There are a variety of titles churches use for the person who leads the “music” on Sunday mornings. Worship leader, worship director, music director, song leader, and worship pastor, are just a few of the titles you may have heard of.
I think for the most part though, the role can be categorized under these two main titles: Song Leader and Worship Pastor. Your church may use a different title, but you probably fit into one of these two. Let me explain…
A Song Leader is someone who…
-just leads vocally during the corporate worship time
-puts together the setlist each week
-doesn’t do much talking in between the songs
-doesn’t have much interaction with the congregation or the worship team during the week
-spends more time with their instrument and music than with their church people
A Worship Pastor is someone who…
-leads not only vocally, but spiritually
-engages the congregation during worship
-has a shepherd’s heart
-is more concerned about the people they lead than the songs they sing
-pastors people during the week
-trains up other worship leaders in the church
This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but it helps us see the differences between the two types of “worship leaders”. Which one are you? Which one do you want to be? Which one does your church want you to be? And, most importantly, which one does God want you to be?
Maybe you’re a worship leader at a church that sings out of the hymnal, so they just need you to lead vocally with a microphone and a piano. There is nothing wrong with that. However, if you believe God is calling you to pastor/shepherd your people, alongside your senior pastor, you will probably feel frustrated in that limited role.
Take time today to ask God about which type of worship leader He is calling you to be. It’s not about the title that your church puts on your role. That’s not important. It’s about living out the calling God has put on your life. If you feel called to be a “Worship Pastor”, start exploring what that looks like. Start pastoring people. Ask The Lord to give you a burden and a heart for the people, not just a passion for music.
Being a true worship pastor has nothing to do with how skinny your jeans are or how stylish your hair is. It has less to do with knowing all the trending worship songs and more to do with knowing and loving your people. That is my prayer for all of us worship leaders, that we would desire to know and love our people well, and that we would love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
-Mark Logan
