TWLL #63: You Connect With Him & They Will Connect With Him

read time: 3 minutes

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Leading worship is different than having a personal time of worship in your car or at home.  You're leading a room of people, and there's an element of responsibility that naturally comes into play.

One of the main things I think of with worship leading, is that as worship leaders we're trying to remove barriers to people connecting with Jesus and build bridges for them to connect with Jesus.

And if we're thinking of how we can help the room connect with Him, a first logical step would be to try to connect with them- to direct our attention and focus to the room.

And while it's important to connect with the room, one of the best ways to help the room connect with Jesus is actually not to start by directing our attention to the room- but to take our attention and direct it to Jesus Himself.

What Happens When We Connect With Him In Worship

When someone sings to Jesus in a spirit of worship, multiple things are happening.  First and foremost Jesus is being exalted.  Worth, glory, and honor are being given to Him, which is as it should be.

It's also impacting the worshipper.  When you respond to Jesus with your song of worship, you're stepping into something you were made to do.

It's hard for me to put into words all that the experience of singing to Jesus in worship is like- but the closest, simplest way I could say it would be that it is right.  It is good and right to worship and praise Him (as the Scripture itself says), and you experience that goodness and rightness (if that's a word :)) when you worship Him.

But there's also something else that happens when you worship Jesus in song.  There's a space or environment of worship that's cultivated when you sing to Him- whether you're fully aware of it or not.

It makes makes me think of David, when he would play his instrument in Saul's presence.  Or when Elisha called for a minstrel/musician.  Or when Paul and Silas we singing hymns to the Lord in the middle of the night.

There's a very real sacred space that forms when you worship Jesus.

Something For The Room To Step Into

This space or environment of worship that exists as you direct your attention and focus to Jesus and sing to Him, is a space that can be shared with others.  

Which means that when you give your attention to Him and worship Him, you are cultivating a space of worship that you then can invite the room into.

If you're mostly directing your attention to the room, to try and help them connect with Jesus, you don't have much to invite them into.  But when you put your attention on Jesus and you worship Him, it's like you're building a bridge for the room to walk across- or rolling out a carpet for them to walk on.

You- by connecting with Jesus in song- are actually helping the room to connect with Him too.

Not Leaving Them Behind

With all this said, it's still important to be aware of the room.  It's important to give the room some of your attention- and there are specific things that you can and should do, where your focus is directed toward the room.

I'm not advocating that you just ride off into the sunset, and leave the room in the dust.  I'm saying that if you want to help your room connect with Jesus, it starts with you connecting with Him in worship. 

Cultivate the space, build the bridge by giving Jesus your attention and focus through your song of worship, and then invite them to join you in that space.

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

1. Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship.  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 learning to lead worship/write songs out of connection with Jesus.  For more details about our upcoming fall worship leader zoom group, including schedule and cost, email me at [email protected]