Tips For Worship leaders

There is no exhaustive list of important tips for worship leaders. Here are 10 things I think are super important – use the comments section to add more – let’s see what we can come up with:

1. Be a worshiper – don’t just do worship – be a worshiper. You will never be able to lead people to places you never go yourself. If you routinely lead your own heart to God, you will find it easier to lead others. Stay connected to the Lord, and develop a healthy life of personal prayer and worship. Worship is our life – not just our Sunday job.

2. Pray – Prayer and worship go hand in hand. You need to get your direction from the Lord for every service. God has a plan for every time your congregation gathers – we need to lead the congregation to His plan – not ours. God's presence is our destination and His glory is our ultimate goal.

3. Maintain good relationships with all your team – this includes technical staff, pastors, dancers, singers and musicians. Work hard for unity. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice from your team, and don't be afraid of constructive criticism.

4. Respect your congregation and the traditions of your particular church. The Lord loves His Church above all things. We need to love those we are leading. Part of that means we honor the worship journey of the people and respect the things they hold dear. Be a servant within your Church. Encourage - don't drive the people.

5. Use songs that you love – you will always find certain songs and styles that suit you better than others. Learn how to identify those songs. Stay away from songs that you don’t connect with musically or songs that you simply don’t enjoy. You will do better at leading the people in songs that you personally love and songs that draw your heart to the Lord. Be aware of the keys you choose – how high and how low each song may go – transitions etc.

6. Song choice is important. You not only have to love the songs, but they need to be “singable” for congregations. One of the most common mistakes many worship leaders make is that they choose songs that the people don’t know – or don’t care to know. There are certain characteristics that make up a song that is "successful" for congregations – songs that gather them and take them on the worship journey. The songs themselves are not the worship or the destination - they are the tools that take us all to the presence of God. Identify the songs that accomplish this primary goal.

7. Practice – do a lot of listening to songs that God is currently using in the body of Christ. You don’t have to use songs just because they are the “latest and greatest” – use songs that will connect your people to the things God is saying. Make sure you practice songs well before you try them on your congregation. Strive for excellence.

8. Utilize the gifts God has given you – Each of the members of your team are gifts from the Lord. Understand their capabilities and make way for them to move out prophetically in song or on their instruments.

9. Be Flexible – always have more songs prepared then you need – you never know what the Lord will do, and where He will lead – you never know what direction He will draw the congregation to. It is super important to be familiar with His presence, and to be comfortable with the Word. Worship leaders need to be able to recognize God’s presence, and know what to do when they get there.

10. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead – He is the real Worship Leader. In many respects, we are simply doorkeepers of God’s presence. We need to keep our eyes on Him and allow Him to have His way among the people. We are those who listen, watch and wait on Him (Prov. 8:34). Keep your eyes on God, the Pastor, the congregation and the worship team – the Lord will use everyone to reveal His presence and carry His voice.

More tips for worship ministers: HERE

The Anointing 8

The final ingredient in the holy anointing oil is Olive oil

• A hin (6 pints) of olive oil—the word, here, is charisma, or smearing on. We get the understanding of the anointing from this word. Olive oil also signifies peace, prosperity and wealth. Much is said of its beauty, fruitfulness and usefulness to mankind.

The olive oil was one of the main tree crops of ancient Israel. It was during the month of November that the olives were picked and pressed for oil.

Olive trees can stand for long periods of drought. Olives take two years to mature, and then the fruits ripen slowly. The olives are placed on a grooved stone wheel and another heavier stone is turned over them which is worked by a beam. The pulp is then pressed under weight. The oil runs into stone vats where it is then left for sometime to settle and clear.

This heavy pressing of the olive is a picture of the anointing that comes from our lives when we grow in grace in the midst of difficulties. Even in times of spiritual drought, we can still find the maturity of God's fruit in our lives as we abide in Him. Sometimes our trials may seem like the heavy press that the olive goes through. When we walk through trials correctly and embrace the Lord, an anointing will surely flow.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights...
Matthew 4:1-2

The oil from the olives speaks of probation by trial. After Jesus had His time of probation by trial in the wilderness, He came out victorious and started His miraculous ministry. There is a price to pay to carry a high level of anointing. You may lose your reputation by those you consider as friends, and you may even be abandoned by everyone around you. It will seem as if you are living in the wilderness, but you will be able (by God's grace) to stand long periods of drought.

Look at the list of meanings of olive oil in Jesus' life...and now in our lives:

Smearing on; Holy Spirit; Joy; Healing; Favor; Peace; Prosperity; Wealth

Heb. 1:9; Jas 5:14

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit His whole life Lu. 2:40; 3:22-23; 4:1

How do we find oil in our lives?

Eph. 5:18—Be filled with the Holy Spirit

Matt. 7:7-11—Ask, seek, knock. He gives excellent gifts

Matt. 21:22—Receive (Mk. 11:24)

Jn. 7:37-38—Thirst, come, drink, believe, flow

Now let us get ready for the Holy Spirit to pour out His anointing on us in 2013 - just like the priests of old, He wants His priests today (all Believers are priests - 1Peter 2:5, 9) to  be anointed by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Ask the Lord for a fresh Charisma or pouring/smearing of the Holy Spirit on your life today!

The Anointing 1: HERE
The Anointing 9: HERE

The Anointing 1

For a few days, I will put up some thoughts about the anointing. It is my prayer for you that you will grow in the anointing of the Lord as we go into the new year. What is the anointing?

—The anointing is a sign of God's approval over God's chosen vessels.

—The anointing is a layer of God covering our giftings.

  

—The anointing is a layer of the evidence of God in the things we do and say

—The anointing actually means “to fill up”

—The anointing is the residue of God's presence on our lives - the Holy Spirit

—The Basic meaning of the word anoint is simply to smear something on an object. Usually oil is involved, but it could be other substances. To anoint something or someone is an act of consecration.

—The anointing is the presence of the Holy Spirit being smeared upon someone.

—The anointing is the overflowing life of Jesus, which imparts supernatural strength enabling an individual to perform a special task or function in an office he or she is called and appointed to.

—The anointing is God's Spirit and power for service in this earth. Jesus has provided the same presence of the Holy Spirit for us in our ministries that He had in His earthly ministry.

In ancient times, God would anoint an individual to function effectively in a particular office. For example, He would choose a person and anoint him/her to stand in the office of a prophet, priest or a king.

Seven classes of persons or things were consecrated with this holy oil:—

1.    Aaron and his sons.

2.    The Tabernacle itself.

3.    The table and its vessels.

4.    The candlestick and its furniture.

5.    The altar of burnt offering and its vessels.

6.    The altar of incense.

7.    The laver and its foot.

God’s anointing can come after we walk through testings and find more of God. When we surrender to His plans and yield more of our hearts to Him.

The word trying or testing in Greek is dokimos. It means approval. It is a word found on the undersides of many ancient pieces of pottery. This mark dokimos means that the piece has gone through the furnace without cracking and has been approved for service. God's chosen vessels who have been approved for royal service are marked "dokimos." They don't need the approval of man, and they are always disapproved by those who are governed by the flesh. Only pots that have been through the fire without cracking are able to carry water. This is the anointing for those who preach the Word of God – the Word is the “water” of the Church.

Anointing 2-3 HERE