Hi, Katie! I was relating so much to what you said in the first part of the article, even before I knew you were going to mention my name! For quite sometime I've known exactly what you mean about being a keyboard player in a guitar-oriented world! But I've been a little slow on the uptake when it comes to the concept of collaborative leadership! As I've heard you and others talking about that concept for several years now, each time I always kind of shrugged my shoulders inside. Why would I need to change the way I plan worship? Isn't everything just fine the way it is?

Apparently not! Finally—a decade or so later than you—I'm really starting to understand what you've been talking about. The Lord has actually sort of backed me into a corner on this issue, putting me in a situation where the old way of doing things—one worship artist calling all the shots—just isn't working. And so I'm now finally beginning to collaborate in ways I never seriously considered before. I've brought together a worship focus group at my church and have laid everything on the table before them and the Lord—stating that when it comes to what we do in worship no cow is too sacred that it can't be kicked! And the pastoral staff I work with is talking together about all of the aspects of worship more, too—from media to music to preaching to litugy. The Lord has been very clearly present in these new conversations, and I see Him beginning to do a new work in our church and in my life through all this.

Even in these early stages, I'm finding that collaborative worship leadership gives us a powerful opportunity to see the promise of God in Psalm 133 fulfilled: "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! . . . there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore." (TNIV) May we all continue to be pleasant to God in this way!

I wish I could take credit for the name "focus group" but it was one of our group members who first called it that, and it stuck.  I thought it sounded better than the more typical "task force" or "committee."  Incidentally, we also have a "worship committee" at our church, but they seem to fill more of an administrative function as opposed to the creative input we needed from this focus group.

We're just getting started, so I don't really have anything in print I could refer you to. Without naming our seven members, I will list the areas of expertise/gifting that led me to ask each member to participate:

Aesthetics and Flow
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Liturgy and Youth Culture
Multi-Sensory Elements
New Song Repertoire
Visual Arts
Worship Band Dynamics

In our first meeting I thought we would talk a lot about musical styles and things like video and drama. But to my surprise the first strategy this group came up with was to highten the importance of congregational prayer in worship. You might notice that "prayer" didn't even make my list above, but it was clear as we met that the Lord had prayer on His list! It was wonderful to get together and discover where the Lord was leading us. We're meeting again tonight, and I'm looking forward to more!

Katie wrote: I began my tour of duty in the eighties, which were friendly to worship leader/pianists, because of (horrible) things such as excessive modulations and boorish "medleys".

While we're at it, let's not forget the big hair. ;)

Kim 

I really relate to this topic as well - it has occasionally been a bit of a hot button issue for me.  I am also a female piano playing worship leader, and also spent several years wondering if I was even pursuing the right things in my worship leadership.  God made sure that I heard him loud and clear.

I went to a conference far from home where one of my favorite worship leaders was both leading worship and teaching some workshops (Brian Doerksen).  Even at that conference, all of the worship leaders were men with guitars (Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin,etc.), and although it was wonderful, I was wondering more than ever if I was in the right place doing the right thing.  At one of the smaller workshop sessions, Brian finished by saying that although he had not planned to do so, he just felt really called to give a few words of knowledge that the Lord had given him about the people there, and asked our permission to do so.  After he gave a couple of other words, he began to speak of a woman who was present who was thinking that these are all men on guitars, and is this really the way that God wants to use her.  God just wants you to know that you are following exactly what He would have you do........  I just fell on the floor in tears and knew that God had indeed heard my cry and was answering me as clearly as he possibly could.  Since then I have been able to move forward in ministry without spending a lot of time worrying about my limitations.  I can't always make the songs sound exactly like they do on the CD's, but I can take the spirit of the song and make it my own.  And I also can't do it on my own, which brings me to the topic of collaborative leadership....

For about 3 1/2 years now, we have had a multi-team approach to our music.  At one time, we had 5 different worship teams; now we have 3 due to sending out a new church plant, but are rapidly rebuilding to 4 teams again.  While I am "over" all of the teams, and play and sing on most, it has been such a blessing to allow the Holy Spirit to work through others in this ministry who bring different skills and styles to their leadership.   I really think it is nothing but a blessing to the congregation, who have the joy of a somewhat different experience of worship each week, and I just know that God loves it...... =)  One of our teams is an African Team which is comprised of some really amazing people who happen to all be from various parts of Africa.  Their music is so joyful!  I love it.

In His Service,

Rebecca 

The reality of our "worship world" being cookie cutter (whether it's acoustic guitar playing men, or keyboard leading females) in my opinion has more to do with the corporatizing of corporate worship. 

Everything comes from the top down.  Whether that's Passion, Vineyard, or whatever.  It could be the time has come to remember the art of knowing our own communities so intimately that their story directs our preparation for leading them.  

What would it look like if we were writing our own tunes (with the instruments we know resonate with us and our church in mind) and only choosing other's songs based on our communities needs and not what was fun or popular.  Let the artists and the poets of our body join us in this pursuit for God's beauty to exposed more and more.  Shouldn't worship through music, liturgy and the arts be from the bottom up?

Wouldn't this bring more originality to our expressions, and move us away from a bland, carbon copy, unpoetic way of leading others into understanding God's story and their place in that story more?  

Thanks for the post. 

Peace

aaron

Hi Rebecca. I think my reply to your post landed someplace down the line in this thread. Maybe you can find it!

Katie