Why do we need worship leaders?

In November, I'll be speaking at the Global Worship Summit (it's an intimate boutique mentoring event, not a massive conference where you don't connect with anyone). One of my assigned topics is "Why do we need worship leaders?" I'll share some thoughts on this question over the next few weeks—partly to help myself process it ahead of the Summit and partly because it's a challenging question.

Asking why we need worship leaders - assumes that we do. So before we ask why… let’s go to first principles, strip away all assumptions, and ask… Do we need worship leaders?

So, do we?

Do we NEED worship leaders?

One way to determine whether we need something is to remove it and see what happens. But in today's church culture, where one person with a guitar is often seen as insufficient, that's not a reasonable request.

We don't have to imagine it, though. We can look back at an actual story from the late 1990s. Matt Redman was part of Soul Survivor Church in Watford, England, led by senior pastor Mike Pilavachi. The church had a vibrant worship ministry, but Pilavachi felt something was missing. He sensed the congregation was too focused on the music and performance rather than truly connecting with God.

In response, Pilavachi boldly instructed Redman and the entire worship team to stop playing music for a season. There would be no band, instruments, or structured songs during this time. The congregation sat in silence at first awkwardly but then began focusing on God without musical aid. (How preeminent is God to us if we NEED music to fix our focus on Him??)

This period aimed to strip away distractions and bring everyone back to the heart of worship—encountering God personally and corporately.

Over time, something remarkable happened. The congregation began to worship spontaneously without any instruments or worship leaders guiding them. They sang their songs to God. It was during this period that Matt Redman wrote The Heart of Worship, born from the realization that worship is more than just music—it's about the heart's posture. The lyrics reflect this journey:

The Heart of Worship became one of the most well-known worship songs globally and is still sung in churches today.

This story illustrates that worship isn't about performance or music but about a genuine connection with God. Removing external elements can sometimes lead people back to the essence of worship.

Interestingly, one of those 'external elements' removed was the worship leader and team. What effect did their absence have on the church? Initially, people seemed lost; some even left to find churches that 'fed' them better. But those who stayed learned how to worship without a leader or team—even as a corporate body. Each week, someone brought something of worth; they encouraged one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

— Colossians 3:16 (ESV)

."...addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart."

— Ephesians 5:19 (ESV)

From this story, it seems that not only might we not need worship leaders and teams, but they may even hinder us from discovering our corporate worship voice.

Do we NEED worship leaders?

I'll leave it there... till next week.