Walk into just about any church this Sunday morning, and you\u2019ll see something so common that you\u2019d never think twice about it \u2014 worship leaders on the stage. In contemporary churches, it\u2019s as common as padded chairs and plexiglass pulpits. But maybe we need to ask the question, should worship leaders really be on stage?<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the problem, anyway? Most churches use stage-centric worship. An architect designs a church, and one of the first things he does is plan for a stage \u2014 big enough for a full band and maybe a choir, too. Stages are the focal point of the auditorium. Stage-centric worship leaders are de rigueur in churches today.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So…why<\/em> is this an issue?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s how one churchgoer described his situation:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I see where he\u2019s coming from, and that\u2019s why I\u2019ve raised the question. No, I don\u2019t have any verse from Scripture or private revelations from God that will settle this matter once and for all. I\u2019m just getting the question out there. Here are some of the concerns that I have with stage-centric worship leaders.<\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0It distracts from worship.<\/em> Like my friend wrote, \u201cI know I\u2019m not worshipping the Lord.\u201d In other words, he is distracted. Obviously, we don\u2019t expect to have a perfect physical setting for every worship event. Babies will cry. Lights will flicker. Chairs will creak. People will drop their Bibles. It happens. But if there\u2019s a major distraction that we can prevent, shouldn\u2019t we consider it? With worship leaders on the stage, under the spotlight, and in the limelight, there\u2019s at least the risk of distraction at best, and at worst the inability to worship.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0It places worship leaders on a pedestal.<\/em> Have you read our team\u2019s article on worship leaders and pride<\/a>? Or Kristi\u2019s discussion of humility in the life of a worship leader<\/a>? We write about it, because we know it\u2019s an issue. Let\u2019s not pretend that worship leaders are immune to pride. The lights turn on, and there you are \u2014 in the presence of the people. You\u2019re seen, heard, and respected. You\u2019re The Worship Leader! And so it begins \u2014 an insidious version of pride. It\u2019s horrible. Part of the process of feeding this monster is the very fact that worship leaders are in front, being spotlighted, being promoted, and being seen. Stages don\u2019t create pride. But they can contribute.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0It turns worship into a performance venue rather than a worship event.<\/em> Most contemporary church stages are modeled on the modern pop music stage setup. It\u2019s the same instruments, configuration, wiring, blocking, and other accoutrements. One might argue that just because a rock concert has the same stage setup as a church doesn\u2019t mean that the church shouldn\u2019t do it. Speakers stand in front of people just like secular people, right? Christians drive vehicle with four wheels just like secular people, right? Of course, but there\u2019s more. Many of our worship events are little more than concerts, albeit using Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman songs. Sometimes, the \u201cworship service\u201d is a performance driven event rather than a God-focused worship time. When we replace \u201cworship\u201d with a display of talent and skill, we\u2019ve substituted our adoration of God into the adoration of musicians. This tragedy is facilitated by the mimicry of secular performances \u2014 elevated stage, theatrical fog, ERS, gobo lights, and a few laser effects for good measure. Is this necessary?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I know what you\u2019re thinking: Okay, if they\u2019re not on the stage then where should they be, huh?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Like I mentioned above, I don\u2019t see the issue of stage placement and spot lighting addressed in neither Leviticus nor Hosea, not to mention the sixty-four other books of the Bible. In my study, I did learn that during the dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 6:13), Solomon used an elevated stage when he led the people in corporate prayer. Nehemiah did the same thing when he led a rededication ceremony (Nehemiah 8:4). This doesn\u2019t exactly answer our issue, though \u2014 should worship leaders be on stage?<\/p>\n The fact is, there aren\u2019t any hard-and-fast answers. No single solution will work or should work for every church forever and ever, amen, thus saith the Lord.<\/p>\n Each church and church leader must honestly face the risks and potential effects of their particular worship plan. It\u2019s an important decision. Please don\u2019t feel compelled to do something just because every other church does it, or because a seriously awesome church leader recommends it or does it.<\/p>\n So, if you skimmed the previous section and skipped to this section because it had the word \u201csolution\u201d in it, I\u2019m sorry to have disappointed you.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are some mold-breaking alternatives that may get you thinking. Since this article addresses the contemporary-style, band-on-the-stage model of worship team, the alternatives below provide suggestions for this model.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0Worship team on the floor. Instead of giving them a stage presence, why not put them in front, but on the main floor? This clears the way for a more prominent display of projected lyrics, too. It could be possible to shift the team to the side, too, rather than occupying the entire stage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0Worship team behind the congregation. With sound amplification the way it is, there\u2019s no really compelling reason to have the worship team in front, is there? I\u2019ve visited a church where the choir sang from the back of the church. Though unexpected (to me), it served to highlight in my mind that the worship wasn\u2019t about the performers \u2014 it was about God \u2014 and helped me focus.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 \u00a0Worship team out of sight. Have you ever been to a funeral home where the musician performed in a separate room off the stage \u2014 maybe with a screen or louvered wall? The idea behind such a design is to remove distraction and to keep the audience\u2019s attention on the memory of the loved one rather than the performer or musician. It\u2019s not a bad idea, actually. Maybe removing the worship team from sight altogether allows us to have the benefit of the accompaniment without the distraction of their focused presence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By the way, worship leaders and musicians, we\u2019re not trying to get rid of you. We\u2019re just proposing ideas that may help you do what you do better \u2014 allow for more focused worship. Focused on God, that is.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What ideas do you have?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Walk into just about any church this Sunday morning, and you\u2019ll see something so common that you\u2019d never think twice about it \u2014 worship leaders on the stage. In contemporary churches, it\u2019s as common as padded chairs and plexiglass pulpits. But maybe we need to ask the question, should worship leaders really be on stage?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4138,4144,4153],"tags":[1995,1782,1994],"class_list":{"0":"post-11576","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-worship-leadership","8":"category-worship-ministry","9":"category-worship-resources","10":"tag-worship-discussions","11":"tag-worship-leaders","12":"tag-worship-questions"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogrouting.sharefaith.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/750x-worship-leaders.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Solution to Stage-Centric Worship Leaders<\/span><\/h2>\n
Mold-Breaking Alternatives:<\/span><\/h2>\n