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The
Complete Worship Leader

Kevin J. Navarro
© 2001 by Kevin J. Navarro
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com
E-book edition created 2010
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-0207-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture marked NASB is taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Foreword
The worship leader role as we know it is two decades old at best. For most of that time, there have been no worship leader training centers, no worship leading degrees, and few seasoned mentors. It’s been a rough and unpredictable journey, let’s face it! Oh, there have been valuable lessons, to be sure. Yet, if we’re honest, many of us wish that we’d not learned so many of those lessons after the fact; if we would have had more solid preparation, perhaps we wouldn’t have spent the first decade in that circular hamster contraption called “What Not to Do!”
It used to be that there were pastors and there were music directors. Either there was already a liturgy in place or the pastor planned the shape of the service. Whichever situation music directors found themselves in, they knew their territory, and it definitely did not include a degree in theology. It was the pastor’s job to make sure the service was about honoring God (hopefully the RIGHT God). It was the pastor’s job to make sure the gospel was proclaimed. It was the pastor’s job to insert prayers, Scripture readings, and an-nouncements appropriate for the day. Neither did a music director’s territory include a degree in the arts. Two decades ago, music directors were not expected to know a whit about drama, painting, poetry, or dance. Their job was one-dimensional: Find music to match the Scripture for the day or the pastor’s message, then prepare the most excellent, thematically congruent package of prelude, liturgical responses, hymns, choral anthem, solo, and postlude possible.
Well, guess what? In the last two decades, several developments have made the old role of worship director obsolete. One, congregations are for the most part theologically illiterate. We can’t assume they know what worship is, nor can we assume they know the basics of creation, fall, and redemption.
Two, people’s authenticity meters are becoming more sophisticated and finer tuned with each passing Sunday. It’s as if people are handed night-vision glasses when they come in the door. They can spot counterfeit faith in a nanosecond.
Three, we’ve finally figured out that worship does not equal music. It may include music, but the two are not synonymous. Which brings us to the fourth and final development: In the new millennium, people come to church first and foremost to experience God, not to get an information download. And they are going to want to use all of their senses—not just their ears—in the God-encounter they expect to happen. Whether we like it or not, ours is an increasingly mystical, multisensory, right-brained world. Music on “cruise control,” music as perfunctory preparation to a cerebral, three-point sermon is just not going to cut it.
As I read Kevin Navarro’s manuscript, I found myself whispering, “Of course!” This all makes sense. To be an effective worship leader in this new day means becoming “complete.” It means more than having a prestigious music degree, more than playing incredible guitar riffs, more than being “The Voice.” It is to be theologically awake and responsible; to be daily maturing in faith and practice (i.e., authentic); to be conversant with diverse, artistic expressions (the difference between working with eight Crayolas and a box of sixty-four); and to be able to lead others into passionate, Christ-honoring expressions of their gifts.
Fellow worship leaders, if becoming a complete worship leader were Mission Impossible, God would not have called us to it. God would not have placed us where we are—in this congregation, this community, this century, this millennium, now. But God has. And in doing so, God calls us to a supreme walk of faith and intentionality. May this much-needed book, The Complete Worship Leader, serve as your ready guide for a most exciting journey. Thank you, Kevin.
Sally Morgenthaler
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Robb Redman for encouraging me to write this book and for being my theological mentor during my studies at Fuller Seminary. I would also like to thank Robert N. Hosack and the editorial staff at Baker Books for making this book possible.
I would like to thank everyone who personally guided me in the ministry of writing: Dallas Willard, C. Peter Wagner, Sally Morganthaler, Phillis Klein, Ken Gire, Reg Grant, and Calvin Miller.
A special thanks to my teachers and mentors: Alan Combs, Alan Eberhardt, Bill Pfund, Cam Floria, Chris and Carole Beatty, Harold Westing, Vernon Grounds, Craig Blomberg, Scott Martin, Bob Wilbraham, Dick Patty, Dallas Willard, Darrel Johnson, and Earl Palmer.
To Pastor John and the Bethany family: I am so fortunate to have a wonderful church. Thanks for your encouragement to me as a pastor and worship leader. Thanks for your prayer support. A special thanks to David and Mary Sue Ong for their interest in this project and for their constant encouragement.
To my family: Susan, Timothy, Matthew, Joshua, and Aaron. I am so blessed to have a wonderful wife and healthy kids. You are so much fun to be with. To my parents who have always encouraged and supported me: Ruben D. and Velma Navarro.
Thanks to those who had a part in leading me to Christ: Alan Combs, Todd Williams, and the Calvary Chapel family. Most importantly, I would like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for having mercy on me, a sinner.
Introduction
The worship service is the most important event in the local church, and the engine that drives all programming. Church health depends on what happens in that experience. If the worship service is deteriorating, growth in other ministries will be temporal and marginal. When all is said and done, dynamic worship services produce dynamic churches.
Yet, dynamic worship is not merely a church growth factor. Worship is the reason for the existence of the church. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9–10). [1] Evangelism is “gossiping the gospel” to our family, friends, and neighbors. This boasting in the Lord is what worship is all about. We declare through the arts, symbol, and language what the Lord has done for us. Some people say that we should praise God for who he is, not because of what he can do for us. But this is an unfortunate distinction. We only know who God is because of what he has created and redeemed, in essence, what he has done. With this consideration, the local church is one of the best places for evangelism. This is where we proclaim Jesus Christ as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. [2]
For this important event to succeed, we need dynamic leadership. The purpose of this book is to describe the process of becoming a complete worship leader; the participle is intentional. Worship leading is a process in that we are always discovering the God who has revealed himself and what he has to say about worship. We are always trying to figure out how to engage the people of God in active participation.
In the phrase a complete worship leader, I am referring to the congruity that is required in worship leading. This consists of four elements: theology, discipleship, artistry, and leadership. Effective worship leading brings together these elements. The worship leader who does not possess attri-butes from these four categories is at best impaired. The major sections of this work will focus on becoming a theo-logian, a disciple, an artist, and a leader. By mastering these four categories, the ordinary worship leader will become a complete worship leader.
Within these categories there will be two chapters that summarize these sections. In part one (becoming a theo-logian) we will look at revelation and redemption. In part two (becoming a disciple) we will look at salvation and pro-c-lamation. In part three (becoming an artist) we will look at appreciation and creation. In the last section (becoming a leader) we will look at demonstration and participation. Two additional chapters pertaining to leadership conclude this work.
This book is based on research and a personal journey. I write as one who leads worship in the local church. I have learned what to avoid in worship leading. Equally important, I have discovered principles that enrich worship leadership. May this work influence our worship in the body of Christ. May it be used by God, in a practical way, to help senior pastors, worship leaders, and others with the most important event that will happen in their chu