Leading a Worship Team
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”
Psalm 78:72 NIV
Amidst all the scheduling, song selecting, rehearsing, logistics, and actual worship leading in a service—we can’t forget that the skill of leadership is essential for the worship leader.
I am referring specifically to leading your worship team. Musicians and creative people can be challenging to lead as our emotions can be a bit like a rollercoaster!
Nevertheless, worship leading is a leadership position, so it would behoove us to learn and develop leadership skills!
After being in worship ministry for over 20 years, I’ve learned plenty about what to do and not to do in that regard.
Here are some essential things to do when leading a worship team:
(you can do all these even if you’re not the “main” leader…just don’t overstep your boundaries)
1. Lead spiritually
The story of David shows us that he started as a shepherd. What do shepherds do? They take care of sheep—they feed them, lead them, and protect them. He was faithful to take care of the flock that was entrusted to him.
Then God took him from shepherding sheep to shepherding people. Hence the verse in Psalm 78:72 (NIV) “And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”
Throughout the scripture, God uses the analogy of shepherds and sheep to present leadership. Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd.
Then Peter says in 1 Peter 5:2, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly.”
And Paul said in Acts 20:28, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”
You may not be in an official pastoral position, but the principle still remains. As a worship leader, you have been entrusted with a “flock” or a group of people to lead!
When Jesus restored Peter, He asked him “Do you love Me?” three times. Peter said “Yes, Lord” and Jesus said, “Feed My lambs…Tend My sheep…Feed My Sheep.” (John 21)
Part of “shepherding” is to tend and feed the people entrusted to you. When I say worship leaders should lead spiritually, this is how I see that practically playing out:
> Share the Scripture/Word
What God’s been showing you in your devotions
What God’s been showing you for the worship team
Any prophetic words for the ministry
> Worship together
Not just during services, but off-stage as well
Maybe in a house or worship concert coming through town
> Pray together
“The family that prays together, stays together” —Unknown
> Lead by example
Exemplify true worship on and off stage
2. Create community
Have fun together!
Talk about things other than worship ministry!
Learn about their lives (their job, family, kids, what they like to do for fun, etc.)
Take your team members out to lunch!
The more you get to know your team, the better you will flow together on the platform…and create a community that people want to be a part of.
Help people feel known and seen.
TIP: If you’re not a “people-person” and feel really challenged by this, find some blogs, podcasts, youtube’s, etc to learn a few practical ways to connect with people. A little connection goes a long way—especially when your team is made up of people who are volunteering their time to serve the Lord.
3. Create a Culture of Encouragement
Check out this verse:
1 Chronicles 12:18 NIV
“Then the Spirit came on Amasai, chief of the Thirty, and he said:
“We are yours, David!
We are with you, son of Jesse!
Success, success to you,
and success to those who help you,
for your God will help you.”
So David received them and made them leaders of his raiding bands.”
When the Spirit came on Amasai, he got really supportive and encouraging! What if we not only pursued God for the prophetic and healing gifts, but also sought God for this manifestation of the Spirit?!
Then there’s Barnabas who believed in Saul (turned Paul) before the rest of the church did!
Acts 9:27, “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.”
How about this verse from the Amplified Bible:
1 Cor. 13:7 AMPC, “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].”
Love is ever ready to believe the best of every person!
Create a culture on your team where encouragement and support are normal, people feel believed in, and the team is constantly believing the best for each other.
Call people out for what they did good! Lift them up! And make that the norm.
4. Call them higher
Push your team past what they think they can do.
Be nice, be practical, know the limits of your team, and play to their strengths.
…But push them!
I had a piano teacher who would always push me past what I thought was possible. In fact, I’ve always had leaders who believed in me more than I believed in myself. That’s what good leaders do! They call people higher.
In other words, people don’t get better at things by keeping everything easy. In fact, if you don’t push your musicians and singers, they are apt to get frustrated and want to leave because it’s boring for them.
Good leaders challenge their people to grow.
If you’re just keeping your songs to easy four-chord-wonders (which are still good), you might want to challenge them to play/sing something more difficult.
We don’t set them up for failure by giving them something far beyond their reach, but we can find something that’s just a step or two from their comfort zone. It gives them an opportunity to stretch their abilities and grow.
The truth is, people can do way more than they think they can. They just need good leaders to push them there.
Encourage your team to grow and work on their gift—through lessons, practice, online courses, etc.
As an important side note: Call them higher, not just in music, but in personal holiness.
Hebrews 3:13 NIV says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
Then later in Heb 10:24 NIV, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”
5. Don’t be afraid to correct, make it normal
This might be the most challenging one on the list. Sometimes we’re afraid of bringing correction because we don’t want to offend or hurt anyone. But we have to see the bigger picture.
Pursuing excellence is healthy!
In fact, a lack of excellence is distracting. And not only that, if we don’t correct mistakes we’re not helping people get better! (Correction in scripture is actually a sign of love.)
When we make correction part of the normal culture of the worship team, it helps to take the “sting” out of it because people come to expect it. And since we’re also cultivating a culture of encouragement, people don’t walk away feeling defeated.
I use a thing called a “grace sandwich.” I start with something encouraging, give the correction, then end with something encouraging.
Here’s an example:
“Hey, great job today leading that song. I really liked how you sang the bridge with such passion. I did want to mention that the start of the song felt like we lost momentum coming out of such an energetic song and into your song. Maybe you could lead in prayer or something to help the energy and momentum in that moment? But, again, you did a great job and I could really feel the anointing, especially on the bridge. What do you think?”
The Proverb said that when there is no vision, the people perish or throw off restraints; i.e. they do whatever they want. (29:18)
Correcting something that is off helps to keep the standard. If no one gets corrected, the standard lowers, and as a result, the quality decreases.
Hold the standard by correcting things that get off.
I suggest this:
Have standards of expectations…and communicate them clearly.
It helps to eliminate confusion, casts vision, and brings clarity.
IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE:
It’s ok to have people sit down from the team if they aren’t living right. In fact, it’s necessary.
6. Stay humble and gentle
Proverbs 15:1
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
A few keys:
> take time to listen
> be understanding
> good leaders are good servants
> be open to others' feedback on your leadership!
- Welcome feedback
- It doesn’t mean you have to agree with it, but it’s helpful to hear how other people are impacted by your leadership
Fun fact: You’re probably wrong more often than you care to admit (lol)
One time I was co-leading a worship set and we were about to go into “Our Father” by Bethel. The girl leading the song was leading in Bb. The problem was, I always lead it in E, so that key was stuck in my head.
We transition to the song, and everyone plays in Bb, but I play in E.
Instead of being humble and realizing I was wrong, I gave a stank face to everyone that sent a message that they were all wrong and I was right!
The girl leading the song just went with it and started singing the verse so high that I quickly realized that I was the one who made the mistake.
We laughed as I repented in the green room.
MY LESSON: Stay humble and gentle. Take the low road! Live with the possibility that you could be wrong!
Philippians 2:3-4 NIV
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
7. Pray!
This one goes without saying—but prayer is vital!
Here are a few ways to pray as you lead your team:
> Pray for your team in your personal prayer times
prayer is inviting God to move in your team
not only that, you get to begin to feel God’s heart for your team, and have more than just your own perspective
> Pray together as a team
> Pray for each other when you’re together
Lay hands, pray, prophesy, encourage!
Each one of these points could be a deep dive in itself, but I believe this is enough to spark change for an even better team experience!
(Even if you’re not the head worship leader, you can still implement these keys. Just know your position and stay humble…especially on #5.)
Question: What stands out to you?
What is something that your team would benefit from having more of?