Comments on: What Does a Worship Leader Do? Pt. 2

By: Jessica Halim

Jessica Halim — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:17:12 +0000

Hemm i guess it might be hard to change people’s perception about the term ‘worship leader’ esp. in our contemporary musical world, cultural issue too, maybe? Here in Australia, esp. among Sydney evangelicals, the term ’songleader’ is used & well-known already. (but maybe not among some other denominations).

And as someone mentioned before, ‘worship’ in different culture means different things. As I come from Chinese/Asian background, worship in my home country means bowing down or giving foods to some statues (or idols), or burning incense to worship ancestors in the hope of getting some blessings in return. Might sounds strange to you, but that’s how it is…

Anyway thanks Bob for showing us back to what the Bible says about worship-leading, it might be harder to explain biblical worship in the midst of contemporary world, but hey the Bible and Christianity is all about counter-cultural, isn’t it? =)

By: Brandi Davis

Brandi Davis — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:22:25 +0000

I really think that the title of “worship leader” should be rethought. When I was on a plane with my guitar coming back from leading worship a person asked me what I do. I quickly responded with “I’m a worship leader.” He looked at me puzzled because he had no idea what that was. I then furthur explain that I lead people in singing as an act of worship to the Lord. I also mentioned the term church and then he understood. People who are not Chrisitans do not know what Christian worship means, so saying that someone is a “worship leader” means absolutely nothing to them. Also, in a cross-cultural setting, they perceive worship differently than Americans do. I”m only 22 so I don’t know what it is like to go to church without a worship leader, so therefore, my mindset has been trained to have someone leading praise songs for their job. It has become such a routine, that it becomes irrelevant to our corporate worship needs as Chrisitans. In order to be relevant, we need to find and apply different aspects of worship in a corporate setting. In doing this, I know that our worship will become more genuine and heartfelt rather than rehearsed.

By: Jesse van der Meulen

Jesse van der Meulen — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:35:08 +0000

I’ve heard of some use the term “lead worshipper” as an alternative to “worship leader”. I think it’s a helpful term, and one I try to use in my ministry.

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 22:37:16 +0000

I’ve always been partial to “chief musician”. It is biblically acknowledged.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 18:12:22 +0000

Bob,

Thanks so much for going through this. I just arrived back from a personal retreat where I sought to be refocused by the Lord in the area of worship by reading some of Peterson’s Engaging with God. It was helpful, and now reading your blog encourages me even more of how to view my role in our local church. Thanks so much for drawing out the biblical standards and categories for the one who leads the singing, and what he is to do in his role. What you are doing is edifying!!!