Observations: 1 Chronicles 29

Interesting observations of worship elements/dynamics from 1 Chronicles 29:

1. Vs. 9 – the leaders’ generosity and attitude inspired joy among the other worshipers. How are we leaders leading with the kind of attitude that inspires the worshipers of God?
2. Vs. 20 – the people praised God from a posture of bowing. For us praise is usually done upright with hands raised. How often do we practice bowing as an act of praise in our gatherings?
3. Vs. 21-22 – their sacrifices were also used to fund their hearty party and fellowship together before God. Man, what a great idea! You can’t tell me that this didn’t put a smile on God’s face! How often do we gather together to party hearty before God?

Worship Leaders as Theologians.

We have a reasonable expectation that the person who proclaims the Word through preaching should have adequately prepared with proper exegesis of the biblical text and then labored to arrange those discovered truths in a format that can be effectively delivered and received with life transforming potential as directed by the Spirit. If they’re going to preach the Word of God they should know the Word of God and the God of the Word. Makes sense enough.

So if worship leaders are called to lead people to worship God…how should he or she prepare?

Should they not invest significant time to ‘exegete the God of the Word’, seeking to know Him beyond our forms of corporate response? If theology is defined as “the ‘word’ on or study of God” should not the worship leader be at least as familiar with the Lord of Hosts as he/she is with the liturgical elements?

Which would God prefer to have as a worship leader: one who has great expertise in worship forms and encouraging the gathered faith community to meaningful response or a worship leader who has plumbed the depths of the immeasurable vastness of God, passionate to climb the face of Mount God with greater, more personal knowledge of the Lord?

Obviously, I believe the correct answer is BOTH, but I wonder that in many churches, the former carries the greater priority and measurement of success.

I have been challenged in  my thinking by a new friend from the Pacific NW, who has affirmed the importance, indeed, the priority of the worship leader being one who is intentional in their progressive knowledge of God over and above the ways to lead congregations in traditional worship forms. The worship of God as Jesus said requires the dual elements of spirit and truth. Spirit relates to the venue with which we can encounter and experience God in relationship. Truth involves the mutual self-revelation that must occur in our encounter with God but is grounded on what God has already revealed of Himself through the Written Word, the Scriptures, and the Living Word, His Son.

Worship leaders must be proficient with the art forms that enable a personal and corporate response to the reality and revelation of God. But the worship of God must be primarily response to the divine self-revelation of God Himself. This is what the leader and congregation must tune to. What does this mean practically for worship leaders?

1. They must invest significant time in their personal pursuit of knowing God through study of the Word, the practice of spiritual disciplines aimed at intimacy with God, etc.
2. They must be familiar with how God has revealed Himself to the faith community down through the ages. (More about this in a subsequent post)
3. They must seek to help their congregations to respond to truth of God by leading them to consider the diverse attributes of God even prior to the preaching of the Word of God.
4. They must help their congregations understand and practice that true worship is a two-way street and that we must do our part in pursuing greater knowledge of a God who has revealed Himself in ways it would take lifetimes to fathom.

All of this starts, however, with the worship leader’s personal passion to pursue intimacy with God. To really know God and then make Him really known through the medium of corporate worship. What becomes a public responsibility must begin as a private and persistent priority.