We’ve been reading the second part of Bob Kauflin’s new book called Worship Matters.  Part 2 covers THE TASK of worship leading.  Bob beautifully gives a working definition of the purpose in worship leading with the following sentence:
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A faithful worship leader
magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit
by skillfully combining God’s Word with music,
thereby motivating the gathered church
to proclaim the gospel,
to cherish God’s presence,
and to live for God’s glory.
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There is a wealth of practical and helpful insights in this section.  Yet, it is a little intimidating to try and summarize it in a few paragraphs here.  I’ll give you ten points that I think are significant.  After reading them, add comments, questions, or other points you think are significant.
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1. Leading people to praise God involves energy, intentionality, and thoughtfulness (page 59).
2. We want people to leave in awe that God would speak to us – encouraged by His promises, challenged by His commands, fearful of His warnings, and grateful for His blessings (page 63).
3. We need to remember that our access to God is not based on last week’s performance, today’s practices, or tomorrow’s potential.  Rather, we’re accepted “in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6) and need have no fear of rejection as we come before God’s throne (page 74).
4. We need the Holy Spirit’s power when we worship God… Three attitudes are indispensable in this area – desperate dependence, eager expectation, and humble responsiveness (page 82).
5. A faithful worship leader combines the Word of God with music to magnify the greatness of God in Jesus Christ (page 96).
6. Throughout history, God has inspired music to be a primary expression of our hearts to His, yet it is so easy to argue about.  Music wars have been fueled by publishing houses, revivalism, charismatic outpourings, cultural shifts, sound amplification, electronic instruments, and of course, our own sinful hearts (page 98).
7. The selecting of music is of utmost importance.  If someone was born in our church and grew up singing our songs over the course of twenty years, how well would they know God, based on the song’s content (page 119)?
8. A worshiping community is made up of individuals whose lives are centered around the Savior they worship together each week.  A worshiping community expects to encounter God’s presence not only on Sunday morning but every day.  A worshiping community recognizes that passionate times of singing God’s praise flow from and lead to passionate lives lived for the glory of Jesus Christ (page 127).
9. As we help people understand the relationship between God’s love for us in Christ and our daily struggles and challenges, their love and appreciation for the gospel will grow.  The result will be a joyful, gospel-centered community that demonstrates and proclaims the good news of God’s grace to a lost and hopeless world:  God’s grace forgives!  God’s grace redeems!  God’s grace restores! (page 134).
10. Genuine worship changes lives and inspires us to live for God’s glory:  making us humble, secure, grateful, holy, loving, and mission-minded (page 144-149).