They’re not ready … Yet!

I don’t know if your church is anything like mine… like me… when it comes to worshipping together.

Let me paint a brief picture.

You get up to lead worship, full of enthusiasm and expectancy; the band have been rehearsed, you’re all prayed up and you hope that today, the people you serve and lead might engage with their loving Father in heaven like never before.

But people are still coming in (for the next 20 mins) they’re talking, their faces show that they have yesterday on their mind, and probably tomorrow with all it’s challenges as well. And you know that worshipping God with their being is not front and centre in their soul.

Now before we get too narky and frustrated, just remember what you can be like when you’re not leading. I know that I can come in the same way as everyone else, and as the preacher, I’ve got a sermon to give that weighs heavily me – I have my issues with focus as well.

Remember also, you and your team have already been there… rehearsal was more of a worship time for you, you prayed together and your already ready to engage with God. And that’s a good thing.

But here’s where the leadership comes in. Remember, you are not leading worship so much as you are leading people in the context of worship. So you now have to help people get out of their own orbits, and into God’s orbit (more on this in another post).

That’s where The Call comes in.

If you read the Psalms, you will notice that in some of them, there is a “call to worship”. When I was a kid growing up, we all sang one together, but today, a variety of things can happen from simply starting with a song, to asking people if they’re ready to worship (which they are probably not, but will say “Yes” anyway – cause that’s what you do!), to praying, reading from the word, a video intro or a variety of things.

Back to the Psalms… check out Psalm 95  and first couple of verses. It’s a clear call of encouragement to God’s people to worship Him, and gives reasons why we should it! We all need reminding what we are on about and why we gather.

So, if you’re not giving a clear call to those you lead, here’s some ideas…

• Use a verse from Scripture that calls people to worship. Keep it short and memorise it so you can keep eye contact. Speak out a modern version so it helps people engage.
• Use a verse that describes who we are and our calling, and springboard off that. (See 1 Peter 2:9)
• Use a simple statement that you have created before hand… like… “We are here to celebrate what Jesus has done for us, so let’s lift our voices, our hearts, our hands… all we have to worship Him.” Simply simple.
• Use a video that exalts the wonder and power of God and His Son Jesus. Then begin a song on the back of that.
• Speak to a line in the song you’re about to sing, without quoting it. You may even pray a prayer of thanksgiving after this.

Of course there’s many ways to do this, but remember…

• Keep it short – very short (this is not the sermon)
• Keep it loud (this is not a time to be quiet or shy – declare it!!)
• Engage them with your voice and eyes
• Get them responding back immediately if possible.

If you’re not including a call to worship, whether “formally” or “informally”, then consider it. Engage your people with God from the outset, and you will laying a great platform for transformation.

What do you do to call people to worship? Why not leave a comment below.

 

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