American Christianity has been trending away from the classic song leader and has been increasingly accepting of the worship team instead. This was a change that began in the contemporary worship scene, but increasingly conservative churches have begun adopting this new format. Now, there’s nothing wrong with new. I think Christians are wise to stay on the back end of “new,” lest they fall for faddish and confuse it with new, but cultures change. Over the decades and centuries, the way that God’s people take God’s timeless truths and live them out in their culture changes, not because God’s Word changes but because the culture does.

New does require evaluation, however. It requires careful, critical thinking. Sometimes new is better. Sometimes new is inferior. For some people new is exciting, which means something better might be replaced by something inferior. For others, new is scary, and something inferior might be held onto and something better missed. So, the worship team is new, and the song leader is old. But which is better? And which should churches use? Obviously, we are not in the realm of “thus says the Lord” when asking such questions. These are questions of philosophy and not clear Scriptural command. But Scripture should inform our philosophy, so let’s ask the question, “Should we move past the song leader?” And let’s seek to answer it from a philosophical perspective rooted in Scripture.

Why the Change?

When we ask historically where the worship team came from, we have to trace it back to its origins. Now, I will profess some ignorance here. I am neither a musical historian nor the son of a musical historian. But from a 10,000-foot view, it would seem to me that the worship team came from the praise band of the contemporary Christian movement (and AI agrees with me, for whatever that is worth). And the praise band, from what I can tell, was a copy and paste of the rock band.

The attitude among many at the dawn of CCM was to try and win the world with the world’s music. This was part of the seeker sensitive movement which in many ways began when Bill Hybels decided he was going to build a church by asking unsaved people what they wanted in a church. Hybels began a philosophy of ministry that sought to cater to the felt needs of lost people rather than simply and faithfully proclaiming God’s Word and trusting God to bring the results. Within this zeitgeist, the CCM movement was born with its praise bands and Christian rock.

Someone might make the case that there are worship teams in the Bible and that’s where this whole idea originated. After all, Chronicles talks about the singers that were organized and so we perhaps have an “ancient version” of the worship team leading God’s people in singing. Two quick thoughts. First, the modern worship team, from what I can tell, was not the result of scriptural exegesis but of cultural adaptation. In other words, worship teams didn’t develop because people carefully read their Bibles and concluded, “Wait, we’ve been doing this wrong! The Bible doesn’t teach one guy should be up there waving his arms, it says there should be a group leading in worship!”

Second, I don’t think you can make that case because over and over in the dedication of the Psalms we see the little phrase, “to the choir director.” In other words, there was one person in charge of running Israel’s music, and so it is an open question whether this was more akin to the worship team or a song leader with a choir standing behind him. But as it currently stands, there simply isn’t enough biblical data to look at a song leader with a choir behind him bellowing out the music and thinking, “That’s not what we see in the Bible.”

Biblical Philosophy of Music

So, what does the Bible teach about music? Now, much of the Bible’s teaching will be applied similarly whether you have a single song leader or a worship team. For example, everyone should agree that we strive for excellence in our music, regardless of how many people are on the platform. I think most people who lead in worship agree that we want doctrinally rich lyrics and memorable and appropriate tunes that help that truth stick. While we might disagree on what styles most honor God, you can have a worship team with conservative or contemporary music. These principles are pretty non-controversial, and they could be applied equally well whichever route you go.

But there are certain biblical principles that, while both sides would agree with principles themselves, both sides would also argue that the way they lead the congregation lines up with those principles better. I see at least 3 principles that fall into this category. The first would be the principle that the focus should be on God and not on the musician. The second principle would be that the entire congregation should be encouraged to participate in the worship. The final principle is that the gifts of the church should be utilized for the good of the church. Again, I think most advocates on either side of this debate would agree to these principles, but would go about fulfilling them in very different ways.

So Which Is Better?

Now that we have biblical principles, we should evaluate each principle and see which method better fulfills this principle. I have made this caveat before and will make it again, but this is a matter of philosophy, not biblical obedience. You might disagree with me, and that’s fine. But as I evaluate the song leader against the worship team, here’s how I see things.

Principle 1: The Focus Should Be on God and Not on the Musician(s).

As stated above, everyone agrees in principle that we don’t want to draw attention to the person leading the group. For this reason, I have heard the argument that a worship team is best, because it takes the attention off of one person and so it keeps him out of the spotlight.

To be honest, this seems to me to be a weak argument. The Psalms are often addressed “to the leader” which was apparently a singular role. Not only that, if you put more people on the stage, there is an increased likelihood that someone up there is doing it for the wrong reasons. Finally, when you look at the typical song leader and compare them to the typical worship team in a contemporary church, I’m not sure that the song leader is the flashier of the two and the one drawing more attention to himself.

I think with this one, both sides could legitimately argue that the way they are doing it does not draw unnecessary attention, and I think both sides could fall into the trap of drawing attention to themselves. I have watched conductors and been distracted by the way they conducted. I’ve seen worship teams that were so intent on being expressive it’s hard to not to notice them. But if you have the right focus, both the song leader and the worship team could fulfill their purpose in a way that draws attention to God and not to themselves. So on this principle, let’s call it a draw and realize both sides need to be careful.

Principle 2: The Congregation Should Be Encouraged to Sing

The Bible is clear that the mandate for believers is to sing to one another (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). There has been a healthy concern with this biblical imperative, and for that emphasis I am glad. Once again, those who argue for a worship team argue that by switching to this new method, they are encouraging the people in their churches to sing. The logic is that if you look up and see a group singing, that will help pull you in to join them. People follow what they hear, and so having a team will help you hear better, especially with new songs. Once again, I’m not convinced.

I think that most people looking at a group singing, especially if it is a particularly expressive group, might get the message that this is a performance to be watched and enjoyed. If you hear a group singing well together, I wonder if there aren’t some believers that will feel awkward about chiming in, especially if they are not particularly good at singing. The person leading the group might verbally invite the audience to join, and many will, but I’m not sure that the format itself invites people to join.

On other hand, I do think there are few things that more clearly communicate to people that it’s time to sing than for someone to face you and begin conducting. When a musician faces the congregation and begins keeping time, the message is inescapable. Everybody here is expected to sing. We’re not listening to that guy up there, we are following him. That’s why historically that person has been called the song leader. If he is leading, who is following? Ask any person in the congregation who he is leading and the answer is obvious – the group that he is looking at. Us.

Now I realize that there are probably churches with worship teams whose congregations sing better than churches with song leaders. But the question I am seeking to answer is narrower: “All other things being equal, which format best communicates that the audience should participate by the format itself.” For this one I think the song leader is the clear winner.

Principle 3: The Gifts of the Church Should Be Utilized for the Good of the Church

1 Corinthians 12 says that God gives spiritual gifts for the good of the whole body. While none of the lists of spiritual gifts in Scripture include music, the fact that none of the gift lists in the New Testament line up perfectly leads me to believe that the lists we have are not exhaustive. So I do think that music can probably be included in these lists. That means we have people with natural aptitudes and people who are also Spirit-empowered musicians, and we want to make sure they have opportunities to use those gifts for the good of the church.

Wouldn’t this clearly favor the worship team? After all, a worship team is more people than one person waving their arms. Even if you argue that you can rotate the song leader, you can also rotate the worship team! This would clearly involve more people, so wouldn’t this favor the worship team? Not quite, because many of the churches that have gone the route of a worship team have also done away with their choir.

Some of this is logistical. If you are going to have a worship team practice, having a choir practice in addition is going to get tricky. This is definitely true of the music leader, who will be pretty swamped, but also of the musicians. My guess is that the best musicians in a church are going to want to do both ministries and will probably feel the pull of being needed in both. Getting all that practice in will be tricky. And so if you had to pick one, obviously a choir will result in more people being trained and utilizing their gifts and abilities than a worship team.

“What if our church has a choir and a worship team?” Then objectively your church has the most people involved, although as I said I would imagine that the members of the worship team are likely also in the choir, so probably not by much. However, I think that for most churches a choir and a worship team would be tough to have as a long-term solution. And again, if you have to pick one or the other, a choir will involve more people.

So What?

I began this post by reminding the reader that this is an area of philosophy, not an area of essentials. That means, first and most importantly, that I could be wrong. I might be missing context, or my perceptions in some of these areas could be off. There might be other reasons that a church chooses a worship team. They might be in a context where a choir is not yet possible (like a church plant), or they might not have anyone who can conduct music well. It’s possible they feel a song leader is too formal and want to go for a more informal vibe. There might be other reasons I’m not thinking of. But based on the principles that I think both sides would agree to, from my perspective the individual song leader with a church choir better fulfills those principles. So let me apply this to two groups briefly.

If you are someone in leadership in a church, I would encourage you to critically ask yourself the question we should all be asking: does my practice line up with my stated philosophy? Which method of leading worship – song leader or worship team – does a better job of fulfilling what your stated philosophy is? It is easy to start with what we like and then backfill reasons for doing it. Now, I realize that cuts both ways. “Maybe that’s what you’re doing!” the critic might fire back at me. Fair enough, that’s not impossible. But I have tried to lay out my evaluation as clearly as possible. If I’m missing something, I am sincerely open to hearing another perspective. If you disagree, let’s dialogue.

If you are in a church that has a worship team and you would rather have a song leader, do me a favor. Don’t cause a stink. There’s nothing wrong with sharing concerns with someone in leadership and letting them know what you think, but be careful not to sow discord. I think posts like this can be helpful for the Christian community as we try to reason through what Scripture looks like in our context, but they can become dangerous if they lead to division within the church.

For the record, a worship team wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me if for some reason I were looking for a church to attend. If there were a church whose music was done in an excellent manner and in a way that I believed was worshipful and reverent, if the congregation was singing heartily, and if there were some instruments and a handful of musicians on the stage, I wouldn’t have a problem attending. If I wanted a church that did everything exactly as I wanted it done, I would need to church plant. And then, since I believe in congregational government, eventually what I would want would get trumped by what the congregation believed to be best. You won’t agree with any church 100% of the time, but that’s where the unity of the Spirit can overcome our preferences and disagreements.

The Scriptural command is clear – we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. Different cultures in different times have found different ways of expressing that worship. The forms themselves have shifted and changed, but the God we worship remains the same and what He desires most remains the same. I think discussions like these can be helpful, but we don’t want to miss the forest for the trees. One day, we will stand before our great King and worship Him face to face. I can’t wait for that day. Until then, let’s do the best we can as we seek to give Him worship that honors Him, worship that springs from spirit and truth.

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Ben Hicks is the Associate Pastor at Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis. This article originally appeared on his Substack.

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash