Notes from Unleash - Part Two

More from Unleash

I almost didn't attend Lee's session because I had attended it the previous year, but because the session I wanted to attend was already full, I chose to attend this one with ACC's Worship Ministry Co-Director, Josh Young. Obviously, God meant for me to attend this session again because I got something completely different out of the session this year than I did last year.

Worship Ministry can be a very rewarding, and satisfying ministry, but we have to be comfortable not to get our priorities confused. This was the aim of Lee McDerment, the Worship leader at New Spring Church, and here are some caveats from my notes during his Unleash Breakout Session.

Worship Leading

Priority List For Our Identity as Worship Leaders
#1) First and Foremost, we are a Child of God

• Don't let a stage ministry get between you and God.
• You are expendable as a minister, but you are irreplaceable as God's child.

Four things to concentrate on as a Child of God:

• Knowing the Bible - Daily Spiritual Disciplines are the result of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. Daily focused time in the word will increase our knowledge of Scripture.
• Intimacy With God - You need to ask yourselves these two questions:

1. How does my face time with God look to me everyday?
2. How do I need to grow, and in what areas?

• Sabbath - Everyone needs a day off- that's what God originally intended the sabbath to be, but while it is a day of rest, it's not a day of complete idleness. Ask God how your period of Sabbath needs to be and what that looks like.
• Community - Community rids you of most temptations that attack you in the lonely moments. Sometimes, you need to swallow your pride and call others instead of waiting for them to call you.

#2) Secondly, God has called me to Build His Church

Three things to concentrate on while Building His Church:

• Work Under Authority - You need to learn how to follow. When you meet to discuss creative ideas, follow your Senior Pastor's vision that God has laid on his heart. Come in with an attitude of humility and say 'yes' as often as you can, but be ready to bring alternatives if you sense different elements.
• Practice Communication - The "Second-most Speaker" people will hear in a worship service is the Worship Leader. Make sure that you put a lot of time into planning your communication. Prepare your transitions, find your scriptures, and don't use "canned prayers."
• Work Hard - Make sure what you do is a work produced by faith, not by self. (1st Thess. 1:3) Do not delay when God asks you to do something, but do it with instant, complete, and joyful obedience.

#3) Lastly, we are Musicians

• When we understand what worship truly is, our own idea of our musical role in worship becomes less important.
• If my own life does not reflect the Biblical model of leading Worship, then I am nothing more than a Music Director.

Three things to concentrate on as Musicians:

• Be Objective About your Craft - Record and evaluate yourself, as hard as it may be. You need to check your abilities and talents in the mirror.
• Go to Concerts - See how it's done. Dream big and get vision from these type of events. make sure you're connecting with the pros to see what "professional" is all about.
• Sing/Play to the King - Use your gift to please God. Go into the throne room and worship God alone.

• God's desire is for His own Name to be glorified. We need to check our personal style or preference at the door in order for us to be relevant to people and NOT ourselves.

Worship is NOT about music, rather music is A PART of worship. We need to continually trust in God, and not a band, to lead people to Jesus.

This was a dynamite session and Lee is one of the most humble men I have ever met. I was glad that my other session was full, so I could be blessed and encouraged by what he brought to the table.