That's exactly it. If you fully emerge yourself in praising your heavenly Father, then it naturally leads others. One thing I try to reflect is the words. Those words we sing are probable the best words to come off our lips. Practice is another key thing. If I decided to go on a 40 day fast and never really have fasted much before, then most likely I won't be too successful at my 40 days. We need to know and fully understand what it takes to worship our God in song and to practice that so it is natural.

First, I agree with Luke. Secondly, I want to share two ideas.

1. Rehearsal/preparation - When you and your team have so well rehearsed the musical/technical side of things, this allows you to shift the focus to the heart of worship. So being overly prepared makes the music/presentation second nature.

2. I also think that, as leaders, we should be focusing so much on what we're doing that worship takes place long before Sunday morning. This next statement may seem un-spiritual in some way, but, if the the complete preparation doesn't happen (see # 1), then maybe it is ok for leaders, singers, tech people etc...to step back and say, "I may not be able to fully focus on God like I want to, but during this time, I'm going to focus on excellence and serving the body of Christ so that they can." Developing a servant's heart for the whole church is also an expression of worship. We can always find other times to get lost in the presence of God on our own.

#1 is a focus on God. #2 is a focus on others.

Just keep reminding yourself that God is your audience, and not the congregation.

tim magill
kansas city, ks