Shaun Groves
Dear Worship Leaders,
I should have done this long ago. I’m sorry I didn’t.
I’m praying for you now.
Truth is, you told me how hard your job can be and I just didn’t get it. Or maybe I just didn’t sympathize. Either way. I’m sorry.
You told me it’s not the music making that’s hard for you. I mean, how hard can strumming G, C, D and E minor really be? OK, sure, strumming with a band of volunteers who have divergent tempo preferences and assorted skill levels can be a bit of a challenge at times, but that’s not your greatest challenge. Your biggest challenge is fear. Yours and theirs.
You told me so. I just didn’t understand. Until now.
In the last week, fear has surfaced from a tiny number of people in our church family. Friends. Wise and wonderful people.
“I fear worship is going to become a show.”
“I fear our volunteers won’t be good enough for you.”
“I fear you won’t sing any hymns.”
“I fear you’ll start singing hymns.”
“I fear you’ll make it louder.”
“I fear you don’t have the training for this.”
And I haven’t even sung yet!
I love my church family and I know they love me too. All transition, all change, is hard and can cause us stress and bring out nastiness we didn’t know we were capable of. But during this time of transition from “the way things have always been” to the unknown, no one – no one – has been unkind to me in the least. Not once. I’ve been encouraged plenty.
But fears have been expressed, through smiles, between hugs and hand shakes.
And fear is contagious. It creeps like kudzu and if left untreated can sap life and love from those it envelopes.
I fear that fear will spread in our church, in me, and turn us from a model shining selfless loving city on a hill into a petty music-obsessed average American church. Sounds paranoid right? Nonsensical even? I know. But, well, it’s what you say happened to you and your church family.
The one that split when you ticked off the bass player. The one that stopped giving out of protest when you switched from piano to keyboard. The one that told your kids you’re not as good of a singer as the last guy that had your job.
I can’t imagine our church family – these people I love – ever stooping to such levels. Ever. But you didn’t imagine it would happen to yours either. Fear does crazy things. So you say.
So I’m praying for you. I’m praying you listen well, weigh every decision in light of God’s Word, the Church’s purpose and your love of those you serve. I’m praying music never means more to you than people. I’m praying you are encouraged, that people tell you when you’re zipper’s up and not just when it’s down. I pray that through music God reveals something of Himself to you and your church family and that through music you are able to respond back to Him together with one voice.
I pray you’re wise, gentle, kind, patient, humble, confident, self-controlled, transparent, creative and submissive.
And I pray you’ll pray for me. Through my fears and theirs. Against the spread of both.
For His renown,
Shaun
John O' says:
wow Shaun, you hit that nail on the head. Thank you for putting into words what I think many of us are thinking. Thank you for you music. I’ll pray for you and everyone feeling the same way you so perfectly stated.
Blessings to you.
Ron Amundson says:
There is only one problem… most bass players are untickoffable. đŸ™‚
Otherwise, its a great post… fear is a huge problem, but prayer accomplishes great things through it all. Many blessings to you.
Tiffany R. says:
I agree with you … it is almost impossible to tick off a bass player. I haven’t seen it done yet … đŸ™‚
Lindsay @ Not2Us says:
Thanks for the prayers and the post. It’s most shocking when God shows you how much of a distraction the music has become, and asks you, as the lead worshiper, to turn off the music and keep worshiping. And the fear that’s most pervasive is the fear that He’ll never ask you to turn the music back on again.
Praying for you, too.
Lindsay @ Not2Us says:
A quick clarification: The music had become a distraction to ME, not necessarily (or not only) the congregation.
Shaun Groves says:
I want to step in here before the comments of this post become too sympathetic toward worship leaders and too critical of everyone else.
It’s not as simple as me right, them wrong. I sure hope no one gets that impression from this post. It’s sure not written about right and wrong, but about common fear.
Yes, I think a very small number of people in the “pews” are fearful and, if controlled by that fear, can act unlovingly and destroy the unity of the church. But can’t we all? Sure. I think worship leaders – maybe by virtue of being creative types – have fears and insecurities of their own that can make them behave just as badly, if not worse at times. People skills, diplomacy, empathy, basic kindness are often lacking in worship leaders in transition. Fear messes us ALL up if we’re not careful. That’s why the need for prayer and perspective…all around.
Ok, preventative comment done.
Commence commenting ; )
Bethany says:
Thanks, Shaun
Kenny Stole says:
Great perspective, really captures what unchecked fear can produce, both towards and within a worship community. But He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of faith. By His grace may we worship Him with our best on stage and in the church, but more so during the week, humbly submitting to each other in love. To Him be all the glory!
David Wilson says:
Thanks Shaun. As a small church pastor/youth/music guy/cook/copier serviceman/coke machine filler, I can affirm that there’s a lot of fear to go around whatever the church.
Wonder why our greatest fear isn’t not connecting with God through worship?
Shaun Groves says:
David, I think the fears I listed (and my own) come from precisely that; a fear that *fill in the blank* will keep us from connecting with God.
Turning the volume up, for instance, may make some of us fear we’ll be in such pain we won’t be able to even think of God, let alone “connect” with Him!
Singing unfamiliar songs or songs we don’t we like may make some of us fear we’ll be so unable to participate that we’ll be unable to connect with God.
And my fear of my church family one day turning on me (so far an unfounded fear) is a fear that we’ll lose our focus on connecting with God.
I think that’s precisely what we’re all afraid of. I don’t think any of these fears are, at their root, about anything less.
Jackalynn says:
So move across the Mississippi River everything from there on is kudzu-free.
sarah valente says:
Oh, oh. OH. As the daughter of a worship leader this hit very close to home for me.
cara says:
Connecting with God is a choice we make, regardless of who is leading music, and how they’re leading it.
Many criticisms directed at whatever ministry (be it worship or whatever) are simply a cover for our own deep-seated fears that revolve around our own relationship with God.
I think much of it is the plank in our own eye focused on the speck in someone elses’. (That metaphor is one of the greatest ever I do believe.)
PS: Not a worship leader, just a plank in the pew.
jen says:
“But fears have been expressed, through smiles, between hugs and hand shakes.”
Read that and thought, “Oh, I’ll bet the person that shared that one fear didn’t realize that the other guy who just shook Shaun’s hand before also shared a fear and the guy before him . . . and the girl last week . . . and guy yesterday . . . ”
Was a good reminder to me that my words are part of a chorus; I need to make sure I am singing with the praise-filled folks and not the fearful ones.
larryjhoman says:
Nicely expressed, Shaun.
Nothing like being on the other side of something to understand and appreciate the gifts, talents and abilities of others. And to understand what others deal with on a daily basis; things we usually take for granted…until we are in the same or similar position.
When the shoe is on the other foot, it feels different. Not necessarily bad…or good; just different.
Josh says:
Praying for your community, Shaun.
dave pettigrew says:
shaun, good stuff.
i’m a worship leader at my church, have been for over a year now. every morning before we hit, we pray for about 20-30 minutes. most of the prayers talk about how we don’t want this to be a show, how this is not for our glory but for God’s glory, how God will use us to reach someone out there.
I am VERY fearful that this will become too much of a show or a performance, that people will like the music. i don’t want people to like the music, i want people to be touched by God, drawn closer to God, through the worship. Through his Holy Spirit being in and around the room where we worship and in our lives….it pains me to see people sipping coffee in the pews while we play our worship set. they are just not getting how great the worship experience can be.
i’ll be praying for you, please be praying for me & for every other worship leader out there, that we continue to keep it so far from ourselves & all for the glory of god.
the joy is ours, the glory is His.
dave
Alastair says:
Worship leaders have fears too. At least I do.
1) I fear I’m singing a song that only I like and everyone else thinks that it sucks.
2) I fear I’m allowed to sing songs that I write because no-one will tell me the truth.
3) I fear that when I speak people will not understand my Irish accent.
4) I fear that what I just said with my Irish accent made any sense anyway.
5) I fear the silence inbetween songs.
6) I fear the absence of the music stand (which needs to happen).
7) I fear I did not seek God enough before I started this set.
8) I fear people will not “enter in” but simply stand and listen.
I could go on. We all battle with fears every Sunday. Pastors have it even worse in my opinion.
Again, we must (again, this is what I should do) ignore those fears and focus on Jesus and leading our congregations into His presence.
Shaun, all the best in the new role. Looking forward to learning from your experiences. Love your openness on the blog as I expect a lot of your church folk will also be reading it.
Letty Vendrell says:
Thank you for the beautiful reminder that loving God and loving others is where He bestows the blessing of sincere faith, love, unity, and peace.
And thank you for your prayers.