Worship Musician Magazine February 2021 | Page 50

WORSHIP LEADERS
UNITY THROUGH AN AGREED GOAL | Grant Norsworthy
Have you heard a World Cup soccer crowd sing ? Absolutely incredible ! I ’ ve never heard it in person but , even from the telecast of matches I have watched , it ’ s impossible not to be blown away by the volume , passion and unity on display as the crowds sing in support of their teams .
Soccer crowds – for pretty much any professional league around the globe , but especially for the World Cup – sing with more volume , passion and unity than any Church congregation I ’ ve ever heard . They sing , yet no-one is choosing the setlist , no lyrics are displayed , there are no rehearsals , no-one chooses the key , no-one leads , and there is no instrumental accompaniment . There ’ s no CCLI or Planning Center to help soccer crowds get their music together !
I ’ m not trying to make some huge statement by pointing that out , except this : I believe that perhaps one of the main reasons for the fervent singing from soccer crowds is that they are all in complete agreement about why they are singing . They know what the goal is . They are unified .
Soccer crowds have an agreed , clearlyunderstood and measurable goal . A typical “ team ” of Church singers , instrumentalists and technicians does not .
The soccer crowd knows exactly what they want achieved , and what criteria must be met to achieve it . The “ team ” responsible for inviting a Church congregation to worship God through songs is often a collection of individuals who are trying to achieve very different things from one another .
Maybe :
• the audio engineer is trying to craft the best , concert-like listening experience possible ,
• the drummer wants to satisfy his own musical desire to play drums ,
• the backing singer wants to get to that particular , transcendent state that she identifies as “ worship ”,
• the musical director wants the band to play the songs without any obvious mistakes ,
• the “ worship leader ” desperately desires for the congregation to experience God ’ s presence like he does when he plays these songs on his own in his office ,
• the projectionist is tapping on the “ advance ” key because she didn ’ t know how to say “ no ”.
But what if our team had an agreed , clearlyunderstood and measurable goal like soccer crowds do ? That would be powerful ! If we were all shooting for the same goal – and we could tell when we ’ d achieved it – it could transform what we do and how we do it . It could inspire , bring purpose and unity .
At this point you might be thinking , “ But we
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