Preparing to Lead Worship

When I read stories of revival I read phrases like gracious gift and heavens were parted and God gifted us with his presence to describe the encounters with God. The phrases speak about God’s presence as an un-programmed but certainly NOT unwelcome guest. It was as if God’s revival presence showed up simply as an act of God’s mercy.  It was not humanly choreographed, but oh what a sweet dance it was!

This sweet gift of God’s presence is what I crave each and every time the Church gathers for worship.

If we are honest, there are moments in worship where I have felt the closeness of God’s presence. It feels as if everyone who showed up for worship that morning was desperate to connect with God. And God’s presence felt sweet. People were active and participatory and preaching felt like pouring water on thirsty land.

And there are other moments where the exact same liturgy, the same sermon, the same songs, etc. were “done” and yet God felt distant, the people were asleep and preaching felt like digging for water in a desert.

So if the revival presence of God is just a gift, and we humans cannot manufacture an awakening, then what are we to do in planning/leading/presiding in worship leadership?

First let’s deal with a few assumptions:

1. God wants to meet with His people. 
2. Sometimes God’s presence is felt and sometimes it is not. Yet in revivals there is always an undeniable presence of the Almighty that is experienced in undeniable ways. In the Hebrides revival, for example, God’s presence was experienced in one town in signs and wonders and in another town in deep conviction of sin (without signs and wonders). In all cases, the community could not deny the manifest presence of God. 
3. The role of worship leadership is to create space for people to connect with God through liturgy, songs, space, silence, sacraments, etc. Each of these shape us and create a container through which we encounter a risen Christ and allow us to worship God when we leave the congregational gathering.
4. When the presence of God shows up in scripture, people are changed. Darkness flees and new territory is taken for God. 

If my assumptions are true, then what we do matters. As a pastor who is tasked with providing spiritual authority and oversight to the congregational worship, here are ideas for what we CAN do:

1. Confession - The Holy Spirit is holy and as such, sin minimizes the work the Spirit wants to do in worship. It is good practice to confess known sin to God and one another prior to leading the congregation in worship. Acts 3:19 promises that times of refreshing from God’s presence comes after repentance.
2. Anticipation - When we take the bread/cup of communion we feast upon the present presence of God as well as anticipate the eschatological banquet. When we come into worship we hold God to His promise that when 2 or 3 gather in his name, he will be with them. When I hear of stories of revival happening today in the world people say things like, “The difference between those places and the U.S. is expectation. People come to worship expecting God to be present.” What we anticipate, we pursue! 
3. Preparation - God chooses to work with humankind in the renewal of all things. So we humbly work diligently at the various crafts (music, liturgy, sermon-writing, etc.). We rehearse and prepare diligently because we are graciously invited to participate with God. It demands a worthy investment. We give all that we can.
4. Faithfulness - At the end of the day, we are human. And more than performance or perfection, God invites us to be faithful. We acknowledge that we could never practice enough to deserve God’s love. We could never pray enough to be fully prepared. But in each worship service we stand and offer to God our faithful, limited selves.
5. Invitational - Our role is not to perform but to invite those gathered to receive from, respond to and participate with the God of the universe. Our posture, words and liturgy are such that all are invited to participate as both an act of worship in the gathering and as a model for life’s response to God’s grace.
6. Prayerful - Part of our preparation is to pray individually and collectively. Call upon God to release water onto the dry land. Declare God’s Truth over God’s people. Invite God to search your hearts as you lead others. Pray for divine manifestations to be known before, during and after the gathering.
7. Surrendering Results - Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3, “So neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” Again, revival is a gift from God’s hand. If we lift up God, He will draw people to himself. In God’s time. In God’s way. For God’s purposes. 

This intentional environment-shaping work, if nothing else, postures those in leadership to receive from the Spirit of God, to stay mindful of the cross of Jesus and to invoke the mercy and power of the Father’s love. And that work, albeit at times soil-tilling, back-breaking, faith-shaking, monotonous-preparing, is worship. In it all, may God’s name alone be praised.