Words really do matter, but we are not talking about semantics. We prepare like any performer–skill, rehearsal, strategy, and thought. Yes, we perform when we lead worship. Every preacher does, too. They perform a sermon. A teacher performs a lesson. No redefinitions here at all.

No decent performer just gets up there and expects to engage his or her audience. And even though the ultimate audience is God, we worship leaders need to lead the church to perform that act of worship. If we do not engage the church, we are not doing our job.

What you may be doing to your worship team is telling them they do not have to be that good or prepared and that if people are not engaging you can spiritualize the matter to death. The human side is still a part of what we do because it is not the facilitation of an individual’s worship (one human to God), but a corporate thing we do when we gather (human-to-human with God).

In that sense, the musicians can use their skills of performance and entertainment to help the group worship “together”. Psalm 33:3 “Play with skill..” Now THAT is performance.

Many words in Hebrew use the actual instrumental act along with worship. It is interesting to me that we find zamar–to praise will plucking a string–and many other specific language. All this is to say, that our musicians indeed lead with their performing human-to-human skills. The difference is content, focus and context–a concert of praise and worship.

As far as critics, they will always be there, regardless–another issue entirely. I am writing these things to free up you and your worship team from the legalism of trite sayings thrown around these days. Really, even what you told your team is a repeated phrase that deserves deconstruction and thought. Christians–think with me here! That’s what this whole conversation is about.

don’t shoot me.

I agree with the way you’ve taken the word “performance” and used another definition of that word to make the term more broad. True, anything done is performed, so by your definition worship is performance. Do we really want to engage in semantics?

Critics will always be there, this is true. What matters to me is “Who am I performing for?” If I am singing or playing to get applause from the congregation then I have the wrong audience in mind.

I get the sense that this “myth” is a response to the hurt caused when this was said as a criticism, not really a debunking of a worship myth.

I agree with the way you’ve taken the word “performance” and used another definition of that word to make the term more broad. True, anything done is performed, so by your definition worship is performance. Do we really want to engage in semantics?

Critics will always be there, this is true. What matters to me is “Who am I performing for?” If I am singing or playing to get applause from the congregation then I have the wrong audience in mind.

I get the sense that this “myth” is a response to the hurt caused when this was said as a criticism, not really a debunking of a worship myth.

An admittedly simple scenario would go like this: Joe thinks the music team participates in ungodly performance on Sunday morning because, of all things, my hair is offensive to him, because, by gosh, why else would I have hair like that other than to draw attention to myself? He’ll never say that, but that is the underlying problem. Joe doesn’t know me; I am simply a symbolic icon on the stage that is representative to him of something he doesn’t like.

By chance I get into the same home group with Joe. We get to talking and find out we both think that Toyota makes the greatest pickup trucks in the whole wide world. I just became human to him at that point and the hair problem and concomitant criticism simply disappears. The bonus: we’ve each made a new friend. I didn’t even know he was the one putting a card in the offering basket every Sunday complaining about the team being a bunch of ungodly performers.

If one wishes to build a relationship and be open and take the time, then they perhaps can earn the right to critique a persons “motives” in that context. (We should tread lightly when question motives since we have no clue about that.) Leaders need some grace here since we are accountable more so than someone not putting their life in the line of fire. (Hebrews 13:17)

The Irresistible Revolution:
Changing our church from the inside out,
One critic at a time.

God is the audience–the congregation is the choir–the worship team is the backup band.

It might help to ask these people one-on-one who feel critical, “Do you think God was pleased with your worship offering today?” Hmmm. Ultimately, that is what we are trying to get people to ask, right?