by Lenna Purseglove

I am a worship leader in a Methodist Church in a small village, a former mining community in Nottinghamshire. Most worship leaders, like me, have our ministry in one church, with one congregation. So it’s something of a shock to be writing about worship-leading for a much larger group of people. My experience is local (very local) and it may be rather different from your own experience. Let’s see how things go…

Delights
The great delight for me, is when worship together has an obvious sense of the Holy Spirit’s presence. The togetherness is not just about a congregation and the worship leader, but about the worship leader and the preacher too. All. Together. With God. For God. A fellowship of love, hope and joy.

Often, I am asked to open worship. I think there is no such thing as ‘pre-worship’. Our congregation arrives to quiet recorded music and settles to a gentle chatter that for me expresses the love and fellowship of Christian community. It is relaxed and friendly – a good way of being a church family. At 10am my task is to help this family to worship.

The opening words are very important. I avoid comments about the sound system (Am I switched on?) because I’ve sorted that earlier. After a brief friendly welcome, I give a Call to Worship – a quote from scripture. Sometimes I preface that with a very brief introduction that helps us all to hear the Call.

Then comes a time of praise, which usually begins strongly. By that I mean a strong, God-centred song – probably high praise rather than meditative. For example, ‘Father into your courts I will enter’ (S. of F. 1230) which is not fast and loud, but powerful. I seek to convey reverence and awe as we recognise God’s presence. This is no ordinary moment. We are on holy ground. The atmosphere can then develop from that point.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for variety in worship. One week’s worship is never the same as the next. It’s important to be flexible, responsive to God, the time of year, the congregation and the preacher. People who know me may be surprised that I’ve not said more already about music, because they know that is a major part of who I am. So far I’ve been focussing on words and what we say.

As a musician, I prepare our music so that it can be God-centred. I often use my own arrangement of songs, pre-recorded onto disk, enabling me to lead the singing from the front. Otherwise,
I play the songs/hymns on keyboard or piano. Singing together is such a good way of expressing our sense of family and community.

Frustrations
Well, this is a good way to live dangerously, isn’t it?  I suppose the biggest frustration is being presented with a selection of hymns and songs, Sunday by Sunday, that reflect the preacher’s preferences and repertoire. Often that repertoire is more limited than our congregation’s. Not many preachers are aware of the music we know and so we can get the same hymns and songs recurring week after week.

I hope that preachers will think again about how much control of a service they choose to keep for themselves.
I know they have overall responsibility for a service, but worship leaders can contribute ideas and resources to worship that allow a broader perspective than the ideas and resources of the preacher alone. Of course, it is time-consuming for it to be a true partnership but, as preacher and worship leader usually know each other already, a telephone conversation and a degree of trust are all that is needed.

There’s another side to this coin. As a worship leader, I need to make myself resourceful, ready with ideas about what might be appropriate at various points in the service. I’ve grown more confident about doing this over the years, but requests from preachers don’t occur very often. I wish there was more opportunity for creativity in a normal, conventional act of worship.

Another of my interests is to use literature as well as Scripture in worship. For a Harvest ‘Songs of Praise’ next Sunday evening I’ve chosen an extract from George Eliot’s ‘Adam Bede’ – a harvest home scene with some compelling thoughts. From the LWPT website, I’m also using Diane Coleman’s poem, ‘What colour shall I paint you, God?’ which is a delight. Instead of a Genesis 1 reading, which is often used, I’m using James Weldon Johnson’s creation poem from ‘God’s Trombones’. Literature like this adds a freshness and vitality that is sometimes lacking in worship.

All that sounds more Delight than Frustration. It’s only frustrating when I am not offered an opportunity to contribute. In the end, that is the main frustration for me as a worship leader. It’s frustrating when there’s no opportunity to discuss and offer ideas. This is not an attempt to declare independence. I have no problem with the notion that the preacher decides where to take us. I’d just like to assist in that more often, to help create and enhance an appropriate worshipful atmosphere.

The final frustration stems from the fact that worship leaders have different ways of operating in different churches. I am blessed with a church congregation that actively encourages all of us who are worship leaders. Even the oldest members enjoy variety and new music and take an interest in the diet of hymns and songs. An 87-year-old said to me the other week, ‘We haven’t sung Take us to the river (S. of F. 1525) for some time.’  We sang it the following week!

Other worship leaders I know in other churches don’t have this kind of freedom. Sometimes they can be restricted by long-standing traditions which people are unwilling to relinquish. There is, therefore, a struggle between tradition and the contemporary. Surely, if the Church is to have a future, it needs to be moving on?

Staying fresh
I have a passion for worship. Worship is vital to church life. It is the springboard for our witness as individuals and as a church. God excites me with possibilities!  For me, the possibilities come very much through music. I’m always on the look-out for fresh songs. For example, I rather like ‘Humble King’ (S. of F. 1474) as an alternative to the overused ‘The Servant King’ (S. of F. 120). I’m always seeking new ways of expressing the gospel in music and words. Prayer is also a key to staying fresh. I am so mindful of my constant need of the Holy Spirit to empower me as a Worship Leader. Often, prayer for me can be linked with music. As I play, I pray.

Last, but certainly not least, I stay fresh by meeting with other worship leaders. They are a source of encouragement to me. It is good to share ideas (and frustrations!)  Also, here are opportunities for us to develop worship-leading skills. For example, I have appreciated exploring different kinds of prayer and the practicalities of leading a range of prayers and all-age activities.

So there you are… the confessions of a worship leader – out in the open. It feels rather exposed out here!

Lenna Purseglove is a talented musician. She is also a worship leader at Huthwaite Methodist Church.