Kim Gentes

Q: Briefly explain your start as a worship leader.
Andy Park: I started worship leading when I was seventeen years old. I was in my first year of studies at UCLA and had just begun to enter into a real relationship with Jesus. Playing the guitar wasn't the most challenging part of worship leading-I had already been playing guitar for about six years. Singing in public was a challenge. So, with a good dose of fear and trembling, I jumped in with both feet. I learned all kinds of songs, devouring everything I heard from other worship leaders. I started leading worship in a small group among college students.

Q: What did you learn to do and NOT to do as a worship leader?
Andy: There are lots of things I've learned not to do, mostly by trial and error. For one thing, I've learned to choose songs that I have adopted as my own language for worship. I hear all kinds of great songs performed by other people. But I don't use a song in worship times unless it strongly resonates with my heart and connects me to God. It has to be something that I personally want to say to God and to the church. And it has to be in a musical style that works for me.

I've also learned over and over again to get the focus off myself and onto God. It's so easy to fall into the trap of introspection and performance versus worship. I try to stay away from evaluating the quality of a worship time based on how good it made me feel. It's really not about my feeling good, it's about approaching God with faith, singing honest prayer-songs and proclaiming truth.

Q: What would you say is the most difficult aspect of being a worship leader? What can you do to overcome it or work through it?
Park: The most difficult aspect of being a worship leader is dealing with the reality of living "between the times." We live in the age in which Jesus has unleashed the authority of his kingdom on earth. We see the outworking of his power in many ways-broken lives are turned around and healed. In worship, the Holy Spirit brings peace, joy and a striking revelation of God's power and beauty. But we haven't arrived at the point in history when the blessings of the kingdom are with us in unlimited measure.

So here's the rub-the windows of heaven aren't always thrown open in our earthly worship times. In the best of worship times we see so clearly and drink so deeply of the wine of the Spirit! And many times we feel disconnected from God. When you've drunk deeply the sweet wine of heaven in worship, it's hard to be satisfied with a "grape juice" worship time.

To deal with this tension, I remind myself that worship is all about faithfulness-doing, praying and singing what I know is right-no matter how much of God I can feel at a given moment.

Q: What does it mean to cultivate the heart of a worship leader? How does that happen?
Andy: It's all about a lifestyle. Surrounding yourself with people who love God. Immersing yourself in a culture that is saturated with all kinds of "God-things." Lots of worship, teaching, great books. What you pour into your heart and mind will come out in your worship "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do" (Prov. 4:23). The one most important thing about leading worship is your heart. Also, to cultivate a heart of worship, we must be doing acts of worship. Serving the poor, the church, our family and friends.

Regarding cultivating the art of worship leading, that involves watching others do it and then doing it yourself. If you can, try to get some personal input from experienced people. But don't wait for the perfect mentor. Make it your responsibility to take initiative to expand your box of worship. Try new things, and ask for input from your pastors. See what works; see how the people respond. See what seems to lead people right into God's throne room. Also, so much of being a good worship leader is being a good people-person. You have to care for people along the way of developing a musical worship style. All of these issues are addressed in To Know You More.

Q: Describe the purpose of and your hope for To Know You More.
Andy: Over the past 15 years I've done over a hundred worship seminars. Since my traveling schedule is limited, I wanted to pass on in written form the things I've learned. For many years I've felt that one of my primary tasks should be to "teach these great truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others" (2 Tim. 2:2). It's not that I've come up with reams of groundbreaking new information. Lots of the content of the book is timeless truth from God's Word applied to our contemporary worship setting.

In my seminars and in the book, I've simply taught what I've learned from experience. (And I'm still learning). For those who are new to this model of worship, there may be all kinds of new insights that are gained. I hope and expect there will be helpful insights in these pages for people from all kinds of different worship traditions. For some, the heart behind the worship model will be the most helpful, while for others, the practical how-to's and examples will answer their most pressing questions.

Q: What does this book offer pastors and other church leaders?
Andy: Understanding a worship leader's world is essential for the pastor who wants to nurture and cultivate musical worship leaders. I think this book will help church leaders understand the challenges facing a worship leader and give some advice for supporting and guiding the worship leader. Having healthy co-worker relationships is huge in developing a vital worship ministry.

There is also an applied theology of worship peppered throughout the book that address a pastor's concerns for balance and depth. Key values and priorities, with the Bible as a foundation, provide the non-negotiables for the worship practices of a local church. If a church leadership team is on the same page regarding the goals and boundaries of worship, it's much easier to build a worship ministry and sustain it over the long haul.

Andy Park is a co-pastor and worship leader at the Surrey Vineyard. He has led worship in small and medium churches as well as megachurches and large conferences. He is also a songwriter whose credits include In The Secret (I Want to Know You), Precious Child, My Delight, Only You, The River Is Here, Blessed Be The Name, We Will Ride, Yahweh, Yet I Will Praise, and Wonder Working God and he has led worship on numerous Vineyard recordings, including The River is Here, Blessed Be the Name and All I Need. Andy lives with his wife, Linda, and eight children in Surrey, B.C., Canada.