WORSHIP LEADER, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE

Worship leader, you are responsible; when the sound guy doesn’t un-mute the mic, when the slides don’t show up when the words are being sung; worship leader you are responsible. 

I tell our sound guy he is in the band. 

I tell our Pro Presenter guy he is in the band.

Because they are. 

If we rehearse and rehearse to come up with something beautiful and they aren’t playing their part well, they can distract the church just as much as you can.

Now, I’m not saying it’s about looking good.  But it’s about eliminating distractions so people can connect with God.  So, rock stars, be careful not to treat some people in your “band” like the annoying step sister. 

I’m saying we are a team and the Worship Leader should lead.  Everyone.

So, worship leader, apply yourself to your team.  Help them win. 

Practically //

Look through the slides thoroughly.  Have your songs planned out completely.  Know when you are going to do a double chorus and put it in twice.  Leave empty slides for long instrumentals.  Make your slides the exact same structure as the song.  Never make your slides person chase you.  Or, at least, rarely make your slides person chase you.  Usually, and I’ll say usually (not always), but usually when the slides aren’t up it’s because the worship leader didn’t do his or her part well. 

Let your sound guy know what’s coming.  Give him audio recordings of what you want your guitars to sound like and give him resources on how to run a mix.  Get involved.  Tell him you don’t want the acoustic guitar to be the most prominent.  Tell him what you think a good mix sounds like.  Sit at the board with him during a song and listen.  Encourage.  Don’t micro-manage. 

Come shoulder to shoulder with him/her and talk sound.  A lot of times sound guys feel like the outcast who works alone or they feel like no one can speak into his mix.  They are alone or they are superior.  Both are awful.  You don’t want him alone and you don’t want him pretending he’s inerrant. 

Really what I’m getting at is you have to figure out how to think through everything.  

You have to help your team win. 

And, on stage you’re also responsible:

when the song ends abruptly and awkward silence ensues,
when the electric guitar player is playing lead excessively,
when the drummer rocks the same beat on every song because he’s confused,
when the backup vocalist is always singing (which is bad),
when you are married to the music stand because you don’t know the song.

But, all that’s for another post.