As I sit here thinking about how to lead praise and worship in a traditional church I am returning from a ministry trip to Sri Lanka. Many of the churches we ministered to there were traditional churches struggling to try and find a blend between the older people in the church who love tradition and the younger ones who want to sing modern praise and worship music. If you are in the church that is struggling with the same issues, it is important that you learn how to lead praise and worship in a way that satisfies both sides of the equation, and does so with sensitivity and true godliness.
How To Lead Praise and Worship That Satisfies Almost Everyone
You may consider that it is impossible to learn how to lead praise and worship that satisfies almost everyone, but I can tell you from experience it is achievable. The most important thing is that you strive always to learn how to lead praise and worship that unites people rather than divides people.
Division is common among God’s people, especially when it comes to the area of music and worship. On one side, you usually have the older congregation members who want to sing the hymns that they have been familiar with for decades, playing in the way that they have always been played with an organ, and that the more temperate volume. On the other side you have the young people and increasingly the middle-aged, who wants to worship the Lord in a way that fits with their culture using music that represents their generation.
Trying to blend both sides of the worship spectrum may seem like an impossible dream, but after many years and many mistakes I believe that I found the right solution.
How To Lead Praise and Worship With Sensitivity
The first thing to think about when you consider how to lead praise and worship is sensitivity… to both sides of the generation gap. If you produce loud, contemporary worship you are saying to the older generation, “you have no value anymore.” If you play hymns exclusively, you are conveying to the younger people that their opinions and culture is unimportant.
A wise worship leader is one who can cater for both sides of the church, exhibiting a spirit of love and understanding for both the old and the young. Part of learning how to lead praise and worship effectively is dealing with conflict as a leader and you need to make sure that both protagonists feel that their opinions are heard, even though you may not act upon these opinions. This means that any complaints about the music being too loud, too rocky, too old or too boring must be listened to and considered when you are deciding how to lead praise and worship with sensitivity.
How to Lead Praise and Worship For Unity
Worship music can be a powerful force for unity or an amazingly destructive force within the church, especially within a more traditional congregation. I have often witnessed angry words and even people leaving the church because of dissatisfaction with the worship service, and we must do our best as worship leaders to make sure that this never happens.
Many churches try to satisfy the opposing sides by having a period of contemporary worship at the start of the service, led by the young people using drums, electric guitars and so on, while reserving songs for worship within the service for hymns played on an organ. While this may be an attempt to appease both sides, what it is really doing is creating a spirit of disunity, with each side recognizing ‘our music and their music’!
I believe that the best way to unite the old and the young, the traditionalists and the modernists, is to have the worship band incorporate hymns into both the contemporary worship time in the service and throughout the entire service.
One worship leader asked me if the elderly reacted badly to the suggestion, offended that their music is not being played on an organ. My experience is that this is not the case but rather the opposite occurs, where the older people see the younger ones embracing their teams and their type of music and making it their own. Most often this brings great joy to the more traditional believers, so you can learn how to lead praise and worship as a source of unity in the church rather than using music to polarize church members.
So, worship leaders, it is possible to unite both the traditionalists and the more modern members of your congregation! The most important thing is that you learn how to lead praise and worship with sensitivity while promoting unity across all age groups in your church.
Thanks for checking our Worship Leader Online. If you are interested, here\\\'s a few more links to worship related sites...
worship: Definition Synonyms from Answers.com
Chinese Christians face tense Easter in Beijing - USATODAY.com
Praise and Worship Leader Training
How to Lead Praise and Worship Despite your Feelings
How to Lead Praise and Worship- In a Nutshell
Thank you for a brilliant (yes! I said brilliant) and sensitive approach to resolving this increasingly prevalent divide in the tradional Baptist church. We are a mid-range congregation size; it is difficult (both budget and acceptance)to get beyond the organ,piano and MAYBE drums. We’ve been trying for two years to get a quality keyboard (music station) to add some of the band instruments for which we can’t afford live musicians. You’ve given me encouragement and arguments to keep trying! May God bless you and keep up the good work!
A Pleasure. If you can add one instrument which has the possibility of bridging the gap it is the acoustic guitar. Please keep in touch and let me know how your “challenge” gets on!
Mixing old and new will never work. The thing is there should not be a NEW in the first place. The Catholic Church has always remained the same throughout time and it is the reason for its success. Youth may want the new method, but remember that devotion is not getting what you want. Though the whole world falls apart the church must be in steady. All the new praise and worship methods brings the excitement in life in to the church and that is the exact opposite of what a church should provide. Sure… its what many want but we as religious leaders must not think like that in the first place. The devil and is excitement must never be promoted in a church in the first place. The Catholic mass will always be the most powerful method to reach the Holy Spirit, its because its clam, quiet and humble. Nothing more than a Organ is needed. If people want to show talent please provide stages and musical shows.
Chirantha, I thoroughly disagree with you. Organ music and tradition are not the bedrock you suggest, neither is the Catholic Mass. I am not saying that you cannot find God in traditional music, but neither can you say that it is the ONLY way to connect with God. If excitement is of the devil then Heaven is going to be a boring place, and I cannot even fathom that. I love traditional sonmgs, but if we can lead them in a modern way we can open them up to new generations without boring them and driving them away from the church. Worship is about connecting people to God, and i for one am happy to do whatever I feel is in the Lord to achieve that, including new songs, old songs or even no songs!
Darin, listen, the new praise and worship songs focus more on the beat and music and sadly bass as well as loudness. What I am getting at is that when people hear these fast beats its a bodily reaction to dance, clap etc (Fun). I don’t know if you know this but there are many men (boys) who want to see girls dancing as it gives sexual excitement. I know a few people who go to local Charismatic services to do just that especially when the church is plunged into darkness. There are girls who want to do the same as well (tease). These are happenings in a musical show which I have no objection of. This is the reason Local Bishops have banned clapping and dancing in churches. However I would not want this occurring inside a Holy Place such as a church or when the objective is to praise the Almighty. The mentality of the people is a factor here. It might be different in USA but its not here. Heaven is not a place with excitement. Excitement is the result of complexity created by the devil. Life in heaven is not boring because his love is with us all. Metal relaxation is best obtained via humbleness and chants. Not disco music and rap. Its the same in many other religions around the world.
I’m sorry, I cannot agree with you! I understand the sexual element, and agree that this is certainly an ungodly situation, and should never be encouraged. I am not even a fan of dancing, mainly because i am terrible at it myself (2 left feet!), but my experience of worship is exciting and wonderful, yet sometimes intimate and gentle also. There is no one way sanctioned by the Lord, and if you say that chants and quiet meditaion is the only way, you will have to exclude King David from Heaven, because he danced and celebrated with all his might (2 Sam)! A church should be holy, but not boring! Seeing people come to Christ is very exciting for me! I believe that we can worship with real joy and excitement, without becoming sexually provocative, and also have moments of quiet humility and contemplation. I am not a disco or rap fan either, just a worship fan and I cannot help it… I am inspired but great music and heartfelt worship, and not very inspired by chants. If you fail to allow your culture to worship in the way they understand, you will become ineffective as a force in your community, and I know that neither of us want this! The church needs the be the most exciting place in town, not because the girls are sexually presented, but because lives are being radically changed, families restored and people are worshipping the Lord with all their hearts, allowing Him to move in genuine power!
The Catholic church is a congregation of Jesus and not of David. David is a part of the old testament which the Catholic church does not directly follow. Jesus has told us to be humble. The bible has thought us to pray inside close windows and doors, further the Church law also dictates that clapping and dancing is not allowed. Also the Bible has told us never to pray or spread the word of God in the middle of a junction. Darin, most churches may as will be yours are situated in the middle of residential area’s and sometimes with people of mixed religions. New praise and worship is so loud that it has caused conflicts with area people. We have the right to worship yes, but the Lord has also thought us to consider about others. Being a Christian is not about music, and a religious service is not about celebrating but teaching. The Catholic church was never boring and never will be, its too much external excitement that has lead to this feeling. The Catholic church has allowed Charismatic movements putting aside its laws but not because people want it. Its because a small portion of people leave the church because of it. This does not mean the church has changed. It means like a Shepard that will stop the flock and go back for one lost sheep the church loves its people. Its this love Jesus has thought us thus it does mean the church will mix them together as new and old system. Ultimately, people have returned back to Traditional worship when they realize the true power of the Catholic mass.
there is a typo on my last post.. “Its this love Jesus has thought us thus it does NOT mean the church”
Chirantha, we are probably going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I am certainly not here to debate the Catholic Mass, but my point is simple… worship is about leading people closer to the Lord. Now you might live in a Catholic enclave, but most of our listeners do not. And their churches are celebration, as well as teaching. The worship is the celebration bit and that is what we are dealing with on this site. You cannot say we are of David and not of Jesus if we worship in a different way to you. This is the type of exclusivity that has started wars! I would urge all worship leaders to worship in the way that they feel the Lord is leading them, and the way that their people understand. If it uses traditional instruments, language or song, that’s fine I think. If your way is the Mass, that’s nice for you but you cannot tell me it is the only way for me! Being a non-Catholic, I do not understand or appreciate what I have seen of the mass. I would rather worship the way I know and understand, but I do so without telling you taht you have to adhere to my way. We all must be careful what we say!
Really? Let me say that, as a Worship Leader who plays modern music, it doesn’t matter who is “better” at religion and the “business” of Church. It doesn’t matter what type of service you hold or even the type of people you bring in. What matters is that YOU are led to do what YOU do for God and no one else. I am called to play the modern “rock” type of music by God and no one else. I was not raised in a Church. I believed in God and that was about it. But in a low point in my life He reached out to me, and I was saved…. period. I promised God that I would give all that I had in service, but all that I had was a guitar (and a classic/southern rock background). He promptly reminded me that all Mosses had wad a stick. So I agreed to follow where HE leads and give what I have. So if you don’t like my music or the service at my church, go to one where YOU can connect with GOD and NOT the music. See, it’s all about your relationship with God through His Son, Jesus. The music is there to set your heart and mind into the mood for worship. When you get right down to it, none of the music or Church services today are “traditional”, unless you are listening to a harp and reading from scrolls in the Temple or Synagogue. Times change, people change…. God is the only real constant in the equation. Don’t make it about anything else.
Really? Kenny, I am happy for your conversion and your musical tastes (which I share!), but you miss the entire point of this article. Now, you may attend a church where modern rock is the culture, but millions of worship leaders do not. Saying, “God called me, no one else, and if you don’t like my music or the service at my church, go to one where YOU can connect with GOD and NOT the music,” is super divisive! I am preaching tolerance and using music to bring all sides together, not “God leads me so if you don’t like it go away”. This attitude has driven people away from God and split churches. The fact is there are traditional churches, to greater or lesser degrees, and most of our readers are serving and at times struggling to be gracious to all parties in their situation. If your church is ultra modern, then you are in the right place, but please be gracious to those serving the Lord in more traditional, less comfortable services. Of course it is all about God, but amazingly God loves people who don’t agree with you or I. Graciousness, unity and love is what we need with those whose worship styles are different, and these are very much about God!