1) Any
journaling must naturally be done well before
the service, usually when selecting the song
list. Listening to what Holy Spirit wants to
do in the service, is key. He will normally
give you a theme or a single song or even a couple
of songs. Once He has established a theme, He
will often give you a choice of other songs
on the same theme, but assume nothing!
Wait on Him to tell you.
2)
Once you have your list, don’t hold on
too tightly to it. In the same way that
preachers that are being led by the Holy
Spirit may need to surrender the sermon
they’ve spent so long preparing, in
preference to what the Holy Spirit wants to
do that day, likewise song-leaders must have
humility enough to do the same.
3)
Pre-service time tends to be traditionally a
last minute practice for the band, but if
anything needs to be practiced, it really
should have happened on the scheduled
rehearsal nights, and pre-service time only
used for quick top & tails/transitions
run through. This needs to be very short, as
it’s important to leave as much time as
possible for pre-service prayer. This is
where you can tune to flow, well before the
first song is sung.
4)
Once the music begins, focus is on Father,
Son & Holy Spirit – particularly
watching for what the Holy Spirit is doing.
There can be no journaling here. When you
hear/see/sense what the Holy Spirit gives
you, you must respond and follow immediately.
5) If
Holy Spirit has only given you one song for
the service, how do you know what to sing
after it? Sometimes the worship leader will
“hear” in the spirit what must be
sung next – whether a repetition of a
chorus, verse or bridge, or even change to
another song. Sometimes, he/she will actually
see in the spirit what is to be played on
their instruments. (I often experienced both
these when leading from the piano.) Other
times it will be more of a strong impression
of what is to happen next – becoming
louder or quieter, singing without backing,
drums only, a single instrument solo and so
on.
The next song can often
times come to you as a thought. If you are in
the flow at the time you can be relatively
sure it’s the Holy Spirit who has told
you. It’s not about trying to think fast
on the spot. This is not about what you can
think up in your mind, but about allowing the
Holy Spirit to lead His way! Nevertheless,
giving the Holy Spirit free reign to choose
as the worship progresses can be scary for
those worship leaders that like to have their
song lists neatly wrapped up before hand.
However, some of the best worship happens
when Holy Spirit has a free license to do as
He wants to do. All I can say is that you get
better with practice.
6) If
you get stuck and don’t know what to do
next, get out of your head, spend some time
in free worship, singing/praying in tongues.
As Dr Mark Virkler has said before,
speaking/singing in tongues is a spiritual
act, and as such will help to align you back
into flow.
There are of course,
some cautions to be aware of. Be careful the
next song is not one that the previous song
has merely reminded you of. Music, being an
emotional art-form, can bring to mind
memories of other songs, tunes, etc., so be
careful you are in the flow and not led by
reminders. Usually the message of the song
will make it obvious because Holy Spirit does
not chop and change themes mid way through.
(For example, if the theme is warfare, it is
highly unlikely that Holy Spirit will
suddenly change to a quiet love song and then
jump to another theme. If something like this
happens, you should sense the error straight
away. Get back into flow as quickly as you
can. Be willing to stop the incorrect song
and move on either in prayer or singing in
tongues. Hopefully, if you’re in flow,
it won’t come to that. Plus the Holy
Spirit is gracious and will help you.
7) Be
watchful in the natural as well. Be aware of
your team. Is the Holy Spirit highlighting
one or two musicians and/or singers. You may
sense or hear it, but often times you will
see it too. You cannot afford to be so far
off on your own that you do not do you job as
worship leader.
It is also essential
that worship leaders do keep an eye on the
congregation as well. Your job is to gently
encourage the people to join you in the Holy
Spirit flow, to lift their eyes to Him and to
worship together in unity. If the
congregation are looking around bored,
you’ve probably failed in that mission,
and need to pull back to a place where people
can re-join you in the worship. In
particular, if the worship service is coming
to a close you also need to be watching to
see when the speaker, or whoever is scheduled
up next, is about to come to the platform.
8)
Finally, you can be assured that the Holy
Spirit is not out to trick you or make you
look silly! He cares about you, and will only
use what’s in your hand. That is,
He’ll use the songs you know well, and
the skills you have. While it is beneficial
to have a large repertoire of songs, He is
simply looking for someone who is available,
willing, and humble.
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