TWLL #24: See The Set As A Conversation

read time: 5 minutes

________________

What do you see when you look at your worship set list?  Do you see a list of songs, or do you see a sacred conversation with Jesus?

Over the years, one of the key things that has helped me consistently show up to lead worship, has been learning to see my set list as less of a song list and more of a conversation with Jesus.

Today, I want to share a handful of ways to help you see your worship set for the sacred conversation that it is.

Seeing Him

When I think of conversation, I think of being able to see the person you’re talking to.  When you’re at a coffee shop with a friend, it’s not just that you’re having a verbal dialogue- you actually can see each other, and it serves to strengthen the connection and conversation.

When you step onstage to lead worship, even though you’re in front of a room of people, the bigger point is that you’re in front of Jesus- which means there is an opportunity for you to see Him.

What does it look like to “see Him” when you lead worship?  I think of taking the eyes of your heart and picturing Jesus, sitting next to His Father (Psalm 110).

I also think seeing Him looks like taking the worship song you’re singing, and viewing it as a doorway into His heart.  

Because in a worship song, the content or message will be saying something about the character of Jesus- which gives us a window into what He’s like.

More than the melody or the crafted lyric- when you lead a song focus on the message or theme of what you’re singing, and let it be a window into seeing Jesus in a deeper way.

Hearing Him

As you lead your worship set, lean into and listen for His heart.  In the context of a song or between songs you might begin to sense a theme being highlighted.

For example, let’s say you’re singing Goodness of God, and every time you get to “all my life You have been faithful” you feel a pull to linger on the idea of God’s faithfulness.

When that happens, pay attention and go with that theme being highlighted to you.  Repeat that phrase of the song a few times, or pull in a passage describing the faithfulness of God.

In other words, lean into His heart, recognize when He might be highlighting something to you, and go there.  See the songs in your set list as a chance to hear Him.

Respond With Worship

The beautiful part about aiming to see and hear Jesus in your set is that when you do, the natural response or overflow of your heart will be worship.

In other words the authentic worship that you’re wanting to flow out of you, and help your room step into, is going to be the result of seeing and hearing Him.  

So if there’s a focus on those things, you can be assured that a transparent response of worship will be coming from your heart.

Conclusion

Seeing Jesus, hearing Jesus, and responding to Jesus…if these things are happening in your set, it means you’re present to the fact you’re in a living moment with Him.

The next time you step onstage and scan your song list for the set, remember— it’s more than a song list.  It’s a sacred conversation with Jesus.

That’s it for today 

See y’all next week!

_____________________

Whenever you’re ready, there are three ways I can help you…

1- If you're looking for more traction in your journey as a worship leader, you might consider joining a worship leader zoom group.  I host these groups once a week for an hour on Zoom over a 12-week period, as we walk through the process of learning to lead worship out of connection with Jesus.  For more details about our upcoming Summer Worship Leader Zoom Group, including schedule and cost, email me at [email protected]

2- If spontaneous worship is a challenge, I'm currently building out something new that might help.  Connection-Based Spontaneous Worship is a practical framework that empowers you to lead spontaneous worship with confidence, enables your musicians to flow with you, and helps your room engage.  It's a self-guided, self-paced 60-minute course that launches next month, and if you want to join the waitlist you can do that here.

3. Do you have a ministry, service, or business that could be a resource for worship leaders, singers, and musicians?  Be a featured resource to 7000+ subscribers by sponsoring this newsletter.