Characteristics of a worship leader

Recently I shared with worship team members that we need to strengthen our leaders and strengthen our teams. After chatting about this we decided to spend a few weeks praying about leadership. The question we asked was, "Do we have our strongest, most gifted people leading our worship teams?" As a prayer aid, I crafted these five essential traits of an HMC worship leader. The teams have been perusing this for over a week so I thought I'd let the rest of the world in on it now to.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Living out the love of God

Worship leaders must love God above all else. This is evident by the fruit being produced—the fruit of the Spirit. They manifest love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They are not grumpy and don’t think primarily about their own preferences. They are quick to forgive, not easily angered and they don’t speak negatively about others.

2. Commitment

Team leaders carry an extra load. They think about the songs and flow of the service before practice. They show up early to turn on the lights, photocopy songs, and prepare themselves and the team for practice. They are also able to commit to meeting monthly with the other worship team leaders to plan upcoming services, encourage the other leaders, and share new skills and ideas.

3. Team Leader

Worship leaders are team players. They care about their team members and the people in the congregation. They see themselves as leading one harmonious group of congregants and band members in adoration of our great God. They have a picture of how they would like the congregation to respond (with joy or reflection? With self-examination or seeing the needs of my neighbour?) They are sensitive to congregational needs and they feel responsible for addressing those needs. They hold themselves accountable when team members aren’t getting along and they are the first to encourage the team and the congregation. They never see the team and congregation separated—from an “us” and “them” paradigm. And they work hard to honour young and old as they work toward the accomplishment of the vision.

4. Musicality

Team leaders need to be musical. They need to be strong singers and know how bands function musically. The leader should be aware of song flow and band dynamics. They should have some basic musical training and know something about how different band instruments work together. If an instrument is out of tune, someone is singing off key, or a 4/4 timed song is being played in 6/8, the leader should know something is not quite right.

5. Openness

Worship leaders are naturally open. They are eager to invite new people to join their team. They are open to learning new songs and new talents (ie. speaking between songs, discovering an old hymn in a new skin…). They are open to leading people in hymns, choruses and everything in between. They are open to criticism and they are willing to listen and respond when congregants and team members have questions or concerns.