Preparing Your Heart to Lead Worship
A few years ago, I wrote a book called Becoming a Worship Pastor. I’ll be honest with you - I’ve never liked that title. If I ever do a re-write, the title is the first thing I’ll change. It does convey what the book is about though: pastoring in worship. Going beyond leading songs to leading people.
In chapter 6 I talk about preparing to pastor. Here’s an excerpt on preparing your heart. It’s mostly scripture, so I think it’s worth the read!
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As important as knowing your congregation, connecting with your pastor, and preparing songs are for the worship pastor, it is just as important to prepare yourself to pastor. Most worship pastors spend most of their preparation time in rehearsal, but there is much more to it. Although preparing our hands is important, we also need to prepare our hearts and minds.
Prepare your heart through prayer. If you’re praying over the songs you lead, you’ve already started this. My lead pastor asks me nearly every week if I am “prayed up.” He wants to ensure that I am constantly praying and ready to minister. Even when I interviewed for my current position, he asked me about the importance of prayer in what I do. He explained that our church does not always stick to the script, that sometimes we would vary from the order of service. He needed to know that I could handle that and lead well in any circumstance. My answer to his question is what allows us to have complete trust in each other during a service. Our mutual pursuit of prayer has put our hearts in sync with God’s heart for our church.
Walk into services prayerfully. Align your heart with God and with your leadership. Doing so will bring clarity to the vision for each service, it will build your leadership’s trust in you and it will serve you well in your ministry.
In regards to your mind, prepare it by releasing everything to God. This isn’t to say that you should fake it or act like you have everything together, but that you should realize what you have in Christ. Colossians 3:1-17 says this:
“1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
We are aiming for verses 16 and 17, but verses 1 through 15 are how we get there. By handing everything over to God, we set ourselves up to be used by God. I am a more effective minister when I am not bogged down by life. My guess is that you will be too.
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