Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB)

Worship leaders urged to ‘help people learn to love God’

Bill Shiflett and his wife, Kerri, lead worship for the 2009 KNCSB Worship Leader/Family Retreat. Shiflett was the featured speaker for the event. He is worship pastor at Lenexa Baptist Church, Lenexa, Kan.

A worship leader’s first priority is his or her own walk with God.

That reminder was delivered to worship leaders in Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptist churches. They gathered Jan. 16-17 in Topeka, Kan., for their annual retreat.

Bill Shiflett, worship pastor at Lenexa Baptist Church, Lenexa, Kan., was the featured speaker. Shiflett used humor and his personal experiences to encourage the diverse group. Conference participants ranged from veteran ministers to an 18-year-old whom God had just called to worship ministry.

Shiflett first asked the crowd, “What does it mean to worship God?”

The answer to that question is found in Matthew 22:37, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” (HCSB)

“That’s what worship is all about,” Shiflett said.

As worship leaders, “our job is to help people learn to love God, and the great thing is we get to use music to do it.”

God is more interested in the “integrity of our worship” than in a particular worship style, Shiflett continued. He cited John 4:24: “God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (HCSB)

Shiflett stressed that worship leaders must first focus on their own walk with God. He examined “Six Qualities of an Effective Worship Leader:”

• Knowledge of God: “Has your knowledge of God grown between January 2008 and January 2009? How have I helped my [congregation] grow in their knowledge of God in the last year?
   
• A Heart Shaped by God: “Is there growing evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in your life? Are you seeing spiritual growth in the people in your ministry?”
   
• Intuitiveness: Shiflett asked the worship ministers if they are able to discern the Holy Spirit’s work both in and outside of corporate worship times. “What are you sensing that God wants to teach your congregation, not just this week, but in 2009?”
   
• A Pastoral Heart: “Are you a shepherd to your people? Do you serve your people?”
   
• Ability: Shiflett stressed the need for worship leaders to keep growing in their skills. Don’t just rely on natural ability, he urged.
   
• Teachability: “Are you open to learning new things? Can you be evaluated? Are you approachable?” Shiflett said he likes to seek input from a wide cross section of his congregation.

As the retreat ended, David Manner told the worship leaders, “Always remember if God called you to do it, keep doing it until He releases you from that call.”

Manner is KNCSB director of church worship and administration.