Book Review: Worship Leaders: We Are Not Rock Stars by Stephen Miller

How many of you have notice a certain trend among worship leaders? Some of them have some weird haircut that makes them look like a pop star. Some of them write their own songs which have played on the radio and the funny thing is some of those songs are not really worship songs. Yes, in case you have lived in a cave, this has been an ongoing trend for the past few years ever since the Modern Worship Movement started.

If you ask those inside the church, what is a worship leader, you might get some different answers. Some would say he leads all the music in the church which includes leading the choir and doing some spectacular Christmas/Easter performance. Others would say he is the lead singer of the band a.k.a. the guy who talks more than all the other musicians. Other would have no idea what a worship leader is.

Stephen Miller, in his book, Worship Leaders: We Are Not Rock Stars, talks about what is truly a worship leader. The book begins with a simple introduction and even addressed how Stephen got into being a worship leader. He tells his readers, which he is hoping are all worship leaders, that they are called to something much greater than themselves, but they are called to proclaim the greatness of God in worship.

Miller does a great job communicating that worship leaders are not just guys singing songs in church during a worship gathering, but they are also worshippers themselves. How can one lead people to worship the Living God if they are not engaged in worship themselves? Truth is they cannot. Miller reminders worship leaders that are redeemed and adopted by God the Father as well as Pastors, Deacons, Theologians, and Storytellers. I thought the chapter on storytelling was interesting because you never think of worship telling a story. The truth is worship is telling the story of God redeeming mankind through Jesus. Our worship should expressing what the gospel is and our worship leaders need to be telling that story. Like the old hymn says, "I love to tell the story" worship in song and life should be expressing the story of God's grace. Miller continues to say that worship leaders are evangelists, artists, and, most importantly, Christians.

This is a must read for anyone involved in leading worship at church whether you have a band or you lead a choir. Pastors need to read this book then give it to your worship leader(s). It is not a long book, but it is packed with theology and very gospel-centered.

Thanks Moody Publishers for letting me review this book.