“A spiritual friend is one who is loyal and has right motives, discretion and patience in order to help their friend know God better.  Spiritual companionship is a process both of nurture and of confrontation.  A true friend in Christ will wake me up, help me grow, and deepen my awareness of God.  For God’s love is mediated through human relationships, by those who care for me, encourage me and desire my affections to become God-centered.” Aeired of Rievlaux, 1100 AD

A young worship leader had a good question on my “My Space” page which I think is relevant to bring up here:

You have a good question, “How do you become a professional worship leader?” God gives each one of us a different journey, so there’s not just one way. A professional worship leader is one who gets paid for leading worship. In order to get paid, Christian employers are looking for three things: character, competency, and chemistry. Character means being trustworthy, gracious, reliable, believable, and one who is a prime example of a God worshiper. Competency means you have experience to handle people issues, organizational details, skillful on an instrument, strong in Christian faith, with the ability to make a service flow from beginning to end. Chemistry means you’re able to get along with those you work with, and even more, you’re able to encourage and shepherd those around you. You need to “fit” into the group you’re working with. Remember, ministry is about people and drawing them closer to God (not just music). God’s priority is on relationships and His passion is intimacy! Have the same ambition as Paul in 2 Cor. 5:9, “This is my ambition…to be pleasing to the Lord.”