Good praise and worship leaders are very hard to find.
But that doesn't mean that you cannot become one! Praise and worship leaders do not need musical talent! Yes, that's right.
You heard it from a Christian Musician.
You do not need musical talent to lead praise and worship.
Let me give you an example: One of the greatest praise and worship leaders from the mid 20th century was a lady by the name of Kathryn Khulman.
Ms.
Khulman was (and still is) exalted as one of the greatest ministers of her day.
She was more than a just a minister.
She was a praise and worship leader.
Her approach of leading praise and worship inspired many people.
Kathryn Khulman was adored by almost every Christian denomination imaginable.
Protestants, Charismatics, Methodists: Protestants and Catholics alike was blessed by her ministry.
In fact, she considered herself to be a Baptist all her life.
She was accepted beyond denominational limitations.
But what made Kathryn Khulman such a wonderful P&W leader? Was it her musical talent? No.
She couldn't play any instrument.
And she couldn't sing.
Kathryn, herself, proclaimed countless times, "I have no talent".
So what was it that made her such a great Christian leader? She would say time and time again "I have no talent.
All I have to give is my love!" That, my friends, is the key to worship.
A true, intimate sense of love for the Lord is the life-blood of worship.
Worship without love is empty and vain.
Thou Shalt Love the LORD thy God with ALL...
As Christians, we must never lose sight of Jesus' teachings.
As Christians, we must not only know and understand Jesus' teachings, but we must practice them! Jesus made it clear.
The first and greatest commandment is to love the LORD with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
He demands all.
He is a jealous God.
To love Him with ALL is the first and greatest commandment.
We must never lose sight of that.
If we go on in our Christian walk and ministry forgetting the first and greatest commandment, then we have lost perspective.
It is imperative that we do not let our love grow cold.
The greatest of all keys to becoming a good praise and worship leader is to prioritize the first and greatest commandment in our private life.
True worship comes out of a clean and honest heart that is not full of hypocrisy.
We cannot go to church and worship God if we don't worship, and love Him in every aspect of our lives.
We must worship and love Him in our private lives - behind closed doors.
Jesus calls it a prayer closet.
We are to pray and worship when no one else sees.
We must seek Him even when no one else is around.
Our praise and worship must come from a life that is wholly dedicated to the Lord.
Our praise and worship must come from a heart that is passionately in love for the LORD.
If we enter into praise and worship publicly when our hearts is not right with the Lord it will eventually be made known.
We will eventually fall, and everyone will see.
You will be ridiculed and your God will be ridiculed.
As a true praise and worship leader, you do not live your life the way you want.
You live your life the way He wants.
Remember, you are not your own anymore.
You became His property.
Practical Steps to Prepare Your Heart 1.
Ensure your relationship with the LORD is in tune.
Ask Him to show you if there is any sin in your life.
Then ask Him to forgive you of that sin.
2.
Make sure there is no person in your heart that you have not forgiven.
Ask Him right now to bring to mind anyone you need to forgive.
When names and/or faces come to mind, say, "Lord, I forgive ________ for _______".
It is good to be specific.
Remember, Jesus said that when you pray, forgive - or else you will not be forgiven.
This is a very important point.
Take some time right now.
3.
If there is any sin that you need to repent of, do it with all of your heart.
Get help from others if needed.
Be diligent.
If you are bound by an addiction, you can be free.
There is nothing impossible with God.
He certainly does not want His people to struggle with sinful addictions.
I will be the first to admit that it can be very difficult to find freedom sometimes.
But persistence, and diligence is key.
If you have to repent 1000 times - do it! Freedom will come.
Some things come easy, other things come hard.
But listen to Jesus as He says that we should continue to pray, and not to give up.
Sadly, too many people have resigned themselves to sin.
When you do, you lose God's best for your life.
Most people who resign themselves to sin end up doing everything they can to self-justify their sin.
Do not EVER let yourselves justify something you know deep within your heart is a sin.
It will KILL you.
4.
Maintain a good prayer life.
Stay passionate for Him.
Seek Him.
Practical Advice when Leading Worship Don't expect to lead anyone into true worship unless you are there first.
Get into the presence of God.
Stay more focused on your source (HIM), not your clients (audience).
Don't worry about the audience, whether they like what you are doing or not.
If you hook up with the Lord in worship, the people will naturally follow.
Keep an eye on where you are going.
Remember, you are the leader.
The audience will follow.
Keep your eyes on Him (spiritually speaking).
True praise and worship comes from the heart.
It's not about hitting the right notes, or singing the right words.
It's not about the melody.
It's about your heart connecting with the Glorious One, the Ruler of the Universe.
God is not concerned about you hitting the right note.
He is not concerned about you singing the words.
What He is looking for is the true heart of worship: a humble heart, broken by the glorious presence of the Lord, wholly in love with Him! Many churches sing with their heads buried in books, reading the words as they sing.
Other churches are full of people singing from words projected on a wall.
Look at professional music concerts.
Have you ever been to a concert where everyone stands and sings from books? Or have you ever been to a professional concert where the people join in singing by reading words off a wall? If you are like me, your answer to both of these questions are NO! Real music concerts do not have words readily available for people to read while they sing.
It is expected that those people who attend concerts be more interested in the spirit of the music as opposed to making sure they all sing the right words.
Notice that people who attend concerts that do not practice book/wall reading have attendants that are MORE involved with the music and the message of the music than churches that practice book/wall reading.
Simply put, book/wall reading is not very conducive to an atmosphere that more pastors/priests, and worship leaders look for.
So then why do we do it? Its time to raise the standard.
When you lead praise and worship services you should "up the ante".
Let's get more professional.
Encourage people to get more involved in worship than reading lyrics from a book or a wall.
Encourage people to get their eyes off the words, their minds off the melodies, and their hearts ON worshiping Him! Encourage people to break out of their shell - just like they do when they go to ball games, concerts, or other events.
Most of all, make an atmosphere that is conducive to that.
Get rid of the "typical" praise and worship practices that you see in most churches.
Embrace that which really works.
In some cases, tradition has nullified the Word of God, just as it did in Jesus day.
Encourage, true worship.
Not worship that is watered down or stifled by bitterness.
Not worship that is limited to words.
But true worship, full of humility, full of energy, full of hunger, and most of all - full of freedom.
Worship that doesn't need to read as it goes! I can almost hear Holy Spirit say, "Let My people go!"