Thursday, 13 August 2009
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Why Do Worship Leaders Stand Up Front?
At some point during church yesterday, my pastor was talking about how our worship should be focused on Jesus and not on whoever is leading worship. He said that several years ago when he was leading worship at the church he attended, he didn't even like being in the congregation's line of vision during worship. It seems like he said that he didn't like being in the line of vision because of what the congregation should really be focusing on.
Why do worship leaders and the band always stand up front on a stage when they lead? Why can't they stand or sit in the back of the congregation, or even sit within the group if the group is small enough. Is there some sort of tradition or ritual behind why they do it this way?
I'm not saying it's wrong to stand up front to lead, just asking why it is the way it is.
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Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 1 13 Views: 205 6569 Comments: 2 320 View all posts by hippiechristian73102@xanga
Comments (29)
Why not ???
why doesn't the pastor sit in the congregation instead of on the pulpit? Biblically, when the word was coming forth or praise and worship was being given to God, the levites ministered from a raised pulpit.
'Coz that's where the piano is.
(Tongue-in-cheek but quite serious. It's an acoustical thing. Most instruments sound awful from the middle or back of a room that's constructed along the lines of an auditorium, as most churches these days are. Why they are is a bigger question.)
It's when the "worship" musicians start playing in a way that the voices of the congregation become irrelevant to the music (too loud, too high, too much...) that I start getting concerned.
Some of it is practical: it's easier to lead when people can see you. Not that big a deal when you're singing out of a hymnal (at the Lutheran church I attended in college, the organ and choir were at the back of the room), but if you're doing the typical repeating or jumping around between verses of modern songs, it's easier for the congregation (and lyrics projectionist) to follow if they can see your face.
But there is way too much performing rather than leading going on nowadays. Early Vineyard recordings feature multiple voices singing together, whereas later ones tend to have solo leaders with other people singing backup and the congregation faintly heard in the background. Solo leaders make for more interesting recordings, but also for concert-like performances in church.
In some Jewish services, the cantor stands at the front but has his back to the congregation, which is a clearer image of leading in worship: he and the congregation are facing the same direction.
This is my uneducated Bible college drop-out guess: because it's easier to lead that way. It is hard to lead anything from behind, unless you are herding goats or going backwards.
In a Mosque the Imam always stays just to the side. The focus should always be upon God.
We turned all of the chairs backwards at our campus chapel one semester. It was really interesting. I wish we'd do that more.
@subSacred@xanga - awesomely logical answer.
They are called worship Leaders, which means they are leading worship. It's very difficult to lead people in anything if you are standing behind them. Also, it is their job to model what praise and worship looks and sounds like. They are an example of how to verbally and physically worship God. If you don't have a model, and you don't already know what you're doing, worship time can easily become confusing, difficult, and easy to disconnect from. Especially for younger people (kids/teens) and new christians.
In historical Churches, the choir is either off to the sides, or in the back of the Church. In the oldest tradition, the Priests stands on the Western side of the altar and faces East with the congregation. The old term for a service was "Liturgy" which means "work of the people." In most protestant churches I have been to, the "worship service" seems more like a concert production than anything. Stand up, sing some songs (worship), listen to a sermon... the mentality is that worship ends when the music does. In a proper liturgy, the entire thing is about worship and adoration.
@Pass_the_Aura@xanga - In most churches where this is an issue, they are so wired up with speakers and stuff that "where" the instruments are does not matter, it is where you place you speakers.
I think its a good question, and definitely one to toy with in the future. I definitely think you should pass a creative spin onto the church or fellowship you attend. Its always fun to mix it up sometimes... so that way people and ourselves do not get "used" to the style of worship.
If someone is so afraid that I'm focused on them during worship I don't want them leading me into worship.
@the_caramel_macchiato@xanga - why doesn't the pastor sit in the congregation instead of on the pulpit?
Good reply.
I figure it's because the meaning behind the pulpit and the fact that it's easier. I mean, the microphone is up there. You can see their mouth when they're up there, so you can hear them and understand them better. A "leader" needs to be understood.
I want the leaders up front like God intended. Just check out O. T. meetings---the Leaders were out front.
@Roadkill_Spatula@xanga - I used to go to a Vineyard church, so I can completely understand that reference. I wish the Vineyard churches would go back to doing that style. I especially like listening to those old songs with the multiple voices singing together. Actually now that I think about it, those changes were a big part of why I left that particular group.
As others have said, it's acoustics and it's a lot easier to follow songs when you can see the mouths moving of the leaders - it's kind of hard to follow a disembodied voice. In a way, there can almost be a thing of "hiding in plain sight" where if you're right there and obvious, you can dissolve into the background, where if you're hidden, part of the human brain wants to figure out where you are and who's doing what.
At my church, the worship leaders are up front, but we take care to put the more visual instruments that could be distracting in the second row so they are not as obvious (me playing violin, for instance.)
its so that they can impress the ladies!
oh...that sounds like a joke.....but its only half joking. i'm sure there are worship leaders that are 100% sincere .... but i've had worship leaders admit to me that they like the attention.
If the worship leaders were in the back of the church, Im sure everyone would turn around and face them... which would therefore put them back in the front...
Simple. They guide the congregation through the music. People want to be led. They fill that role. Granted, my church's "worship leader" is the pastor, and the only way that applies is because he says what song we'll be singing.
Entertainment vs. Worship. You will find it is a fine line sometimes. Most Worship leaders are gifted with talents that must be used and expressed. They are usually creative people. But they are the "example" of worship to the congregation. When the worship is really worship, I find I can close my eyes and forget about them and the congregation and it's just God and I...
If I had my way.... they would all have microphones and be in the back. Musicians same way. Overheads for the words and let it happen.
That's a really good question. I think it would be cool to see what it's like to, say, have the worship leaders and band in another room, and playing the sound in the sanctuary.
Because they are to LEAD worship. One can't be a leader unless one is in front.
I always thought it was because all the instruments were up front... however if you want to know more about why we do alot of the traditions in the church you could read Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola. You'd be surprised why we do the "extra" stuff in church that we do.
Christ is the Shepherd and we are His sheep, yes. But He has also appointed earthly Shepherds in the church (like the clergy and "levites") to lead the sheep as well. Human beings are natural followers, hence the sheep analogy, and it helps having a physical person up on stage to model worship after.
It's also a practical reason for being up front on stage. That way, they can direct both the congregation and the band behind them. They can also hear the sound from both sides. It's a strategic placement.
Some churches have the setting where the drums goes on the middle of the stage, with the musos surrounding it. As a muso myself, I find that distracting because it is tempting to focus on the cool drum fills and guitar riffs the musos are doing rather than on the lyrics and on God. In my church, we try to minimise distraction by uncluttering the stage. Only the vocalists are in the middle area, while the musos are either off stage or at the sides.