TWLL #29: Finding Your Focus When You Lead Worship

read time: Less than 5 minutes 

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As worship leaders we want our primary focus to be on Jesus as we lead.  

But if we’re struggling to do this, I think sometimes we assume that it means we simply need to try and focus harder.

And maybe this is true at times— but I think it’s also important to remember that if we’re struggling to focus on Jesus when we lead worship, there are often multiple factors that need to be addressed.

Today, I want to highlight a few of those factors, and give a pathway forward.

The Music

Sometimes we overlook this, but it’s important to consider the musical elements when we’re struggling to focus on Jesus as we lead worship.

In other words we need to ask ourselves, “am I at a place of skill/experience with my voice and/or the instrument I lead from, where I’m actually comfortable when I sing and play? 

If not, that means I actually have to devote a decent amount of mental and emotional energy simply to playing and singing— which is mental and emotional energy I won’t be able to use to focus on Jesus.

And if that’s the case, then I need to be intentional about growing in my vocal and instrumental skills through lessons and practice.  So that long-term I’m becoming more comfortable and confident as a singer and musician— which literally frees up more internal space for me to engage with Jesus when I lead worship.

Being Present To Jesus Offstage

When we talk about focusing on Jesus when we lead worship, we’re really talking about being present to Jesus.

And if we want to be present to Jesus when we lead worship, it will be easier to do this if we’re regularly taking time offstage to be present to Him in our own devotional life.

Practically a great way to grow in this is by sitting with Jesus in stillness and silence— where I’m not reading my Bible, praying, or journaling, but simply sitting before Him quietly.

The goal in this spiritual discipline is simply to be present to Him.

It’s a very simple concept, but challenging to do because our minds are prone to distraction.

But over time, it gets easier to focus and be present to Him.  And then it becomes like a reservoir that you can pull on when you’re onstage leading worship.

Picturing The Throne Room

Something else that consistently helps me engage with the Lord in a focused way while leading worship, is picturing the throne room as described in Revelation 4-5.

Offstage, I’ve spent years praying through Revelation 4 specifically, which has helped me become more familiar with that sacred space the Lord built for Himself.  

And when I’m onstage leading, and close my eyes and begin to picture that throne room, it quickly re-centers me and allows me to connect with the Lord in a very focused way.

Conclusion

As I mentioned at the beginning, there are multiple factors that impact our ability to focus on Jesus as we lead worship, and I’ve highlighted just 3 of them here today.

But I want to encourage you to consider each of these 3 factors, and pursue them if you haven’t.  

Begin to grow musically, sit with Jesus in silence regularly, picture the throne room— and see if each one doesn’t help you grow in your ability to focus in on Jesus as you continue to lead worship.

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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 them on Zoom each week over a 12-week period, as we learn to lead worship out of connection with Jesus.  For details about the  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.