Question:
Hi, all.
At one of Clint Brown's "Judah" conferences in Orlando, Pastor Brown said that it was a bad idea for a worship leader to close his/her eyes. He explained that while his/her eyes were closed the entire congregation could walk out, without the knowledge of the worship leader. He believes that eye contact makes a "connection" with other worshippers.
On the other hand, it could be argued that closed eyes encourage others to "get lost" in worship. Of course there is middle ground here, but...
Your thoughts? Is there a right or wrong position here?
Answer:
Personally, I find it difficult to play my instrument with my eyes closed.
In His love,
Nate
Answer:
I think it depends on what is exactly going on during praise and worship. I think that most of time, Clint Brown has a point here, perhaps for a different reason. I think it is good to keep one's eyes open so one is spiritually aware of what is going on in the congregation during worship. However, I think that during certain highly intense, intimate moments, it is acceptable to briefly close your eyes during worship if you are on the platform. I've seen other nationally known worship leaders such as Lindell Cooley and Darlene Zsesch do that.
I do respect Clint Brown, but I think his comment might be based in part on fear, and I would respectfully disagree with him for that reason.
Those are my thoughts- Jonathan
Answer:
I think it's not a bad thing to close one's eyes, as long as you're not doing it the entire time.
It reminds me of what an associate pastor told me at a staff retreat when we did that dumb "encouragement chair", where you sit in the chair and everyone says something nice to you.
He said, "I really enjoy the way you lead worship, except sometimes, I swear it looks like you're passing a kidney stone, man."
Answer:
at first, reading this thread I thought he was making a joke. I mean if people are going to walk out on you they're going to walk out whether your eyes are open or not. It's almost like making a rule against raising your hand when you're leading because you may not have used enough deoderant and stink everyone out. Personally I don't close my eyes that much since I play guitar and sing but I don't see why this should be a rule for everyone. Some people do "get lost" if you will in worship while on stage. Is there something wrong with that? Should we really be making rules to supress that?
Answer:
This guy is talking about a non-issue. Maybe some worship leader, somewhere, closes his eyes for five minutes at a time, but it's just a question of the individuals style. It has nothing to do with your audience connection or effectiveness. I close my eyes and turn my back to the audience sometimes, if we're in the middle of deep worship it doesn't matter.
Answer:
I can see a problem if the leaders eyes are constantly closed. We should open them enough to be sure we know where the congregation is in their worship is, and whether or not they are following us.
I close my eyes quite a bit, but not so much that I'm not fully aware of the congregation. I close them to be an example of getting "lost in worship", of focusing on God, etc. I do it to lead by example, and since I often think it would be appropriate of people responded with closed eyes and full concentration on God, I try to be an example of that.
I also close my eyes during lyrical points in songs that I want to stress. For example, singing "The Wonderful Cross", I will probably have my eyes open for most of the first and second verses. However, when the last verse comes, "love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all", I will almost always close my eyes to stress this part of the song, because I think it is important to concentrate on the truth and spirit of those lyrics. In closing my eyes here, I stress the importance of these lyrics, and I encourage the congregation to enter into a more intimate/intense worship/concentration, and to stress these lyrics themselves.
Answer:
Perhaps this issue would vanish into nothingness if worship leaders stopped seeing themselves as such. Yes, I think it would.
I'm not even going to say what I think of the term "audience" applied to the congregations that we "lead" (or is that "perform for"?) :blech:
In His love,
Nate
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What if the pastor delivered the sermon with his eyes closed?
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Originally Posted by Tony What if the pastor delivered the sermon with his eyes closed?
Apples and Oranges. The sermon and worship service have different form and function. The sermon is direct, cerebral communication, not so with the worship set, which is a repetitive, abstract form of communication through an art form.
Answer:
Originally Posted by niangelo Apples and Oranges. The sermon and worship service have different form and function. The sermon is direct, cerebral communication, not so with the worship set, which is a repetitive, abstract form of communication through an art form. Completely disagree. Unless the band and singers are in the balcony behind the congregation, out of sight, then they are communictating with the congregation by what they do on the platform.
In fact, a worship leader that does not keep in mind not only what, but how they are communicating with the congregation is not doing his/her job.
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To be devil's advocate:
Why then close our eyes during prayer? Since we are leading the congregation in prayer, we should have our eyes open, so that they know what we are doing and what we are communicating?
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Originally Posted by parkway To be devil's advocate:
Why then close our eyes during prayer? Since we are leading the congregation in prayer, we should have our eyes open, so that they know what we are doing and what we are communicating? Why indeed? What is the purpose of closing one's eyes during prayer? But that's another discussion, I suppose...
I don't have a problem with a worship leader closing their eyes for limited amounts of time. However, I believe the responsibility is to lead, and that requires a general awareness of what's going on in the congregation.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Tony Why indeed? What is the purpose of closing one's eyes during prayer? But that's another discussion, I suppose...
Well, because you're holier when you pray with your eyes closed, that's why, silly.
I don't have a problem with a worship leader closing their eyes for limited amounts of time. However, I believe the responsibility is to lead, and that requires a general awareness of what's going on in the congregation.
Agreed.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Tony However, I believe the responsibility is to lead, and that requires a general awareness of what's going on in the congregation. Yes, but a general awareness does not necessitate a constant awareness. I am always generally aware of the congregation when I'm leading. But I also close my eyes quite frequently, for reasons stated above, and more.