Leading them in worship - and bearing their burdens

The sense of grief in the room was palpable. News of the tragic and unexpected death of two young missionaries – known to many – had left a significant proportion of the congregation devastated and bewildered.

I was there leading the sung worship only as a guest; I knew neither the couple who had died nor most of those in the room, but I still found myself deeply affected.

As we lead sung worship, we have the privilege of bearing the burdens of those we are leading. Our personal experience of what this feels like are as diverse as we are individual. But if you’ve led others in sung worship, I expect you’ll know something of what I mean.