#351. The Worship Leader that wants to be a Preacher

I think the origin of this phenomenon is small churches. My filter of what is normal is a little off right now because I go to a massive church. I think there are something like 400+ people on staff. That means, no one has to pull double or triple duty. But sometimes, at really small churches, the worship minister becomes like those guys you used to see on the street playing 47 different instruments at once. They would have an accordion in their hands, a flute in their mouth and cymbals on their feet, just banging away.

And at a tiny church that can happen. The worship minister is asked to preach sometimes, to teach Sunday School, to help with the youth group and to chase squirrels out of the church attic with the janitor. So if that's you, bravo, you are able to accomplish some really cool stuff. But if you're a worship leader that has been asked to wear a lot of hats, this post is not about you.

I'm writing today about the worship leader that secretly or not so secretly wants to be a preacher. The guy (or gal too) that uses any opportunity with an open mic to campaign for the chance to preach. Have you met this person in your church travels? If not, here are a few warning signs:

1. Prayermons
What's a prayermon? This is when a worship leader is asked to pray and instead of doing the standard length prayer decides to cram a whole sermon into it, thus creating a "prayermon." If you reference more than two Bible verses and there are points and sub points in what you say, that's not a prayer, that's a prayermon my friend.

2. The Introductions
This is similar to the double sermon. Often, the worship leader is in charge of introducing the minister. Sometimes they confuse this as an invitation to warm up the crowd like the comedian that comes out before the David Letterman show starts. An introduction should never take more than half of the length of the actually sermon. Never.

3. In between songs
The best "between banter" I ever heard was at a Counting Crows concert on Halloween night in Boston. (If you were there, I was wearing jeans. Maybe we met. I'm just saying.) Adam Duritz, the lead singer, was wearing a full white bunny outfit with ears and a pink belly. At one point he stopped and said, "Is it weird to hear all these sad, melodramatic songs coming from a bunny?" It was, bunnies rarely sing "Anna Begins" and that was the perfect thing for him to say. But sometimes, worship leaders give mini sermons between songs. They tell you the origin of the song and where they were when they first heard it and how it makes them feel and what the Bible says about worship and all the sudden you're in the middle of a pre-sermon sermon.

4. I used to
Did you know that at his old church, your worship leader used to preach sometimes? You're going to. Like that scene in Breakfast Club where Anthony Michael Hall claims to be dating a girl from the Niagara Falls area, whatever church your worship leader was at before yours was a magical land where worship leaders got to preach. A lot. Just something to think about. (I thought about referencing the scene where Michael from the American version of the Office doesn't get invited to Jim's party and tells the office that in college they used to always invite professors to their parties in the hope that he'll get an invitation.)

I think it's pretty normal for worship leaders to want to be preachers. I want to some days and I'm not even a worship leader. The key to making it happen is to find a preacher that wants to be in the band. Tell him you'll give him a tambourine if he lets you preach on a Sunday when folks are out on vacation. It will all work out. I promise.

This is only one side of the coin. Make sure you check out "Preachers that want to be worship leaders."