"Again Jesus said, 'Simon son of John, do you truly love me?'
He answered, 'Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.'
Jesus said, 'Take care of my sheep.' "
JOHN 21:16 (NIV)
Jesus had it right when He referred to us as sheep. One time I was working with a friend on a sheep farm in southern Australia, moving a flock of sheep from one field and down the road to another. As the main herd moved down the road, one sheep got startled somehow and ended up in a field on its own. As I took two of the sheepdogs and went after the "lost sheep," my friend kept moving the flock down the road to their next pasture.
It didn't take long for my "lost sheep" to ram its head into my shins and bolt into the wild blue yonder, being chased by the sheepdogs. Meanwhile down the road, my friend had no sheepdogs at all to help turn the flock into the paddock and the sheep kept going straight past the open gate towards town. As a pair of shepherds, we made good teenagers from the city.
When it comes to being in a large group of people, we all become like a flock of sheep. On our own we can easily work out how to do simple things like when to stand up and sit down. (I can't remember the last time I needed help with that!) But get us in a group and all of a sudden we cannot work it out. We need a worship leader of some sort to tell us, "Welcome to Church! Stand up with me now as we praise God..." or "Amen! What a great worship time! You can now sit down."
It amazes me how much more comfortable people are when they can release the simple responsibility of working out when to sit down or stand up over to someone else! Without the heavy burden of what I call "spatial decision-making" on their shoulders, individuals can suddenly be free to interact with God in profound ways! And it doesn't end there!
"So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."
HEBREWS 4:16 (NLT)
One of the key elements a worship leader needs to exercise is Bold and Decisive Leadership. It's not enough just to be able to sing or play well. Someone has to lead the group into the life-changing time with God. Someone has to have an expectation of God and run with it confidently. Someone has to recognise what God is doing and "boldly go" in their worship leading.
"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the Word of God with freedom and boldness and courage."
ACTS 4:31 (AMP)
We see in God's Word that boldness is one of the indicators of being full and overflowing with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31). Sometimes we are so "song-reliant" in our worship leading that we don't depend on the Holy Spirit. We expect that God will move if we choose the right songs. And yet we see that boldness comes from the Holy Spirit filling up and flowing out of us: no song on its own can do that!
"The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus."
ACTS 4:13 (NLT)
Boldness is a result of being with God - getting His insight and impartation. Are we spending time allowing God to reveal Himself to and in us as worship leaders? Sometimes we reflect a Martha-mode more than Mary-mode of interaction with God.
"As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made."
LUKE 10:38-40 (NIV)
If you want to be a bold and decisive leader, you are going to find it beneficial to hang out in God's presence and to be infused with His desires. Knowing who God is, who He has made you to be, and knowing what He wants to do with people when you all get together means that you are on God's ministry team.
It's a powerful thing to be relevant to God's plans. The slickest song list or musical arrangement might give people an emotional high, but when God moves, lives get changed forever.
How powerful must a paintbrush feel when it is held by the Master Painter! Just so we can be emboldened knowing Who holds us as He paints out a picture in the lives of those whom we lead in worship.
Humility is confidence in the right Person.
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