Think ahead to this coming Sunday. Picture yourself stood in front of those you regular-ly lead in singing. Looking around at the faces, you’ll soon become aware of the deep and diverse spiritual needs in the room.
There are those brimming with whole-hearted devotion next to those who are spiritually dry, relieved to have made it to the oasis of fellowship with God and His people. Standing with them are still others who would rather be anywhere else in the world. Some feel too sinful to approach a holy God; others don’t think He’s there at all. Some are just hurting: aware of those who should be here and aren’t, or just weighed down with the scars and hurts of this life. Many are distracted: anxious about every-thing from Sunday lunch to failing finances and devastating diagnoses. All are sinners, like you and me. And all of us need to be shepherded with God’s word.
The goal of leading
Our task as music leaders is one of min-istering the gospel to all of these people as we let God’s word dwell richly in hearts and minds (Colossians 3:16). Our goal is that all would behold Christ, and so be transformed into His likeness in the power of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). It’s a ministry of a pas-toral nature as we lead people to Christ and His work in His word. Under Christ and the authority of our church minister, we who lead sung worship have a pastoral duty to care for God’s people in what we sing and how we sing. We’re ministers of God’s word, through which God strengthens struggling saints, corrects, rebukes and encourages, and breathes new life into dead souls.
To neglect this ministry is to miss a valuable part of our Christian experience. Singing together isn’t a warm-up for the real word ministry in the sermon, but a rich means of grace itself – especially in reinfor-cing and driving home the preached word. It’s not something to be minimised for fear of emotionalism, but a means of engaging mind, soul and body with God’s truth.
Attitude
Firstly, this affects our ethos. We’re engaged in this pastoral ministry each time we play or lead, whether serving as a volunteer or on a church staff team. So we must think of our role as a spiritual ministry before it’s a practical, musical one. Before we get into the detail of crafting musical arrangements (which is important!), we must first have in place a deep love for and knowledge of those we lead and a prayerful dependence on God, trusting that He works through His word and by His Spirit. As pastoral musicians and leaders, we share not only the gospel we sing, but our lives as well (1 Thessalonians 2:8).
Perspective
Secondly, this pastoral outlook on music ministry shapes our practice. We bear this pastoral responsibility acutely if we are those who plan church services. Our duty is to ensure not only that each element points us to Christ and lets His word dwell richly in us, but that the way in which we move from one element to the next con-tributes to people’s understanding of the gospel. How we craft church gatherings shapes people’s engagement with God, both during the meeting and in what they take into their week. Plan prayerfully, pas-torally and purposefully.
Demeanour
Thirdly, as well as what we sing, consider how we sing. Our duty is to use all our music-al and creative skill for the spiritual good of the church. How will what we choose to play help to focus on the gospel truths we’re singing? What does my demeanour as a musi-cian or music leader communicate about the gospel? If we lead prayers, are they filled with God’s word? If we introduce songs, do we draw attention to the truth or to ourselves?
Each of these points could do with an arti-cle of its own. But underpinning all is the call to be faithful, pastorally-focused musicians and music leaders. What a responsibility: to care for the church Jesus bought with His own blood! Surely we must lean on Him as our chief shepherd. And what a privilege that, as we stand up to lead again next Sunday and see all those faces looking back, God can use even us to minister His grace to His people through song, bearing eternal fruit in their lives.
