I was typing as fast as I could to get these notes as accurate as possible. So much of what I have learned as a worship leader came from this woman and watching her and those she has mentored, listening to her songs and her heart. My notes may be slightly biased to reflect what my heart wanted to hear, but I think I got most of it all covered!

The Heart Is Central To Worship

This isn’t music just for music’s sake.

Your heart, life, and lyrics would be challenged-- filled with the presence of Jesus.

The Spirit of God has to teach you to step out in worship (sing in worship).

Darlene's inability to actually lead worship for so long because she was devastated by the presence of God and how she came to do what she does now:

“I was REALLY good at getting the chorus, and the vocal parts at sounding amazing, but not really… the worshiping. God had to take me on the journey.”

“I just loved Jesus, served, served, served, loved being the background.

“I couldn’t bear that anyone was looking, I mean this is a sacred song, this is our prayers…”

I am very passionate about the truth of our worship and young people learning…
having an understanding about the theology of our worship. A good undergirding, why, about what we’re doing.”

“Our goal is to lift Jesus high, to see his glory revealed… to see people truly impacted by the presence of God.”

“Get ourselves out of the picture.”

It is a challenge! Every time you go into, on purpose, the presence of God, your flesh is confronted. You continually die to yourself, you continually… when you think one [part of your flesh] is gone then whoops there’s another one… You continually die to yourself. If you aren’t… it’s time to get back on your knees.

“Yes, We come by grace… grace is a very big, big word. Yes it covers our humanity, but grace is a responsibility. It demands us to walk in a very high calling.”

Reveling Jesus – Album

“I love, I really love, leading people in worship… I write, I sing a lot of songs, but that really sacred space for me is when I’m leading people in worship.”

(briefly talks about her experience in transitioning from Hillsong to a church of 200, no PA system, etc.) – “I know I would always lead worship but . . . I had to really lay it down . . . It was hard.”

In the end, we need to continue to exalt Jesus, and his Word, the finished work of Christ. I need it every day, you need it every day… one thing we can do as worship leaders is to continue to announce that truth. Get all that other stuff out of the way and fine tune that truth… that He is the answer, and let’s get out of the way.

I had to get to: “And even if there is not”… Obedience. Even if there is nothing greater to come, obedience… saying YES when the Father says do “this””.

The lure of the world we live in is that celebrity and, and things… are just so attractive, but they can numb us down and dull us down purely because we had choice… or they do because we had comforts. So we make our choices based on comforts and not… “what is God asking us to do.”

SONG: VICTOR’S CROWN (Darlene and Kari Jobe, Israel)

My Jesus I Love Thee-
Not forgetting the depth of lyrics of these old songs. We can’t be all about contemporary because contemporary is only for now… we can’t forget… there’s just so much depth in these old lyrics.

The Sprit of God is Ageless, Timeless.

Questions:

How do you transition someone younger into positions of leadership in worship?

Don’t make it hard for people. Make it easy for people. We disqualify people over the most ridiculous things. They need mentorship, encouragement, and they need the Word. The best way to bring people through it is the bring them with you! It is very much on purpose. Don’t know if I’ve ever been on the platform without someone I’m bringing through it. We don’t NEED them on, but we put them on… to learn.

Watch, and learn. Sing and learn. Don’t get lost in worship, watch and learn. BE INTENTIONAL!

Develop safe places for people to develop their skill. Don’t set them up to fall over by putting them in your main service right away.

Have standards. Make sure people are committed to Christ, but have a safe place if they’re having challenges. EX: You can’t expect girls to dress the way you’re expecting to if they’ve not been taught by their parents. Open up your home. “My greatest thing is my kitchen bench… this is real life, this is not a performance… come talk to me… you break down the mystery and let them develop. . . INTENTIONAL!”

How do you connect with the congregation even when it feels they’re uninterested in worship?

MOD: For new worship leaders: Facing the varied response from the congregation. “You’re quite intentional about drawing people in…”

D: “I’ve learned over the years not to be moved by what I see. I don’t judge worship by the number of hands I see in the air… you just don’t know what the Spirit of God is doing.”

“GO in prepared. Have your heart prepared. Remember it’s not just the worship leader. You’re doing this together. It’s not you and your backing band, it’s all of us together. . . ENCOURAGE people to get their eyes on Jesus. When I can’t get people to connect, I go back to the older songs, Open the Eyes… I Exalt Thee… gather the band, gather the people…. Don’t try pushing your songs but gather their hearts and get their eyes on Jesus. LOVE them to Christ. CHOOSE SONGS that will help.

If you’ve had a hard time, if you’ve had no sleep… don’t get up on that platform. Sort yourself out. Or just sit down and get someone else on that platform. Don’t beat on the church because your life… it’s not a battle.”

Always remember that we go by faith. IF you think you’ve got it together and you don’t need any more faith, it’s probably dangerous! Go by faith, bring joy (even if it’s the worst morning). We always need to go by faith.”

I love those moments when we just get to go by faith and lead people by faith. In the worst moments, in the congregations toughest times. “We have to get up and lead by faith . . . We can’t let things dictate the kind of god we are going to worship that morning… Stir up your faith. Some churches won’t even stand up… that’s okay (if that’s what your pastor allows), you get up and lead worship! Set your eyes if you need to, love the people… and go by faith, it’s okay!”