successful Worship Leader.

1. Find a Mentor.

This seems like kinda a “duh” tip, but I can’t over emphasize the impact a great mentor can have on your life. You want to find someone who you look at and think “I want to be like that.” Find someone who is further down the road you want to go on, and then get to know them. Make the ask, and see if they would be open to intentionally mentoring you as you grow as a Worship Leader.

You can also find mentors that you’ll never even meet. Look online and find people who write their own content, are great to follow on Facebook or Twitter, and learn what you can from them. You can even try reaching out to them to see if they have any advice for a Worship Leader who wants to grow. You’d be surprised how often people like this are willing to help you.

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Bert Farias explains why people are responding to Trump’s message:

Perhaps we as preachers have robbed ourselves by being gray instead of black and white. Perhaps we’ve robbed the church of more converts and true followers because we think they don’t want to hear plain speech, when in fact, they do. Perhaps it is time to consider that in our quest not to offend them we are repelling them.

Ambiguity has no part in the gospel. There is to be a certain and clear sound coming from our pulpits. Political correctness has no part in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. If a preacher cannot speak clearly about the tenets of the faith, especially as it relates to such a sacred subject like marriage, he doesn’t belong in the pulpit. He needs to get out and find another occupation. A politician might better suit one of such cowardice.

“You be careful when anybody comes to you with a sugar-coated pill or with a slimy tongue. They are always of the devil. The Spirit of the Lord will always deal with truth.” —Smith Wigglesworth

The root of the problem here is money, friends and influence. Many preachers who are in the limelight will seek to talk in such a way as to not lose money, friends and influence. Such preachers need to be reminded that our loyalty is not to people but to the truth. I don’t care how many favors the people have done for you or how much of a friend they may be. I don’t even care if they are close relatives. To prefer them over Jesus and the Scriptures is to be a traitor to the highest cause.

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Joseph Mattera says pastors are called to lead not entertain:

There is a great tendency in human nature to crave the affirmation of other human beings. With some people, their need for affirmation is so great it hinders their ability to discern between the will of God and the will of man. What is more alarming is the fact that those who lead churches and Christian organizations are not exempt from this tendency.

The fact of the matter is, if you are a local church pastor, chief executive officer of a ministry or business, you are called to lead not entertain. Many do not understand the difference. If your primary goal is to make people happy, become an entertainer, not a leader. Leaders by nature should be on the cutting edge of God’s will, which challenges people to leave their comfort zones.

Often times this causes people to be upset with their leaders. The leader also should keep people accountable to standards of excellence. This becomes especially difficult when a leader is close friends or family with those aligned under their spiritual authority. Many do not understand how to discern between business and friendship, and it causes a rift in the relationship.

The following are ten contrasts between entertainers and leaders:

1. Entertainers’ primary goal is to make people happy. A leader’s goal is to empower/provoke people to excellence.

An entertainer’s primary focus in their ministry is to keep their people happy and satisfied. Sometimes folks are happy because they are comfortable and feel secure but their own hearts are deceiving them. A true leader’s primary goal is to disturb the comfortable and provoke them to excellence. For example, if an athlete never pushed himself to the point of pain in his training, he will never excel. True leaders push their people to the perimeter of their potential in Christ.

2. Entertainers perform. Leaders lead.

Entertainers put all their effort into the public performance of their speaking, worship team, visual effects and appearance. They do not take a lot of time evaluating whether their followers are truly growing in Christ. A true leader cares about their public appearance, but puts more time focusing on bringing people into the promised land of their destinies.

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Drew Dickens says church isn’t about the building but about community.

Time once was, in the not too distant past, that you would be shunned for appearing in public on Sunday morning in anything less than your best “go to meeting” clothes and seen anyplace other than your neighborhood church at the end of a tree lined street. But in less than a generation, churches, synagogues, and mosques have seen a twenty percent decline in attendance.

Growing up I may not have been happy about going to church, but I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up. It just wasn’t an option on Sunday morning. But now nearly 30% of Americans say they seldom or never attend worship services. That percentage is over 35% for those young adults born after 1980.

Todd Pickett, dean of Spiritual Development and professor of spiritual formation at Biola University, says “Millennials have more life disruptions than people of other stages of life. They are moving around a lot, they are changing relational networks. The highly mobile nature of the Millennial makes it hard for them to settle down into churches, it makes it hard to settle into patterns of life anyway.” But there are other aspects of a Millennial’s life that have not been negatively affected. Why church?

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