Worship Leader - October, 2007

fromm the editor
The Skilled Worship Leader

he simple fact that you are reading this magazine brings your skills to a level that is above average. An average skill level requires no extra effort; it requires little more than an acceptance of what you have been given and a satisfaction with how things already are. But you are above average. Whether you are a worship leader, a pastor, a worshiptech, drama leader, children’s minister, church administrator or if you have any other role in your church. Even if you just consider yourself someone who is interested in worship without any other professional ties, you are demonstrating above average qualities. And I’m not saying this as a way to try and exalt Worship Leader ^® magazine. Really your desire to grow and learn has nothing to do with whether or not you find it in the pages of this magazine. We certainly take our charge seriously and hope you find what you need here, but the fact remains: you are a learner. And that lifts you to a higher plane.

With that said, this is an issue devoted to excellence in your craft, and I’d like to share a little bit of what we mean by that. You will read in these pages plenty of exhortations to play well or to “play skillfully” as the psalmist advises (Psalm 33: 3 NIV). And yes, in your search for excellence we think it is good for you to learn the scales of your instrument. Having chops helps keep you from distracting your congregation during the service of worship. But what we truly want to encourage is the maturity of your excellence.

Two issues ago, we likened the worship leader

to the host of a dinner party at your house. Someone who greets, gathers, sets the tone for the courses and is always aware of the ambience and the experience of his or her guests. This issue is basically the next step in that direction. One mistake worship leaders often make is believing that their only role is to be worshiping the most, or most wholeheartedly, during a service. And certainly an element of that is true. But even the most zealous of that train of thought would agree, the worship leader’s role goes beyond that. To follow that logic to an extreme is like saying that the host of a dinner party should be eating the most. Or eating the best. Hosting requires much more than eating. And the best hosts will be prepared for anything that might get in the way of their guests’ experience, even if it means that their own experience suffers a bit.

So what does it take to lead worship “skillfully”? There is much. And you will find some of it here. Sometimes it is leadership-related. Sometimes it is personality-related, and yes, sometimes it is music-related. It’s also no mistake that we decided to cover this important topic in our annual Buyer’s Guide. You wear many hats. And if you bring your excellence to maturity, you will want to gain knowledge in all facets of your service of worship. You will want to gain an understanding of visual presentation, of gear, of instruments and technology. The responsibilities of the worship leader has changed in the last 20 years, and the skilled worship leader will know their entire role and continue to grow and change with it.

A PUBLICATION OF WORSHIP LEADER, INC.

www.worshipleader.com
www.songdiscovery.com
www.nationalworshipleaderconference.com
www.theworshipermagazine.com

PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Chuck Fromm, PhD
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Julie Reid
MANAGING EDITOR Jeremy Armstrong
SONG DISCOVERY A&R Phil Sillas
DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING Daniele Kimes
SALES ASSOCIATE Sean Lewis
DIREC TOR OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT Suzie Stablein
PRODUCTION & WEB PROPERTIES MGR John Faries
ACCOUNTING MANAGER Janet Whitener
SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Megan Craft
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Katie Convertino,
Christiana Reid

EDITORIAL BOARD Warren Anderson,

Brenton Brown,

J. Robert Clinton,

Maggi Dawn, Jeff Deyo, David M. Edwards,

Stan Endicott,

Susan Fontaine Godwin, Shaun Groves,

Tony Guerrero,

Debby Rettino Kerner, Roberta King, Greg Laurie, Hughes Oliphant Old, Andy Park, Matt Redman, Robb Redman, Jason Ritchie, Dr. Mark Roberts, Lin Sexton, Martin Smith, Rick Warren

WORSHIP LEADER^® (ISSN 1066-1247) is published bi-monthly (except monthly in May, June, September and October) by Worship Leader Partnership (32234 Paseo Adelanto, Suite A, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675). Copyright: Worship Leader magazine © 2007 by Worship Leader, Inc. Worship Leader^® is a registered trademark.

PERMISSIONS: We grant permission for any original article to be duplicated for use in a local church, provided no more than 100 copies are made. The copyright information must appear on the photocopy. For any other use, requests must be written, faxed or e-mailed.

EDITORIAL: Worship Leader cannot assume responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. Send letters and manuscripts to Julie Reid, Worship Leader, 32234 Paseo Adelanto, Suite A, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675, or e-mail to jreid@wlmag.com.

ADVERTISING: Neither the advertisers nor the contents of advertisements appearing in this publication are necessarily endorsed by Worship Leader. We cannot accept liability for any products, services, etc., offered in advertisements, but contact us if you experience any difficulties with advertisers.

Periodical postage paid at San Juan Capistrano, CA and additional offices. Postmaster: Send address corrections to Worship Leader, P.O. Box 91388, Long Beach, CA 90809. Printed in U.S. A. CPM #4006 5056.

Chuck Fromm, PhD

Publisher

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