everyone knows that you can better connect with God in worship if you close your eyes, right? well…. for the sake of argument, for now we’ll say yes. as a leader (and even just as a musician) i often feel more natural and comfortable with my eyes shut. i mean, if i’m singing to God why would i be staring 300 people in the eyes?
conversely, if you’re goal is to communicate something to people through music, then it would make sense to make eye contact with them. how many conversations have you been in where the other person won’t look you in the eye? disconcerting, isn’t it? at best, that person is not comfortable with the subject matter. at worse, they’re lying through their teeth.
well recently God’s been showing me something as a worship leader. i once heard one of my mentors-from-afar, Tommy Walker, say that as a worship leader you have to worship with one eye closed and one eye open. in other words, you have to strike a balance between focusing your attention on God and giving enough attention to the people you’re supposed to be leading to know that at least some of them are still following.
another tip from Tommy is to learn to let God bless you. i never gave this much thought until recently when i started to learn what tommy must have been talking about. a few weeks ago i was in the middle of the song “you never let go” by Matt Redman. i was definitely caught up personally in the truth of the lyrics, especially, “if my God is with me, whom then shall i fear?”. normally, i would have my eyes shut tight just belting it out, as if it was just me and God in the room. but instead i opened my eyes and made a point to look at some of the faces of the people whom i was leading. and what i found there was surprisingly emotional. i think God allowed me to get a glimpse of how the truth of the song was hitting home to some of the people worshipping that day. there were some people with bright smiles in full celebration. others were choking back tears. still others were openly weeping. in that moment i was keenly aware that there was communion happening between God and His kids. the moment was so much bigger than i could take any credit for as a leader.
“learn to let god bless you.” i think i’m starting to figure out what that means. i’ve definitely been “blessed” by God in worship with my eyes shut. but i think i’ve often overlooked the possibility that God might want to bless me by looking into the eyes of my fellow worshippers. after all, no one else in the room gets to see the corporate worship experience from that perspective.
so, what are your thoughts on eyes closed verses eyes open while leading? i’d like to hear from other leaders for sure, but even if you don’t lead worship - have you ever noticed whether your worship leader(s) more often close their eyes or keep them open? have you ever found one or the other distracting or more engaging?
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July 10, 2007 at 1:10 am
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May 18, 2007 at 10:01 pm
grettajane
Hey I’m glad you posted about this and asked for feedback as it’s something I’ve thought about befor and kind of had mixed feelings toward. I don’t lead worship, and I think that’s probably a good thing for all, but I am part of a body of believers who worship in a dark auditorium that encourages a more focused God-indidual connection. When I visit other churches when traveling I have often had trouble readjusting to broad daylight and being able to see everyone and the littlest things seem to distract me. THis is something I need to work on I realize, but something I’ve thought about mostly is I really have a hard time worshiping myself if I feel like I am being led to worship rather than joining in worship. I have a lot of trouble singing along with someone on stage with a mike who’s looking down at all of us and is concentrating so hard on using his or her whole mouth to enunciate the lyrics. But I am usually super excited to join in chorus with someone on stage who’s belting it out for God and has noticebly forgotten a bit about being on a stage. This goes both ways too. As I often close and open my eyes within worship as I love seeing those in the front of the auditorium who are dancing and just pouring it out to God and this inturn helps me to worship God more fully. I realize fully that worship leading is a very tricky business as far as leading without leading and I give you props for all that you do as a worship leader. I like your thoughts on all of it.
May 19, 2007 at 9:21 pm
onelouder
gretta, thanks for your response. i, too, have mixed feelings about it as you can probably tell… good thoughts on “being led in worship” versus “being invited to join in worship”. some of my worship leading “heroes” tend to do less coaching and more modeling. thanks again for chiming in!
May 23, 2007 at 7:53 pm
bluedevildad
we just started having this conversation - not because we really think it’s a big deal, but because we have tech guy who thinks eye contact is the ultimate for an upfront leader. his approach bothers me a bit, as if the worship leader is really giving a speech at some high school extemporaneous contest and there are judges counting off points for technical aspects. i dont think that i really care which it is - what i rather look for is someone who is first and foremost a lead worshipper, and then a worship leader. i need someone that i can believe is also approaching and seeking God and not just trying to get me to participate in the corporate thing we do.
with that said, i do have one very disturbing “eyes wide shut” that bothers me - one name, two words - tony campolo!