#863. Getting abandoned by the worship leader.
The Mini-Sermon between songs.
Since March 21, 2008, Stuff Christians Like has been a bastion of hard hitting news about worship music and worship leaders. And now, I fear the emergence of a new trend that is destined to sweep the nation if it’s not already firmly lodged in your church. I fear I may be too late to warn you about …
Worship leaders who refuse to sing into the microphone.
I’ve noticed this phenomenon for a while but like Mr. Miyagi finally kung fu-ing the Cobra Kai after they beat up Daniel at the Halloween dance, I can no longer stand on the sidelines as a pacifist.
How does this happen? What am I really talking about? What’s the problem?
Well, this happens at church during worship when the worship leader steps back in a dramatic fashion in the middle of a song. It’s the musical equivalent of when you’re talking loudly at a dinner party and everyone else stops talking at the same time, leaving you conversationally naked as you yell, “the thing is, I don’t even like meerkats!”
You’re singing. You’re worshipping. You’re following the guy or girl that has “leader” in their title and suddenly they’re not leading anymore. They’re three feet away from the mic stand and you’re like a scared little kid who’s blanket shield protection against monsters under the bed has been pulled back.
Why does this happen? I have a few theories:
1. It’s the church equivalent of lighting a guitar on fire.
There’s something destructive and fun about rock n’ roll. You’re smashing your gear, jumping into the crowd and lighting stuff on fire. But not at church. You can’t do those same things, so instead, during a particularly powerful moment you step back from the mic and rock out.
2. The worship leader forgot the words.
Sometimes worship leaders, especially if they were last minute additions that Sunday, forget the words. I’m completely cool with that as long as you don’t pretend you didn’t forget the words and are instead just really worshipping with silence and wistful looks. Don’t throw the Holy Spirit under the bus by saying “I was so moved, I had to step back from the mic and just worship.”
3. It makes for a triumphant return to the microphone.
It’s like pulling a slingshot back and releasing it. You step back from the mic, the tension builds. Will you come back after the end of the chorus? In the middle of the next verse? When? When? When? And then you do and boom! Worship Huge Awesome Moment. Or “WHAM!”
4. It’s their go to move.
Some worship leaders beat on their chest when they want to make a strong point. Some clap over their head when things really start popping off cause this is why I’m hot. Every leader or speaker has a go to move they might go to one too many times. My wife called me out on one of mine recently. I was leaning forward during talks way too often. I guess I thought it made what I was saying feel intimate but more than anything, it felt gimmicky and dumb.
5. They’re caught up in the worship.
Worship leaders are worshipping too and the point of that isn’t to put on a show for me. I forget that sometimes. This is for God and that’s the bottom line. So they might just be wrapped up in some deep, honest worship which is awesome.
I’m not sure which reason is ultimately the one that drives most instances where the worship leader abandons the microphone. But the reason I don’t like it is that suddenly I can hear myself and my horrible, horrible voice. And so can everyone else, and we stop singing. We get all quiet and awkward until the leader returns from his or her mic vacation and saves us.
Then we sing again and anxiously wait for the worship leader to leave the microphone. It’s like an auditory rollercoaster.
But it’s very possible I am the only one who has experienced this.
Have you ever seen a worship leader leave the microphone in the middle of a song?
