Leading Worship as Evangelists, Part 3

Again, I love what I do. Standing on the platform and watching people connect with Jesus is a staggering privilege.

Yet I wish I'd been gifted to be an evangelist. Which means I often ask myself, how can a worship leader be an evangelist?

If you share my struggle, here are the 10 things I’ve been trying to do for a while now:

1. I work hard to connect with people in my community who may not be connected to Jesus or His church.
2. I step into non-musical roles when invited and emphasize personal evangelism.
3. I regularly encourage worshipers to invite family, friends, and neighbors to join them.
4. I diligently pursue a worship gathering that is high quality; excellence often translates into credibility.
5. I choose songs that sound more like what is on the Top 40 radio station than my grandparents’ 1940's radio.
6. I use language that isn’t crafted for insiders, but makes what I’m talking about available to everyone.
7. I have pushed hard for our worship gatherings to be streamed on Facebook Live.
8. I teach those our worship ministry about the role of worship in evangelism.
9. I plan services where we sing the gospel.
10. I pray.

I’ve covered the first 6 in my previous posts. Today, 7-10.

Streaming Worship Gatherings— My pastor is simply an amazing communicator. I’ve been privileged to work alongside several strong preachers, but Tim Harris is a unicorn among horses. He has a spectacular gifting. Three and four years ago we did some work on the analytics of his sermon views on Vimeo and I knew we had something unusual going on. There were people watching in dozens of countries and his sermons were being viewed thousands of times every year…from an agricultural community with a population of about 350. When Facebook Live came along, we got to work upgrading our lighting and video to improve our ability to send a “good product” to the online world. There are now about 8 billion people in the world and 1/4 of them are on Facebook. In the US, 75% of us use it. This was a game changer. On a typical Sunday, we’ll have 600-700 people attend one of our services. But we’ll have over 1,000 watch online. The evangelistic potential for this ministry is virtually unlimited.

Deploying Worship Ministry Members— I work consistently to encourage those in the worship ministry to be on the lookout for people they can invite to church, and to Jesus. Specifically I’m thinking a bass guitar player probably knows another bass player who doesn’t attend church right now. Same for drummers, singers, etc. So I regularly ask folks in the ministry to invite folks to the ministry and the church. It’s why we have a church orchestra ever 4-6 weeks, to engage the gifted in our church family and to invite high school and college friends who play. It’s why we have an annual “Faith and Art” Sunday, where we reach out to our local university. If our worship warriors are also on the front lines of inviting people, it’s a win for everyone—especially those who come to faith or come home to Jesus.

Sing the Gospel— Every Sunday I plan services so we sing the gospel. My thinking… if lightning strikes the steeple 25 minutes into the service and we don’t get to hear a sermon, everyone in the room should have already seen and sung the good news of Jesus. This affects song choice in the week-to-week as well as in the bigger picture. 

Pray— I pray for my friends who are disconnected from Jesus and His church. When we do prayer time in rehearsals, or when I get to lead prayer time for our church, I invite people to share the first names of their lost friends and family members. I write a prayer guide for people to use as they pray during services. Part of that includes praying for the lost. I encourage this kind of thinking in conversations with those outside the worship ministry—staff, deacons, etc. 

Having written about all ten as if I’m some sort of high-functioning worship evangelist, I find myself compelled to confess that I need to step it up. In some of these areas I’ve grown lazy or unfocused. In others, I see ways I can grow. I’m no expert. I’m just a fellow traveler trying to be faithful to the calling of God on my life and ministry.

Again, I have no doubt that many of you are better at this than I will ever be. I’d love to read your comments. How do those of you who lead worship (point person or team member) get to exercise your passion for reaching those far from God?

The Worship Leader as Evangelist, Part 2

Just as I opened the last post, I want to remind you: I love what I do. There is nothing as rewarding for me as leading worship in such a way that people fully engage Jesus... except maybe hearing about how God changes someone’s life as the Spirit does His work during worship.

But I often wish I'd been gifted to be an evangelist. So I ask myself often—really often—how can a worship leader be an evangelist.

If you share my struggle, here are 10 things I try to do:

1. I work hard to connect with people in my community who may not be connected to Jesus or His church.
2. I step into non-musical roles when invited and emphasize personal evangelism.
3. I regularly encourage worshipers to invite family, friends, and neighbors to join them.
4. I diligently pursue a worship gathering that is high quality; excellence often translates into credibility.
5. I choose songs that sound more like what is on the Top 40 radio station than my grandparents’ 1940's radio.
6. I use language that isn’t crafted for insiders, but makes what I’m talking about available to everyone.
7. I have pushed hard for our worship gatherings to be streamed on Facebook Live.
8. I teach those our worship ministry about the role of worship in evangelism.
9. I plan services where we sing the gospel.
10. I pray.

Last time I explored the first two in some detail. Here are numbers 3-6.

Encourage Invitation — Telling stories of the people I invite is powerful, but modeling without communicating is often not enough.

• When a new worship series (aka sermon series) kicks off, it’s a great time to invite friends and family. I often remind those in my ministry and our congregation to do just that.
• When there’s a special event, musical or not, I try “bake in” an outward focus with my promotion of that event.
• I support growth in other ministries of our church. If our kids ministry, student ministry, or small groups are promoting something, I want to promote it within the worship ministry and as a worship leader—in every way I can imagine.
• At worship rehearsals, choir rehearsals, and in emails… virtually any time I’m communicating with those in my area of ministry, I try to find ways to encourage invitation: to join our ministry, to visit our church, to special events, etc.

Pursue Excellence — My favorite way to think of this is the phrase “authentic excellence.” I don’t want our team to sound better than we are, better than our context, but I want to personally pursue as well as encourage others to get better. Always. At every position. I’m convinced that for the first time guest, and especially a sceptic, excellence translates into credibility. What we communicate when we are sloppy is a lack of care for our subject matter—the gospel. 

Sound Like Today — We are missiologists. All of us. Our role is to be able to articulate the gospel in the part of the world we live in. It’s indigenous missions applied to worship. We learn to speak the language of our “target audience.” In case you've forgotten, that target is not living in 1985. If you have any doubt about how much has changed for those who worship with us, drive a 10 year old car and a new one. The difference is staggering.

Taken to excess, this can be alienating to some (or many) in the church. Ignored, it will be alienating to many not yet in the church. And just to be clear, this is not about new songs/old songs but new sound/old sound.

Accessible Language — Similar to the sounds I mention above, words should also sound like today. Like your part of the country. Talk like you are one of the people in your community. You ARE part of your community! Also talk like you are addressing people who have never been in your church. When citing the Bible, make it sound like it is accessible to those who are brand new to the encounter, because it is. Don’t assume the knowledge base of your audience, unless you’ve carefully thought through and decided that you can. 

I’ll expound on the last four from the list next time. Sure hope this serves you!

Again, I’m sure many of you are better at this than I am. I’d love to read your comments. How do those of you who lead worship (point person or team member) get to exercise your passion for reaching those far from God?

Can a Worship Leader Be Evangelistic?

I love what I do.

There is not much as rewarding for me as leading worship in such a way that people fully engage Jesus... except maybe hearing about how God changes someone’s life as the Spirit does His work during the gathering.

But I also love people enough to wish I had been wired to be an evangelist. 

It burdens, even breaks my heart, to think of people I love spending their eternity in hell. And because I love those for whom I get to lead worship, I grieve over those who share the same burden.

So I ask myself often—really often—how can a worship leader be an evangelist.

If you share the struggle, maybe it could serve your journey to know some things I try to do:

1. I work hard to connect with people in my community who may not be connected to Jesus or His church.
2. I step into non-musical roles when invited and emphasize personal evangelism.
3. I regularly encourage worshipers to invite family, friends, and neighbors to join them.
4. I diligently pursue a worship gathering that is high quality; excellence often translates into credibility.
5. I choose songs that sound more like what is on the Top 40 radio station than my grandparents’ 1940's radio.
6. I use language that isn’t crafted for insiders, but makes what I’m talking about clear to everyone.
7. I have pushed hard for our worship gatherings to be streamed on Facebook Live.
8. I teach those in our worship ministry about the role of worship in evangelism.
9. I plan services where we sing the gospel.
10. I pray.

In this post I’ll talk more about the first two. Come back next time for part 2.

#1) Connecting — I have a restaurant ministry. As part of my work and family life, I’ve eaten out a lot. Okay, to be fair, almost every meal for decades. So I’ve turned my repeated visits to eateries into a mission field.

• When you drive thru at McDonald’s (or Starbucks, or Dunkin Donuts, etc.) every day, you can get to know the folks who work in the window. It doesn’t take more than 5-10 seconds a day. Quick follow up questions to “how are you today” will go a long way. Treat them with extravagant respect. Be generous—buy the meal of the person behind you every payday. Demonstrate kindness that stands out.
• Have meetings with people over lunch, and keep the options to a handful of restaurants. I know a lot of servers by name. I ask about their day, their major if they are in college, their hometown/country if they sound like they’re from out of town, etc. When we take an interest in the person—not just their performance—we can get invited in to their story. And then we can become part of their story. And then we can talk with them about inviting God (and our church) into their story. 
• It isn’t just about eating. I do this with my dry cleaner, at the doctor’s office, etc. This works with other parents on your kid’s sports teams or on school field trips.
• A word of caution: people don’t want to be projects. Don’t “work on them.” Get to know them. Do what you do out of love, with love, and for love. Be relational and value the relationship regardless of the outcome. Remember, that person who refuses to accept your invitation to join you at church is still an image-bearer of God. Just like you are.

#2) Non-musical roles — I love to lead in prayer, teach, preach, and go to (good) meetings. 

• Leading prayer. Whether in a Sunday morning “moment” or the role of congregational prayer leader in a mid-week service, I really enjoy serving the function of congregational prayer-voice. Sometimes that is simply me praying the prayers that I perceive are in the hearts of our people. But sometimes it’s more about leading the people to pray—guiding them through a series of subjects, or giving them direction and them breaking them into groups, or taking requests from the floor and asking specifically for the names of people who are disconnected from the church or not-yet saved. Worship leaders, let me remind you of the truth beautifully spoken by A. W. Tozer, “To sing is to pray twice.” You often lead people in prayer through music, so it isn’t as much a stretch as you might think to lead people to pray without music. Doing this well could bolster your ministry in profound ways.
• Teach. I enjoy teaching a Bible Study class on Sunday morning, a small group in my home, filling the role of the teacher at mid-week service, or facilitating a workshop. Every one of these provides an opportunity to let the “evangelist within” come out. I don’t necessarily mean teaching on evangelism, though that is sometimes called for. I mean thinking carefully in the stages of preparation, “How can my heart for evangelism permeate everything I’m teaching?”
• Preach. I am blessed to serve in a place where I get to preach every once in a while. My point of emphasis in preaching is typically up to me. So I let my heart for reaching those far from God permeate the sermon, or parts of it. (Assuming that it follows from the biblical text, of course.)
• Meetings. I volunteer to serve on the missions committee at my church. Nowhere is that in my job description or anything the church expects me to do. But my heart for evangelism and missions gets expressed (and modeled) by adding that to my list of monthly tasks. My administrative experience in church-life helps the committee function well, but I also get to have my finger on the pulse of the church’s expressions of reaching people near and far. I also speak into staff meetings, worship committee meetings, deacon meetings, and anywhere else I’m invited. My voice can be one that continually calls the church to an outward focus, a missional mindset, and help those outside my ministry think of the potential evangelistic impact of the worship ministry.

I’ll bet many of you are far better at this than I am. I’d love to read your comments. How do those of you who lead worship (point person or team member) get to exercise your passion for reaching those far from God?

Ancient Lessons in Worship Leading

John the Baptizer was a big deal.

Seriously. He was a regional superstar!

People came to him from “Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.”

Imagine if people came from your city, your county, and the whole state… just to see YOU!

How would you handle it?

I would…

1. Buy a bunch of extra fine Sharpies and practice giving autographs.
2. Get with a marketing person to develop a line of merchandise, having my family work the merch table.
3. Buy a couple of new outfits so I could look the part.
4. Sign with an agent who could arrange my speaking schedule.
5. Temper what I said so I didn’t alienate anyone.

It would be fun to see your list! 

Okay… maybe I used a little bit of hyperbole, but I’m afraid of how much truth is there.

Contrast those musings with what John the Baptizer actually did…

1. He didn’t care who knew his name, but made sure everyone knew the name of Jesus.
2. He humbled himself when Jesus came to him, describing how unworthy he was.
3. Dressed like a wild man, risking driving people away.
4. Gave the same speech, day after day, in the same location.
5. Confronted those he felt threatened the success of the mission of Jesus.

What in the world does this have to do with leading worship?

I take three big ideas from the story of John:

1. It’s never about my kingdom; it’s always about the Kingdom of heaven.
2. I have to choose to decrease, primarily by making sure I pursue more of Jesus.
3. My fallen self (ego) will always want to be in the spotlight; my redeemed self will yearn to put Jesus there.

KINGDOM BUILDING — “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 3:1) John declared the good news about heaven, not about himself. What choices will you make today to build your own kingdom? To build God’s kingdom? How is this reflected in the nuts and bolts of being a worship leader: song selection, service planning, personnel enlistment and development, production values, etc.?

INCREASE — “He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30) You and I are born full of ourselves. No one has to teach us that. The more we walk with Jesus, the more we read of Him, pray to Him, sacrifice for Him, learn from Him, the more He displaces our “self.” Paul learned this and wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” You and I can keep learning this too!

FOCUS — “Behold the Lamb of God,” John said. He didn’t say “look at me!” with his words, his actions, or his attitude. Everything about John's ministry was designed to get people to look at Jesus. While you are leading worship, how can you do this? From the drums, or the sound console, or as a singer? 

BOTTOM LINE — Your preacher isn't Jesus, and you're no John the Baptist, but we can learn a great deal from John about leading worship. John kept pointing people away from himself and to the Truth, the Way, the Life.

To Jesus.

Are we doing the same?

A Worship Lesson from ESPN? Really?

I love sports. Not all sports, but several of them. 

Still, I don’t camp out on ESPN. Every once in a while, when it just seems the thing to do, I’ll have it on for a bit. I like it. The guys and gals on the shows are good at what they do. And the production value is extraordinary.

Seriously, the technology that ESPN has developed has made sports so much more interesting. The whole 360 camera thing on a play in football for instance? Amazing!

But that’s not the lesson.

Perhaps the best story tellers on television are the folks at ESPN. The way they interview athletes and their families and their influencers is simply amazing. The camera work. The B roll is even stunning.  Our churches could learn something about how to share a powerful testimonies of life change from these folks.

But that’s not the lesson.

Ok… I’ll get to it.

Several months ago there was a commentator talking about the way a football team prepares for a game. Better still, how the best football coaches prepare the best football teams to win.

Ready?

"How do you prepare, how you practice… That’s how you perform, that’s how you play.”

I wish I could give credit. I apologize. I don’t remember which coach it was.

But if we worship leaders could get that… I mean REALLY get it… what would worship gatherings feel like? How would they be different?

If we prepared (spiritually and musically) like someone’s eternity might be affected by our words, our music, our leadership…

If we practiced (spiritually and musically) like someone’s story could be changed forever, that their family system of dysfunction could be broken because of our ministry…

Then that’s how we’d play on Sundays. 

And I’m convinced, in a way that’s quite literally infinitely more important than football, we’d get more wins.

What do you think? Did I stretch this too far?