Thoughts on music... The worship leader is that part of the priesthood of believers responsible for guarding the sanctuary with regard to music. All Christians have an obligation to bring glory to the Lord in the music they employ when worshiping Him. However, those Christians who are called to be musicians have an even greater responsibility in guarding the music of the sanctuary. This would include any musician who exercises leadership in choosing or leading music, in worship composers, music directors, choir directors, arts pastors, musicians, etc.
The music director is responsible for overseeing the music education of the congregation. The levitical musicians at the temple were divided into twenty-four courses (worship teams) according to 1 Chronicles 25. These courses were established in order that all the musicians would not be at the temple at any one time. Thus they were on duty in the temple two weeks of the year. What were they doing the rest of the year? Most likely the same things that all musicians do when they are not performing—they are practicing their craft and teaching or passing it on to others. Nowadays we would think it a waste of money to compensate a worship team for 'practicing' all but 2 weeks out of the year, which is probably why most of the music in churches with this mentality is hardly excellent and therefore less than glorifying to God. God seemed to take this role seriously and when the people followed suit it paid off. The Israelites were famous for their music skills all over the world (see Psalm 137). Music skills are not something that develop on their own. They must be taught. So the Levite musician would be at the temple two weeks while the rest of the time he was developing his own skill while teaching others how to sing and play instruments as well. Even in the synagogues, the "reading" of the Scriptures was not actually a reading but a chanting of the Word. The glory of God shines through us in this especially when it is performed "skillfully". Does God care about skillful excellence, volume, and modern worship? In Psalm 33:3 all three of these issues are covered. We are to 1. Sing a new song. 2. Play it skillfully. 3. Let it rock! Ok that last one was a stretch but the word for 'loud' in the original means 'loud'. I'm not condoning bleeding eardrums or physical damage but the idea that worship must be soft and soothing to be holy is unscriptural. God encourages us to shout, dance, and let the sound of our worship be as big as our heart of love for God. The worship director, the levitical musician, would be expected to teach the skills needed to accomplish this with excellence.
Music is a glory cloud we put around the words that God gives to us for our edification and around the words we offer back to Him as a spiritual sacrifice in our gatherings of worship. It's part of the job of the worship leader, not just to lead the congregation in a corporate setting, but to see that everyone enters worship with the necessary skills and understanding required for the collective musical worship that is brought before the Lord. (Portions from Credenda Agenda - Schuler/Wilson 2005)
Credenda Agenda is a reformed publication headed up by one the great Christian writers/theologians of our time, Douglas Wilson. My uncle, Dr. Paul Brown, has written for them on the topic of Creation Science over the years. I have been blessed and challenged by the articles in CA and I encourage you to subscribe to the magazine at http://www.credenda.org/