My Greatest Battle as a Worship Leader
by Alarice
There’s a monster that likes to rear its ugly head time & time again in my journey to grow as a worship leader. Its name is one you may also be acquainted with; Fear.
In my years of this often challenging but fulfilling journey of learning to lead others in worship, I’ve learnt one solid truth that has kept me grounded, that is, everything we do flows out of us knowing our IDENTITY in Christ. Everything flows from this position; our purpose, function, actions, how we lead others in worship, etc. In fact, sometimes I think the greatest daily spiritual battle for us is learning how to constantly realign our thought patterns & heart posture to that of the Lord’s perspective (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
Through the years, I’ve gathered that worship leaders can swing either two ways when they are ‘out of the pocket’ in their relationship with the Lord. The first type of worship leader is one that I call “The Striver”. The Striver tends to drive worship from a place of human strength, leaving God out of the picture. The motivation here could be to impress or to avoid “embarrassment” by not performing well as a worship leader, both of which stem from the fear of man & pride. God is in the business of breaking this ugly stickler over our lives as He desires for us only to have the fear of God.
The second type of worship leader is one I call “The Coward”. I am often guilty of being the second rather than the first - my innate tendency is to shrink back in fear. I wrestle with thoughts of inadequacy & sometimes even justify my fear, saying that it is more righteous to be in the background than at the front. Anyone else been there? Just being totally honest here. The plain truth is that at the core of that self-justification is a selfish person saying “I am more concerned about what I look like & how I feel rather than my gift being a blessing to others.” OUCH!
If you constantly find yourself becoming either The Striver or The Coward whilst worship leading, it’s time to reclaim your identity in Him! I realize that it’s the precious times of complete nearness & intimacy with the Father that I am assured beyond a shadow of a doubt of who I am. I realize that I am in the presence of the Most High King; I feel safe, I feel I don’t need to imitate anyone else, & I lead from a place of humility and strength.
Everything we do flows out of us knowing our IDENTITY in Christ...
Worship leading is not a performance; it is your authenticity & intimacy with the Father that overflows out from your life to minister to others. The Father longs to be near you, we just need to learn to be aware & learn to host His presence daily. When we cultivate this in our lives, it will form the inner core of who we are – THAT in turn changes the way we live & lead.
Love, Alarice