Worship Pastor Theology

Don't get me wrong. I love Worship Pastors. I think they are integral to the life of the church. They play such an important role, and in many ways have one of the most difficult jobs in the church, because there are few things people criticize as much as the worship music in a service.

That being said, I do have a pet-peeve about Worship Pastors. And my pet-peeve is with what I call "Worship Pastor Theology."

When a church hires a Senior Pastor, they often take that Pastor through the ringer when it comes to his theology, academic credentials, theological training etc. Not so much, however, with the Worship Pastor. The Worship Pastor's primary credentials often seem to be (1) is he talented and (2) is he likeable? If these two qualities are present, then the person is hired.

And then that Pastor is thrust on the stage of the church on a weekly basis. And in doing so, he is given an ENORMOUS platform as one of the two main spiritual leaders of the church. And yet, often Worship Pastors have had little to no theological training. And yet here they are, week after week, leading people in one of the most important parts of a typical church service.

Now, I would be OK if all the Worship Pastor did was lead songs. But very few Worship Pastors are content to ever just lead songs. They also feel the need to speak a lot, and introduce those songs with their own thoughts. And this is where things go wrong.

Because when they speak, many--and this especially happens with younger Worship Pastors, say those who lead a college or Young Adult ministry--say some things that are lacking any sort of deepness. Their thoughts are often surface-level devotion-ally things, usually containing phrases like "I just don't think that God cares if..." or "I think God is less concerned with..." or "What I think God really wants from us is..." And they almost invariably end with something like, "and so I challenge you, as you sing this next song..."

None of these things carry with it the force of "Thus saith the Lord." Rather, they are nebulous feel-good statements with little to no Scriptural support. Often they present an image of a God that isn't really the God of the Bible, but some sort of amalgamation of the characteristics of a former teacher, a kind grandfather, a motivational speaker, and a stern football coach. And while a Pastor spends HOURS preparing a sermon to make sure he speaks with the force of God, I usually find that a Worship Pastor thinks of what he says on the spot. There's something wrong here.

I've often wondered why this is the case, and just the other day I realized at least part of it. And when I did, I realized that the blame can't be put as much on the Worship Pastor as it can on the songs that he/the congregation sings. The truth is, many of our "worship" songs lack any sort of theology these days; our songs are as devotional as the comments from the Worship Pastor that precede them. Rather than the hymns of old which conveyed great theological truths in subtle lyrics ("Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate deity"), we now get feel-good nonsense phrases which are repeated over and over and over again ("Every move I make in you, you make me move Jesus").

And the problem (and honest truth) is that Worship Pastors often do not spend as much time in the Word as they do listening to these horrible songs. And so their theology is based on songs that are based on nothing. And this is what is represented in their devotional comments which often feel as good to the masses as the songs that they are singing, but in the end are lacking any substance.

Now, of course, I'm generalizing here. There are some WONDERFUL Worship Pastors out there who know their theology well and express that both in the the things they say before a song AND in the songs that are chosen in the first place. But for every amazingly good, theologically astute Worship Pastor there is at least one bad one, who is given, week after week, an astounding platform from which to express themselves and lead the masses. And I find that troubling.

I want to make it clear, also, that I am not saying anything about the character of these men--many, if not all, are well-meaning people who love the Lord deeply. What I am saying, however, is that churches need to take their worship seriously, and in turn need to take who they choose as their Worship Pastor seriously. Ongoing theological training for someone in that role is a must. Challenging the Worship Pastor to spend as much time in the Word as he does listening to Worship songs is important. People look up to and trust the Worship Pastor; he is given just as prominent as a role as the Senior Pastor. Likeability and talent should not be the only qualities in determining who is fit to be in that position. A deep and fully informed faith is a must, as well.

This is the only way that theologically solid, deep Worship can happen in a church, ensuring that what we say and do will be pleasing and acceptable to God--and ultimately profitable to us.