Q: How do you address issues of stage presence without seeming as though you are more concerned about appearances than authentic worship?

A: The worship leader exists to support the function of worship and guide the worship team. We need to teach our worship teams how to encourage the congregation to worship. Stage presence during worship is an important part of that. There are three core areas when teaching stage presence.

1. Clarify the worship team's purpose. We need to be clear about the purpose of our lead worshipers in congregational worship. Our role is to connect the congregation to God, then stay out of their way. Your church's philosophy of ministry, including the role of worship, should be taught and reinforced at every worship team meeting, rehearsal, prayer, before and between services. Constant, gentle, clear reminders are necessary to keep the team on track. It's not something that can be communicated and established in a single one-time meeting.

2. Eliminate distractions. ...