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Worship Leader Panel
A discussion with three of America's top worship leaders.
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Featured in Christian Musician, January 2002 Formula for a good discussion? Take 120 church worship leaders and put them in a tent with three nationally known worship leader/recording artists and let the audience ask anything they want to know. We start off with each panelist introducing themselves to the crowd. Jami: I'm from Oklahoma and I've been leading worship for eight years at camps, conferences, women's retreats, kids, college and singles stuff too. I love it. It's an honor and privilege every time. I've been learning a lot about worship and still have tons more to learn. Lamont: I'm originally from British Columbia, Canada. I now live in New Haven, CT. I'm a missionary and worship leader. This combination breathes into the kind of songs I end up writing. I like to think these songs are worship songs that the un-churched can also sing along with. I'm part of a ministry community up in New Haven where we minister to the Yale University students. We (as the band Ten Shekel Shirt) do a lot of traveling and that sort of thing as well. Lincoln: I live in northern California, in the Sacramento area. I'm a worship leader. I work part time, like hardly-ever-there part time for my church. I help them oversee the worship ministry and do technical direction (just kind of all-around friend to everybody). I started a youth group in Modesto, CA about six years ago. I started leading worship and didn't have a clue what I was doing. It was horrible, not that it's great now, but it's gotten better. I just knew that was what God was calling me to do. Every fiber of my being said, "do this" … so I did it. Q: How can I help the youth ministry, teaching them to become youth leaders and youth worship leaders for a youth service? Lincoln: For me, it was the worship leader at our church who took the time and cared enough to encourage me. In fact, he led the services with me for the first couple of months, because I was too afraid even to talk to the kids. So I would sing the fast songs and he would talk, then he would sing the slow songs. I got to where I could sing the slow songs too, which was a big deal. I remember one week I came in and said, "I think I'm ready to say something this week," because I felt like God had shown me something. He said, "all right." So if you are a worship leader, take the time to take younger worship leaders along side of you. Sometimes it's a little bit of a sacrifice in quality but you know if somebody had shut me down when the quality wasn't that good, I wouldn't be doing this. You really have to follow God's leading in trying to help somebody identify their calling and all those things. It can be kind of a complex issue. But on a case-by-case basis, just try to encourage the younger people by spending time with them. Really look at their heart and intentions, and also watch to see if the kids are being blessed in the youth group. |             |
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