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It is important that we know and understand the word of God. We should read and study His word on a daily basis.
As worship leaders, it is just as important that we continue to be a skilled musician or singer. For example, David appointed musicians who were skillful. That doesn't mean a degree in music is needed; but bad notes and out-of-tune singing should be avoided as much as possible. Poor music quality is a distraction and hinders people from worshipping.
Too many Christian musicians act as if they are so spiritual they don't need to work on their skills or practice their songs. We need to attempt to play our best for the King of Kings.

Being a bold leader.

If a worship leader is scared standing before the people, the congregation will feel uncomfortable and find it difficult to enter into worship. People more readily follow leaders who exclude confidence and seem to know what they are doing.

Also, worship leaders need to be willing to exercise authority in a variety of situations:
telling people its time to stop talking and start worshipping; discerning whether the tongues of prophecy voiced in a meeting is of God; or handling someone whose exuberance is becoming an unnecessary distraction to others.

If you have trouble being a bold leader, ask God to equip you in those areas that you are lacking. Then move forward in confidence. Also, seek out guidance from those who are experienced leaders to help refine your leadership skills.

A good worship leader must be able to lead others in prayer. Ron Kenoly states that from time to time, those who the worship team will inevitably come to the leader with problems needing prayer. Problems that aren't effectively "prayed through" can cause a heaviness that hinders worship. In my experience of 30 years leading worship, it's so important to not pray with an agenda. Our prayer requests need to be in alignment with seeking God's will, not our own. if our prayers are in line with the Bible, then we leave our pain, frustrations, anger and discouragement at the foot of the cross. Only when we, as worship leaders, pray with humility and seeking the heart of God, can we encourage those that are hurting.

These are notes taken from a worship leaders conference meeting where Matt was teaching,
on Monday 17th of June 1996.

Intimacy in Worship

We're aiming at teens to twenties with what we do and we got to a point recently where we're thinking 'well what should the music be like?... should we have to do all this drum programming and dance stuff?'. We were struggling with that for quite a while. The thing that came out of that was the Lord said to me that you've got to do what's on your heart, and you've got to be real. In the end worship can never be a performance, something you're pretending to do or putting on. It's got to be an overflow of your heart; play what comes out of your heart.

Worship leaders need to be a dedicated student of the Bible. Not every popular Christian song or praise chorus is in line with God's word. The worship leader needs enough of a biblical foundation to discern whether the material he or she is feeding the people is theologically sound. For example, there are songs and choruses that refer to the Holy Spirit as "it" or a "force." Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit is a person, a part of the Trinity and that He can be grieved. He moves in a way that is not necessarily known to the world. But yet His power can heal, save and change lives if we allow Him to do so.

People sometimes ask me what to look for in selecting a worship leader.
Although the choice of a worship leader should ultimately rest with the Lord-- and He may surprise us-- good worship leaders usually have certain earmarks.
Ron Kenoly has written an excellent article on this topic and I would like to share some of his thoughts with you, along with my own comments.

1. "Radically saved and consistently walking with Christ. Some churches, feeling desperate to improve their musical sound, may feel tempted to appoint worship leaders who have little or no spiritual foundation. While musical ability and experience can be a great asset, it should not be more important than a person's character and relationship with God"

Hey everyone;
I would like to keep you up to date on our Aviom personal monitor system. First, I would like all of our musicians to bring their own head phones, CD ear buds, with a 1/4 " input jack adapter whenever you are leading worship at Summit View. You will enjoy the Aviom... it allows you to customize your own monitor mix. You can adjust individual levels of vocals & instruments, bass, treble and pan left or right as well. Also you can save your "mix". We will be rehearsing with the Aviom the Thursday night prior to the Sunday morning you are leading worship. Our goal is to eliminate as many of the Mackie floor monitors as possible. Call or e-mail me if you have more questions!

At Summit View, our deepest desire regarding praise and worship is for people to have an authentic encounter with God in the midst of a genuine community of worshipers.
To that end, the mission of the Worship Arts ministry is: "To create a meaningful worship experience through music, drama, art and other creative mediums that will draw people into the presence of God"
OUR MINISTRY VALUES
1. Christ-Centered.
Realizing there are many opportunities to use our creative gifts and talents outside the church, we will be set apart by making Jesus Christ the center of all we say and do.

Hey Steve
 I just read your comments on harmony central and couldn't agree with you
 more on the BC Rich acoustic. I have a B-38 and it sounds and projects
 beautifully. Have you ever had yours appraised? I've been trying to
 determine the value of mine for insurance purposes, but info on the internet
 is very scarce. Probably because anyone who's lucky enough to have one,
 never sells it!
 
 Robert B
Hi Robert;
Good to hear from you. Yeah, its true that there are not too many older BC Rich's around. I know that there was a wide variety in tone and quality from B 28 to B 28. That presents some problems. I don't know much about your B 38.

Steve,
 Saw your review (somewhere) about the T5 and you mentioned you led praise and worship.  I do the same and have been searching for many years for a guitar that I can use that can do double duty with the acoustic and electric sounds I'd like to use.  I've tried the piezo in the bridge electric thing and even the Variax and cannot get the full bodied sound I need at times that only my acoustic can give.  You know what I'm talking about - when you need to lead the band with a strong rhythm, while having a full enough sound to not sound thin.  When I have a full team it is not as important . . . you know what I mean.
Bottom line, do you feel like you can you get a full acoustic sound?  I have an older spruce/rosewood Yairi that is very rich, but I have to put it down if I want to do any electric style. 
 I have a chance to buy a used maple custom at a pretty good price - but I am hesitant to sink $2000+ if it doesn't fill the bill.  I've been all over the sound clips, and I've no question about electric sounds.  It's the acoustic I am most questioning.
 Any comments would be greatly appreciated.  On the one hand, I'm thinking this may be a God thing.  The other "holy grail" piece I've been looking for is the way to get a real tube amp sound in a pedal or box so I can go straight to the board.  Seymour Duncan has a new pedal called the Twin Tube Classic - you may have heard of it.  I just got it day before yesterday and it is IT!!  I can get that warm, overdrive sustain that sounds just like my old Twin Reverb.  It uses real tubes, and I've never heard anything come close.