As a Worship Leader, I felt you may be interested in why I do what I do when I lead worship. I hope this discourse will give you a better understanding of what God has led me to think and do over the many years I have led worship.

I believe that the primary goal of worship is to please God. When I lead worship, I picture myself standing in the presence of the King, leading the assembly as one into various aspects of worship. We may be rejoicing in Him, praising His name, proclaiming His wondrous works, joining together with joy and laughter as we cheer our King. Other periods are spent filled with songs of soft reflection of his love and mercy, and songs that keep our minds away from ourselves and concentrating solely upon Him.

I always seek for at least a moment in each service where the congregation as one senses the overwhelming Presence of the Holy Spirit, so that when we are finished the church will be focused on Christ, and ready to hear the message given to the Pastor.

I use the arts in many ways. Again, using the reality that we are actually in the presence of the King, I love to have our congregation "perform" before the King. This is where I think many congregations miss the point of worship through the arts. Some dance, drama, etc. is not for the pleasure of the congregation as much as for the pleasure of God. People who have great talent should be able to utilize it before the presence of the King, and we as a congregation should encourage them. We are there to worship God! I think sometimes people forget that God is there, or that He only likes music and preaching! Did we forget that He created ALL gifts? The use of drama, media, dance, testimonials, crafts, artistry all aid in our desire to display our love for Him.

The secondary purpose of Worship, in my opinion, is to enhance the message given by the Pastors. There should be a running thread through the time of worship that draws the congregation to the message of the day. Using different arts will help tremendously in this aspect, because God has wired all of us differently, and uses many different learning styles to get the point across clearly to the congregation. Jesus himself used story telling with the parables, object lessons like the widow's mite, visual aids such as flowers, birds, etc., to bring home the message He was trying to convey. For me, it is crucial that we do all that we can to get the Pastor's message across, and the people leave with vivid memories of the points God had given him to convey.

I also believe in incorporating all types of music in a Contemporary service, using whatever instruments that are needed to make it work. I find that in every generation there are certain songs that are anointed, from the psalms, the creeds, scripture songs, chants, hymns, gospel songs, Jesus music from Larry Norman, Phil Keaggy in the 70's to Michael W. Smith, Third Day, Jars of Clay, and Brandon Heath from today. I believe we need to stay current as well as keeping our musical roots.

I am a multi-generational song leader, and try to gauge a worship service with the right music that will touch each generation in some way. In my many years as a performer and worship leader I have found that the term "Contemporary" is relative, and does not reach only the youth. It reaches all generations, and done tastefully and with excellence it will appeal to all generations as well. For example, a song or hymn that may seem "outdated" to the so-called "Seeker" (There is none that seeketh after God, He calls us all) may be a song that a teen had heard as a child that moved him, and may be the catalyst the Holy Spirit uses to turn him to Christ.

Finally, I like to involve as many people as I can in worship. Active, participatory worship helps people realize that they are in the audience of the King. Contemporary choirs, dance teams, drama teams, artists, craftsmen, poets, testimonies can all display their gifts given them by their Creator in order to enhance worship bring home the point of the message, or simply help us enjoy the life of being a Christian! This speaks volumes to the "everyman" in our congregation, and helps them realize that no matter what gifts God has given one; it can be used to express one's love for Jesus, and be used for His glory and the welfare of the Church.

In conclusion, we are to love God with ALL our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and in encouraging the church to use all their talents to uplift His name, they will have less desire to have to pursue them only through the secular world, but realize the purpose of their talents was always for the glory and praise of God. This is true worship.