Extra Extra! Both Heart And Skill Needed To Join Worship Team!

The purpose of a worship team is to create an atmosphere where people can easily worship God together.

What is the criteria to use when selecting members to be on your worship team? 

With the vast variety of church situations that exist - small, large, conservative, expressive, newly formed, long-standing - the question of, "Who should serve regularly in leading worship" can be a tough one. 

This answer won't be perfect for every situation, but hopefully it can get people thinking in the right direction. 

1) Saved - In most situations the pastor is the only person who has more stage time than the worship team. In fact, I've been to services where the worship team is on stage for most, if not all, of the service.  The worship team is the example for the rest of the church. All should be in perfect unity about the reason why they are here: honest worship to an almighty God. 

I don't believe you can be in unity when members of your team are unsaved, unbelievers. It's not about great music. It's about setting an example in honest praise.

How good it is when brothers dwell together in unity!

2) Heart - The second thing to consider is the heart of the musician/singer you're considering bringing on. They have to realize they they are performing the part of a mirror, reflecting people's attention to God 100%. The point is not them, the point is focusing our attentions on Jesus Christ. Any distraction from that goal directly contradicts the mission of the worship team. 

A teammate with immense skill but an incorrect heart and motivation will always cause problems for worship leaders. Worship leading is different than every other form of music performance. It's not about how the music sounds. It's not about how the team looks. It's about connecting with God. 

The amount that the church connects with heaven equals the amount of success the worship team achieves. If the music is terrible but the church is able to be fully engaged in worship then it's a win.

3) Skill - Psalms 33 says to play skillfully for the Lord. David had a specific group of 4000 musicians that were well trained to worship 'round the clock. It's important that every team member has the skill to keep from being a distraction. 

Sour notes, poor dynamics, or incorrect chords almost always draw the attention of people in the congregation.

Even a person with a good heart can be a distraction if their level of competency isn't adequate. In fact, in most cases lacking in skill makes the musician even more focused on the music, as to not mess up. 

Ideally, every member on every worship team would have the ability to be 100% focused on God and still play their instrument well enough as to not distract. 

What are your thoughts on this?