Study to be a worship pastor?

There is a difference between a minister of music, a worship leader and a worship pastor

Dale Dirksen
Special to ChristianWeek

In the 1970s, some of the bigger churches were hiring “ministers of music.” This group was trained in musical arts, typically had a music degree from a Bible college or university and worked mostly with choirs.

They also led congregational songs on Sundays, but that was not considered a main focus of the role. For many, their conducting skills were more than adequate for this responsibility.

In the 1980s and 1990s we saw a shift from the idea of “minister of music” to “worship leader.” In some cases, the role was almost exactly the same, but in others there were significant differences.

I became a “worship pastor” in 1989 and my role was primarily to lead the gathered community of faith in song. I worked with a band or worship team. We looked a lot like the condemned stuff from the 1960s—you know, the Beatles, Rolling Stones and others who are currently fossils or deceased. But they were very controversial in their time!

Paid musician

It was fun to be a paid church musician in those days. We were increasingly stealing the spotlight from the preachers. People would choose a church based on the music and the quality of the band rather than the sermons.

Many churches spent lots of resources looking for the ideal “worship leader” who could play guitar, sing and provide inspiring talks between songs. Unfortunately, many of these same churches quickly tired of the musicians they hired. It became popular to “graduate” from local church ministry to touring worship ministry—a series of one-nighters where people could get a “big” worship experience.

As we move into the 21st century, disillusionment regarding the whole idea of worship (especially, worship leaders who seem to be a bit too inter- ested in the centre of the stage) has surfaced.

Virtually no one actually believes that music equals worship, but this is the most common terminology. I recently saw a printed order of service that called the songs “worship” but did not identify prayer, reading of Scripture, or giving of money as worship. Go figure! It seems that most leaders don’t really know what to do about this. We just go with the flow, continuing to call music “worship” but without really believing it.

Some hope

There is some hope out of this dilemma. A way that some churches are addressing this today reflects an important shift in understanding of vocational min- istry. Increasingly, the primary role of a “worship pastor” on job descriptions is that of pastor.

Instead of trying to find someone who can wow the people with musical prowess, some churches are looking for a minister who can be a pastor in their communities of faith, especially someone who can shepherd the artistic folk in their churches.

Of course, they need to be artistically competent, but performing in the arts is not their primary role. These leaders are not hired to be the front man/woman, but hired to work more behind the scenes, equipping, encouraging, supporting—you know, pastoral kinds of things.

Role not limited to music

They are still involved in the musical aspects of worship, but their roles are not limited to music. This is a pretty positive trend. It has tremendous potential to build the church, equip the people, and result in substantial life transference.

About three years ago, we began a journey at Briercrest Seminary to prepare people to be worship pastors. We recognized that there is a difference between being a minister of music, a worship leader and a worship pastor.

The worship pastor must be prepared in areas of pastoring, shepherding, careful theological reflection and an awareness of the importance of symbolic action in our communities of faith. This kind of stuff just isn’t commonly part of a music degree.

Because of this, our seminary has been attracting a growing number of students who are well prepared in music but missing some of the spiritual formation, pastoral preparation, and theological reflection skills mentioned above. Despite the need for such an education among aspiring or experienced worship pastors, few seminaries in North America offer such a degree.

Dale Dirksen teaches in the area of Worship and Church Ministry at Briercrest Seminary (www.briercrest.ca). He has more than 20 years of vocational ministry experience. His education includes a Bachelor’s degree in Music, Master’s degrees in Christian Education and Leadership, and a Doctorate in Worship Studies.