has always been an issue: you need to be connected to something bigger than yourself.
All our worship leaders have options. These are people that can do something without us. They can go get their own record deal, they can go travel, they’ ve made a name for themselves. My challenge to them is this: you need to be connected to something that you are sacrificing for. Something that you are sacrificing, like finances, and it’ s a hassle to stay connected in community. Part of the problem for worship leaders, when they’ re not connected, is that they get so isolated that they’ re not having to make decisions based on relationships or people or community. They’ re not having to make decisions based on what’ s best for the big picture, they’ re only having to make decisions based on what’ s best for them. I think it’ s a dangerous place to be. I think the other thing is that there is a thing that happens in community, or in people with pastoral covering. We were in Brazil. Brazil is amazing! They love God and love worship. So we go there for the first time, it’ s outdoors and it’ s rainy and there are twelve thousand people there, and they would get a glimpse of Kim or Chris back stage and just be screaming for them. I’ m the guy that says,“ Hey, remember, they’ re not screaming for you, they’ re screaming for Jesus”. At the end of the day if they walk away talking about how great the song was, how cool the lights were, how happy they were to see Kim or Chris, we have failed at what we were trying to do. If they do anything but walk away talking about Jesus and more in love with Jesus and with a greater passion for Jesus, then we have failed.
I remember asking Matt Redman about this. Matt is super humble even though he’ s a beast of a songwriter and a Grammy winner. I asked him how he stays humble, and he said,“ It’ s not hard when you’ re in community”. When you’ re in community you’ re not“ the famous Matt Redman”. People call you on your stuff, and they challenge you, and you stack chairs at your church. On the road you don’ t. This is what happened to us. We were doing youth group and then for about six years there was a span where I wasn’ t youth pastoring. I was still on staff but I wasn’ t the youth pastor. We were on the road, doing tours and conferences, and on the road there is a green room backstage. And I’ m doing the same sermon every night, so the worship team would lead worship, go back to the green room, eat dinner, and then when I finished up my sermon they would come back out and do a set of worship.
I began to find that our world, where the band would come, lead worship, then go back to the green room … it wasn’ t bad or anything … I just got rid of the green room. Let me rephrase that. I made a green room for everybody that was serving on Sunday. Ushers, children’ s
Worship is such a critical part of any movement. It is what awakens hearts, what draws people in, that unifying factor.
workers, anybody that’ s serving on Sunday. We set aside the green room for them, with food and different things so they can just come in and we serve them. So I told the band, if you want some food you can go in the volunteer green room!( laughs) On the road the goal is not to get to know people and pastor them. You’ re there to lead worship, but at church it’ s different. I think that element is so important for a worship leader. Are you setting up chairs? Are you sitting in the service? Are you out in the lobby connecting with people? Are you in the same volunteer green room that everybody else is? And maybe I’ m just speaking to us because we have a little element of fame, and maybe not all worship teams deal with this, but my point is that that pastoral influence is the one that says,“ We shouldn’ t be in the green room, we’ re pastoring people right now”. Quite frankly I think that the worship leaders you see sustain long term are the ones that are connected at that level.
We had a meeting with an architect, talking over this huge project that they’ re doing at Bethel, and the guy said,“ Alright, we’ re going to put the green room here …” And Bill said,“ Why would we have a green room?” We’ re like,“ You know, to rest in between services”. And he said,“ Why would we be resting in between services? Why wouldn’ t we be out talking with the people?” He didn’ t even want a green room!( laughs)
[ WM ] What does the future hold for Jesus Culture?
[ Banning ] We’ re pretty passionate about strengthening the local church around the world for revival, so whatever that takes. We’ re going to continue to do conferences, put albums out and plant churches. For us it’ s about partnering with God and what He’ s doing in the church around the world. Here’ s what the future looks like … We were originally a youth and young adult movement that was mainly known for its worship. We are now a church movement. We’ re not just focused on youth and young adults, we want to strengthen the church around the world, strengthen leaders around the world, and we want to see them step into their cities being awakened. Worship will always be a part of that. Worship is such a critical part of any movement. It is what awakens hearts, what draws people in, that unifying factor. It may look different than it has for us in the past, but our mission hasn’ t changed. We have a little bit of a different target now that’ s a little broader in the body of Christ. We’ re doing it now as senior pastors, not as youth pastors, but it’ s much of the same.
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