I regularly tell the folks on teams I lead that I want them to follow my direction (plans for a song) unless the Holy Spirit prompts them to do something. He's the boss. His voice trumps my voice.
I was sharing that with my team at FBC Madisonville this past week when a high school junior, our bass guitar player, asked a brave and beautiful question, "How will I know the difference?"
So I thought I'd try to take a few moments to explore some answers. I hope they help you, too.
The Holy Spirit speaks consistently with the scriptures. We know that God is about order, not chaos (1 Cor 14:33). If what you feel prompted to do in leading worship would bring about chaos, it's not from the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit tends to speak quietly, more like a whisper than a shout (1 Kings 19) and more like an impression than an instruction (Acts 16:6-7).
This is a learned skill. Just like your instrument, the more you practice, the better you'll get at it. Just three days ago I thought Holy Spirit was prompting me to call and check on a friend. I called. He was fine, and didn't "need" the call. Maybe I just wanted to talk to him. The good news--no harm. The bad news--after listening for the Spirit's voice for decades I still don't get it right all the time. UPDATE: 24 hours after writing this post, I got a call from my friend. He said, "You didn't miss it. I just didn't want to share what I was dealing with. Thank you for the call." #LookatGod
This means you and those you lead may miss it. Leaders, create a culture of grace where failure of this kind is not only tolerated, but encouraged. We only get better by practice... whether it's a strum pattern, a vocal run, or a discerning spirit.
The Holy Spirit may encourage you to do something you wouldn't normally do. If it's just a thing you like, it'll be harder to identify whether the prompting is from yourself or your indwelling Savior. In this way, the Spirit may be more inclined to ask you to hold back than jump in OR jump in than hold back, depending on what your natural bent is. Remember, He's supernatural. You're not.
The Holy Spirit will always prompt you to do things that point to Jesus and the Father. He loves them more than we can imagine. If the thing you want to do is draw attention to yourself, including your expertise, it may be self-oriented. But if the thing you want to do (play here instead of sit out; drum fill in this spot; vocal flourish; color change) redirects the worshiper's attention to the Trinity, there's a good chance it comes from the Spirit.
This obviously requires knowing the lyrics and the structure of the song exceedingly well. Freedom comes on the other side of familiarity.
That's the best I've got for now. But thanks to my young friend, I'll keep thinking on this. I would love to hear from you! How do you discern the difference between self-directed and Spirit-directed promptings when leading worship?
Email me at RodEEllis@RelayWorship.com or text/call me at 502.229.0114.
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