Guitar Jams! Pastor Brad's Guitar Praise and Worship Resource Page

Pastor Brad on Leading Worship with Guitar
I love to worship God! And I'm so glad that way back when I was a teenager, practicing guitar in my bedroom with stars in my eyes--thinking I was going to be the next Eddie Van Halen--God knew exactly where my life was heading and how he would use the musical skills I was developing!

In the following lines I want to share with you some of the things I've learned over the years about leading worship with my acoustic guitar. I hope these thoughts and the links on this page will be a blessing to you! If I can be a help to you in any way drop me a line @ pastorbrad@aol.com.

Remember you are not a Worship Leader...
you are a Lead Worshiper!
Sincerely, when God helped me to see this truth--it set me free in a huge way! When I "lead worship" now--I never think, "Okay, now I have to LEAD Worship!" No, I simply worship God from the stage--in front of the congregation. And as I lead out in worship the congregation follows... it's a wonderul, liberating, blessed thing!

Facilitate! Facilitate! Facilitate!
This thought goes right along with the one above. Always remember--YOU CAN'T MAKE ANYBODY WORSHIP GOD. All you can do is facilitate worship, i.e. your role is simple to create an invironment--with your playing, singing, words and heart-felt expressions--where the Spirit and move and speak... and hearts can reach out to God and express their thanks and love to Him.

Play skillfully!
Never stop learning! Anytime you get a chance to learn a new chord, a lick, a picking technique jump on it! Any time you get the chance to jam with another guitarist--especially another worship leader--DO IT! You'll be blessed! Your playing will stay fresh and will continue to improve. And I believe that's what the verse at the top of this page is all about--sing new (fresh) songs to God and play them "skillfully"!

Take your time and think about "dynamics".
For me--dynamics are HUGE in worship. If you can kick a service off with a real foot stomper--and get people smiling and, in a sense, "cheering" for God--again for me--that's a great thing... from there you can launch into a time of celebrating all fo the wonderful good things about God--His grace, mercy, patience, love, the cross, etc. And then... as the service continues--I like to draw people in... closer and closer to God with slower tempo tunes that give people a chance to really ponder God and even listen to Him (remember--as we worship--it not just our voice that needs to be heard!).

Play for Jesus and play with the band! Remember--it's not about you.
It's not a solo performance, it's a praise and worship service. So, all of the band's efforts should be focused on two things-- 1) Playing skillfully for the glory of Jesus, and 2) Playing in such a way that you genuinely enhance the worship experience of the congregation. When individuals in a band "do their own thing", they won't "mesh" with the band--that's distracting to people and it takes away from what the music is supposed to be all about--FACILITATING WORSHIP! So, play for Jesus--and play with the band!

2 Little things that make a BIG difference:
1) Smile!

Now, this may just be a personal thing with me... but, it's just hard on me when I'm in a worship gathering and I look up on the stage--ready to be led into God's presence by the lead worshippers present--and all I see are faces with eyes glued to music stands, gimacing like they're in pain, as they strive to play each song. Ouch... it just hurts me.

Man, when you're leading people in worship--SMILE :-) and express the joy of the Lord! And beyond that--if you can get the songs down well enough that you can look up in praise, or even make some eye contact... that's icing on the cake!

Will you always feel like smiling? No. Are you being "fake" if you smile when you don't really "feel" like smiling? Well, that depends on your heart. If you paint on a smile just so people will think YOU are such a great worship leader... then, yeah, maybe that's being fake... but if you smile as a SACRIFICE OF PAISE TO JESUS and out of a genuine desire to encourage the body in worship... that's not fake---not at all! As a matter of fact, I would say that you decision to Smile--ESPECIALLY on those days that you don't feel lke it--may be the greatest act of WORSHIP you offer to God that day!

2) Energy! Energy! Energy!
Like smiling (above), you won't always feel "up", but man... bite the bullet and, again, make that sacrifice of prise and BE "up"... really worship God as you lead... I'm not tell you to be anyone that you're not... you may be a very reserve person--that's great... but still, when you're up there on stage as a lead worshipper--remember--your role is to "lead the way"... to help set the tone and create an environment where people are drawn near to God... so just think about this--who would encourage your heart and help you to draw near to God more--a grimacing, lethargic, zombie... or a smiling, energized, worshpper who is visibly in love with Jesus? No contest. nuff said.

LINKS

Guitar Jams
"Pastor Brad's 80s Christian Metal Guitar World!"

FREE
Guitar Lessons

School of Worship
Our mission is to encourage and equip worshippers of God to glorify Him
in all aspects of life, while growing in revelation of Him, responsiveness to His
leading and excellence as musicians.
Worship Loud
Experiencing Christ @ 100 dB!
Upload your original Worship Songs here!
Praise Town
Guitar Chords to tons of awesome praise and worship songs!
kennycarter.net
Praise and Worship choruds and lyrics!
Rockin with the Cross
A fantastic resoure for guitar playing worship leaders!
Praise and Worship Tabs/Chords
The name says it all... check 'em out!
pwarchive.com
A resource for worship leaders!
Higher Praise
A Jam-packed, mega-resource for worship and other Christian interests!
Worship Toonz
Praise and Worship Chords, Lead Sheets, Lyrics and Chords for Guitar.
Just Worship
Instruction, tabs, word studies--a virtual Worship University!
Higher Praise
Lyrics, Chord Charts, Sermons, Videos, Children and Youth Resources... Great Stuff!
David Crowder
Great Worship Band...
Chris Tomlin
Great Worship artist...

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