Left Turns, Crash and Burns

You don’t see a lot of right turns in NASCAR. 

I mean think about it for a second. With the exception of a couple of races each season, or the occasional burnout done by a winning driver (I’ve already given away too much about myself in regards to my knowledge of NASCAR), the driver’s job is to make left turns. This is a good thing to make sure a driver understands when they sign up for the job. I think that this avoids a lot of chaos, burning wreckage, and the like, that might be caused were a driver to suddenly decide to curve right instead of following the curve of the track and staying left. A driver knows when he gets into his car, exactly what his job is. Turn left. Win races. That’s it. Best not to deviate from the plan. 

Unfortunately, I think many worship leaders view their job in a very similar fashion. Many worship leaders view themselves as having a very narrow job description. Show up on a Sunday morning, stand in front of the congregation and play music for 30 minutes and “lead” people in worship (making sure to have smooth transitions, don’t forget the words, no downtime, less talking, more music), and then sit down.

Sounds a lot like NASCAR. Show up on Sunday. Get in the car and make left turns. Win the race, and go home.

Modern church culture tells us that is the appropriate role of a worship pastor. The Church teaches what worship is, but often worship leaders aren’t given the opportunity to truly lead the congregation in worship - whether that be through explanation or merely taking the time to allow the Holy Spirit to offer direction. And there are certainly many people who prefer their worship leaders to sing and be done. So what is that the extent of the worship leader’s role? Can our job be summed up in being a music leader? And how does this have an impact on the worship culture of a church? Does it have an impact on a congregation?

Simply put, worship is our response to God - God’s people responding to who He is and what he is doing in their lives and the lives of the people around them. Worship through music is one outlet that we have been given to respond to God. So what does worship look like to a non Christian? Or even a new Christian for that matter? If worship is a believer’s response to God, how does someone with little or no Christian memory worship? The missing ingredient is discipleship. Instruction.

A worship leader’s job goes far beyond being a music monkey at a Sunday morning gathering. The responsibility of the worship leader is to not only lead worship, but to also teach God’s people about what worship is and why we do it. This includes Christians of all spiritual maturity levels. Yes, this actually means that sometimes a worship leader must take a moment or two and discuss what worship is - help to usher the congregation along and talk them how to worship. Worship leaders won’t disagree with this statement. It’s common sense. I’m overstating the obvious. 

But the reality is that many worship leaders have reduced it to something much less. Let the weight of the role sink in. How does a worship leader disciple their congregation in worship? If you are a worship leader, the idea that you might be called to more than a five song set and a bit of prayer in between to smooth transitions might feel a bit unnatural. It may feel a lot like making a right turn on a left turn track. It feels like just maybe, you might hit the wall and crash and burn. But it’s simply a matter of realizing the bigger role of a worship leader. If you are a worship leader or worship pastor, consider what that looks like as you stand before your congregation. How will you play a role in discipling your church into worship? When was the last time you took a step back to consider whether your church is effective in truly leading God’s people into worship?

Might I add that a NASCAR drivers job is much more complicated than simply turning left and winning races. Drivers must have great situational awareness, great reflexes, be great strategists, communitcate with their team and do it all at 200mph. Thats some serious multitasking. The beauty is in the fact that they do it so well that you only see the obvious.