Spurgeon’s Advice to the Worship Leader

May we in the very gentlest whisper beg you to think very much of God, much of the singing, and extremely little of yourself. The best sermon is that in which the theme absorbs the preacher and hearers, and leaves no one either time or desire to think about the speaker; so in the best congregational singing, the leader is forgotten because he is too successful in his leadership to be noticed as a solitary person.

Charles H. Spurgeon, Complete Works Volume 81, accessed from Google Books

Charles H. Spurgeon was one of the best-known preachers and writers of nineteenth-century England. His sermons were often printed in the newspapers, and his books and pamphlets were widely circulated.

In this very brief quotation, Spurgeon compares the worship leader to the preacher. The best preaching opens our minds and spirits to God, revealing and illuminating His character and His deeds. The hearers think first of the Lord, then of the word of God, and little of the preacher.

Similarly with leading worship. When done best, all those taking part will be caught up into the presence of God, carried away in praise and adoration. Those leading will be the humble servants of the congregation, ministering the presence of the Holy Spirit without in any way drawing attention to themselves. As John the Baptist put it: “He must become greater, I must become less.”