Worship Leading

I have two immensely fulfilling and rewarding roles in church that take up a good chunk of my time: worship leading, and cell facilitation.

I've decided I should write more about how and why worship is so important to me: some of it’s quite biographical, some theological, some practical. I don’t know if it’ll help anyone other than me, but I have come to realise that I've spent large chunks of the last 19 years involved in worship, for last 12 years leading.

These days I then to lead at Pudsey Parish Church (my home church) at our evening service. For a few years now our evening service has been café church (style) buuuut it’s gone through a number of revised formats to keep it alive. We appear to be somewhat rare in the diocese as an Anglican church with an evening congregation – although most attendees are morning folk who want more, there are a few evening-only folk.

On occasion I lead at the morning service, which is GREAT fun and a very different dynamic.

I'm also called upon by my good friend Robin Gamble for events, most recent was the Hope & Gamble events at Bradford Cathedral.

It’s fair to say that I’m given a lot of freedom to pick songs, arrange them, rehearse them as I want, and then essentially suggest to the vicar/leader the running order/order of service. It’s also fair to say that I am pretty conservative with my suggested batting orders, although I do have a preference for periods of sung worship (I might have to comment at some point about the pedants who keep forcing me to say ‘sung worship’)

I really enjoy leading worship, it's a massive privilege. Hope you enjoy my perspectives.