TWLL #45: The 3 Parts Of Connection-Based Worship Leading

read time: 5 minutes

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What does it mean to be lead connection-based worship?  I think someone who is leading worship out of the conversation and connection they've cultivated with Jesus offstage- to me that person is leading connection-based worship.

And in my mind there are 3 parts or steps in the process of connection-based worship leading, which I want to unpack here.

Part 1 - Developing Connection With Jesus Offstage

Connection with Jesus does not start onstage- it's starts offstage.  The connection you have with Jesus when you lead worship onstage is coming from the connection you've been building with Him offstage.

Which means that connection-based worship leading starts with your own devotional life with Jesus.

It's the choice you make, to sit at His feet, hear His Word, and pour out your heart before Him that cultivates, develops, and strengthens the connection you lean into when you lead a room of people in worship.

Sitting before Him in stillness and silence, reading His Word, journaling out your thoughts and questions before Him, crying out to Him in prayer- all of these things build the relational history with Jesus that you carry with you when you step onstage to lead worship.

And this connection doesn't happen overnight- it happens little by little over time.  When you consistently pursue your connection with Jesus offstage- that's when you begin to feel the impact when you lead worship onstage, which multiplies over time.

Part 2 - Accessing The Connection When You Lead Onstage

Once you begin developing your connection with Jesus offstage, you realize you have something of substance to access or lean into when you lead worship onstage.

Here are a few ways that can help you access your connection with Jesus as you lead worship:

Vulnerability And Authenticity.  When you step onstage to lead worship, you don't want to offer Jesus the "put-together" version of you.  You want to offer Him the real you, regardless of what it looks like.  

Upset, peaceful, discouraged, exhausted, excited- wherever you're really at deep down inside, is what you want to own and acknowledge before the Lord.

And if you've been in a crazy and busy swirl leading up to your worship set, you might not even have a clear sense of how you're really doing inside.  Which simply means you need to slow down internally and ask yourself "where am I at"?

Even if you can just put a one-word description of how you're doing inside and name it, this will help you lead from a place of authenticity and vulnerability before Jesus.

Picturing Him.  In multiple places Scripture gives us multiple descriptions of the appearance of Jesus (Psalm 45, Isaiah 53, Daniel 7, Revelation 1, Revelation 5).  Take the eyes of your heart, and using biblical descriptions picture Him as you sing to Him.  This has been one of the most significant and helpful tools for my heart when leading worship.

Listening.  Even though you have your song list and arrangements for those songs, keep your ears and heart open.  If you sense that He may be highlighting a specific theme or leading you a certain direction, be open to that.  

Don't feel like you have to just go through the song list exactly as planned- see your worship set for the living moment with Jesus that it is.

Part 3 - Bringing Your Team And Room Into The Space Of Connection

When you're intentional about connecting with Jesus offstage, and then begin to access that connection onstage- whether you're aware of it or not- you are facilitating a space of connection that your team and your room can step into as well.  Because you now have something of depth and of real substance to offer and invite the room to participate with you in. 

It's more than a good song list or tight arrangements.  It's a sacred space you've been cultivating away from the platform, hidden from the eyes of others, and is now a substantial foundation that the worship set rests on and that people can sense.

And that foundation functions as an invisible focal point that draws the attention of the room into a space of beholding and responding to Jesus in worship.  Really, it's the fruit of cultivating your connection and conversation with Jesus offstage.

Conclusion

Hopefully these thoughts today have given you a clearer sense of what connection-based worship leading can look like.  

Really the big takeaway I think, is to understand how significant it is for a worship leader to be actively pursuing and developing their connection with Jesus offstage- first and foremost for their own heart as a believer and follower of Jesus, and then secondly as a singer/musician who leads in worship.

Don't just settle for singing the songs- lead worship out of your connection with Jesus.

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Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways I can help you: 

1. The Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship Course.  If spontaneous worship has been a struggle, you might want to check out Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship.  It's a self-guided, self-paced course that empowers you to lead spontaneous worship with confidence, enables your musicians to flow with you, and helps your room engage.  

2- Join A Zoom Group.  Every 3 months I host small zoom groups- one focused on worship leading and one on songwriting.  Each group meets once a week for an hour on Zoom over a 12-week period, as we walk through the process of leading worship or songwriting out of connection with Jesus.  For more details on schedule and cost email me at [email protected]