Because i do not sing..no leading worship

[tay]

well, I may not lead worship after all. Simply because I do not sing. The pastor of my church was leaving fro a conference last wek and had to go straight to the airport after the service, was really in a rush. So I got the chane to talk with him after yesterdays service( I am Messianic so I worship Saturdays not Sunday). He was looking for someone who could sing as well and his son didnt sing but he found another man who sings and plays the guitar. he is the one who will probably be leading worship now. I just dont sing very well. I cannot sing on key let alone play the guitar while singing. Maybe its just not God's will. I dont know .

[bagelsgirl]

But you could probably join in, and play, just not sing - maybe you'd enjoy that?

[joe white]

Tay, If it is honestly in your heart to lead Worship, continue to pursue that. You mention that you have trouble singing and playing now but if you desire to do this then continue to practice and someday soon you may have the confidence and skill that you think you need, Follow your dreams and passions, that is the magic of music.

[Bob Womack]

Because I'm not a tenor, I'm often not tapped to be the worship leader. However, I've found that some worship leaders have trouble doing the administrative stuff necessary to lead the band. Because of my technical abilities, I've often been asked to lead the worship band. Interestingly, I've discovered that if you lead the band, you often lead the music. Surprise, I've actually enjoyed leading the band more than being the "worship leader".

Bob

[astrummer]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Because I'm not a tenor, I'm often not tapped to be the worship leader.

Actually, I've seen more of a problem from when tenors do lead worship, because the keys that they pick for the comfort and power of their own voices leave most of the male voices in the congregation, effectively, silent. In other words, very good performance voices, but not good voices to encourage congregational vocal participation.

[Bob Womack]

Me too. But tenors are often more high-profile.

Bob

[SteveS]

Originally Posted by tay

I cannot sing on key let alone play the guitar while singing. Maybe its just not God's will. I don't know .

If you are so bad that you'd be a distraction, it might be a problem. At my church, the worship leader has a professional quality voice. I suspect that causes a few to be intimidated. He sings a lot, but does not reveal his heart.
At my last church, the worship leader could not sing very well, not terrible, but not very good - he had no voice training and he was a bit pitchy. He did have a wonderful heart. When he lead worship, you could tell that he was worshiping, not just singing. That more than overcame his lack of vocal skills. I believe he led more people into actual worship than the guy with the great voice.
I don't have a great voice, so when I lead I don't try to drive worship with my voice. Use what you have.

[Joe F]

Originally Posted by SteveS

At my last church, the worship leader could not sing very well, not terrible, but not very good - he had no voice training and he was a bit pitchy. He did have a wonderful heart. When he lead worship, you could tell that he was worshiping, not just singing. That more than overcame his lack of vocal skills. I believe he led more people into actual worship than the guy with the great voice.

Sounds like me. A microscopic amount of voice training, still not entirely comfortable singing all alone in the evening service when the choir is absent, but it is my hope that He and the congregation find my heart to be in the right place and look past it.

[Rodger]

As the song says, "everybody's gotta learn sometime." I don't remember from your earlier post if you have experience playing guitar for worship service or not. If not, it's tough to get thrown into the Worship Leader position with no prior experience. There is so much more to the job than picking and performing the songs. There is a whole world of politics in every church to deal with and I am amazed at what a hot button music is in my church and most churches. Every week we have someone come up to us with comments ranging from "great music" to "this hip hop stuff has got to stop!" Trust me - I'm 51 and we do not play hip hop during my service.

In my experience, worship songs are on another level from straight rock and roll songs. Odd time and key signatures, modulation (key changes) just to name two differences. I agree with some of the earlier suggestions about joining as a guitarist-only to start. Take some time to get comfortable with the genre and how to play guitar for it. Watch the leader and how he/she handles situations. It's more about your heart and people skills than it is pure musicianship. In time, you'll be ready when the opportunity arises. In the meantime, work on your singing. I believe anyone can learn to sing in tune (relative pitch).

I have played guitar for our church regularly for over 20 years and I am "just" the musician leader. The Worship Leader is also our drummer. He has a barely passable voice (he does sing on key most of the time), so rarely takes a solo - but, he is clearly in charge. When he is out of town, I am the Worship Leader. I do not look forward to those occasions. I am instantly in charge of:

* the sound system (too loud, too soft, feedback, etc.), including running our 24 channel Mackie mixer.
* arbitrating disagreements between choir members, musicians, etc.
* announcing the songs. The congregation assumes I picked them, so they complain to me after the service if they disagree with the song selection.
* keeping the tempo. (we have one particularly tempo-challenged guitarist that, in the absence of our drummer, takes over the beat by the second measure of each song - changing the tempo constantly throughout the song. My only fix is to play each song with a strong/loud strum - not my usual technique - so everyone can feel the tempo.)
*anything that goes wrong.... and I mean anything.

Normally, after service, when someone comes up to complain about the volume, tone, couldn't hear the singers, your guitar was blasting, why did you pick that song, etc., I simply point to the drummer and say, "He's the leader - talk to him." I manage 60 people in my day job. That's enough responsibility for anyone, I think.

Sorry for the long message - Rodger

[dudley doright]

Originally Posted by Rodger

Every week we have someone come up to us with comments ranging from "great music" to "this hip hop stuff has got to stop!" Trust me - I'm 51 and we do not play hip hop during my service.

What no hip hop? Just kidding.
What is your denomination Rodger? I always wondered how it would be like to play guitar for religious service. I used to sing in a church choir until I changed religion. I remember one evening the priest kick us all out of the church for playing Hotel California after our mid week practice. I thought it was cool just to play some off beat music. So when someone mentioned to you hip hop - it brought back some memories.

[Rodger]

Hi Dudley. Good to hear from you. Have you picked up a Clapton 000-28EC yet?

I am Catholic - converted in 2002, though I had played at the same church since 1983. My wife was born and raised Cathloic. Most of the people in our church assumed I was Catholic since I knew the entire Mass forwards and backwards and always seemed to be playing or practicing for one service or another. The joke was that I spent more time at church than some priests.

I know what you mean about playing non-religious songs in church. Some church leaders don't appreciate it. Our church has had several priests over the past 20+ years - some open-minded, some not. Our current priest wouldn't have an issue with us playing some fun, secular music after a rehearsal, as long as the lyrical content was acceptable. Our current lineup has 2 guitarists, 1 mando player, keyboards, bass, drums and about 6 vocalists. We play everything from rock and roll to traditional music. As long as it isn't too loud and it promotes and inspires worship,our church leaders are fine with us.

I mentioned hip hop to illustrate that people in the congregation don't always know exactly what they are talking about. We haven't played anything in the hip hop genre, but that was the comment we heard the day we played "My Redeemer Lives" - a rock song. I have 3 daughters who like hip hop. We have an arrangement - I try to convince them of the genius of the Beatles and other 60's, 70's music and they try to get me to like a lot of their current favorites. It's a work in progress at best, but brings us together a bit more. Two of my daughters have played in the same worship group with me, so music is a big part of our lives.

Let me know when you're going to be in the Cleveland area and we'll hook up again.

Rodger