Glenn Packiam just wrote a blog called “The Worship Leader as a Spiritual Guide”.  It was so profoundly inspiring and moving to me…that I had to share it:

 Worship Leader As A Spiritual Guide

Rule of St Benedict

By Glenn Packiam

We are in need of a Biblical imagination.

We need a picture that captiviates us and pulls us into it, giving shape to our vocation, guarding against profaning our profession. This is true, I think, of doctors and nurses, lawyers and business people; but it is also true of pastors and worship leaders. How we see shapes how we act.

A few decades ago, legendary Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann wrote about a “prophetic imagination” as an alternate vision of reality that led to the prophet either criticizing the “Empire” through the language of grief or “energizing” the people of God through the language of hope. Picking up this idea, Eugene Peterson wrote about developing a “pastoral imagination”, the vision of a “personal and local” pastor who can weave the stories of his congregation into the Story of God.

Worship leaders are very much in need of a “worshipping imagination,” something to shape our notion of what it means to be a worship leader…

(READ THE REST HERE)

In some church contexts, the worship leader is a co-pastor.  In other contexts, the worship leader is the warm-up act for the teacher.  In other contexts, the worship leader is the rock star that draws a crowd.  And in other contexts, the worship leader plays more of a prophetic role.

I’m not willing to say that one is right and all the rest are wrong, but some are probably more helpful than others.  Personally, I’ve been really wrestling with “What kind of worship leader has God made me to be, and what is the best context for me to serve in?”  Not easy questions, but Glenn’s blog gave some GREAT language.

I sincerely hope that every single worship leader (and senior pastor) read this blog, and humbly pray and talk about it together.  Thanks, Glenn!