Worship Leading: Sincerity

Sometimes we get so caught up in thinking we are leading everyone into the "Throne room of God" that we forget that our real purpose is to "Follow the Lamb where ever He goes" (Revelation 14:4). Remember if you are not worshiping then you can't expect the assembly to worship with you. It is too easy to get caught up in the technique, the music, the practicum or something else that we are not focused on the whole reason we assembled in the first place.

Having our hearts right goes a long way in helping others to worship. It matters not if it is singing, praying, or preaching when a worshiper's heart is focused on heaven people will know. The opposite is true too. It is pretty easy to spot the insincere, ungenuine or faker when it comes to these things. People will forgive mistakes in technique, skill level and ability. However, they will quickly judge and tune out the pretender.

As an example, I know a preacher who was using a lot of "canned" sermons and illustrations out of books or off the Internet. One Sunday he actually plagerized a story that happened to someone else. He put himself into the story as if it really happened to him. It was pretty obvious when he couldn't pronounce the places or the names of the people in the story. On Monday a college student called his hand in by showing him the freshly printed story off the Internet. The preacher lost a lot of credibility, ethos and pathos from then on.

Your leading should be nothing more than a model of you approaching God in worship. It must be transparent and genuine. That is by far easier than trying to be someone else. When you are following the Lord you're going to attract a lot of people who want to go with you.