I also lead with my voice. I share, give direction, and teach during rehearsals in preparation to lead worship. Kind of hard to do when it's gone. I learned a lesson in leading without my voice. One of my personal goals in my music ministry is to have it less dependent on me. I want to find ways to push my leaders to grow and come out of there comfort zones. Not having a voice this past week pushed some of my leaders and myself to realize how much they depend on my vocal cues. Without my voice they had to know where they were going musically and do it with confidence. In the realization that I wasn't there to keep them on track, they stepped up to the plate, learned, and worked harder. This week I came to rehearsal with most of my voice and I didn't need it. The drive to know our music better was higher and driven by a desire to lead our congregation better. Whether my voice was there or not. God has blessed me with great musicians.
I don't always need my voice to lead. Losing it reminded me the importance of stepping back to help others gain confidence, and to remind myself of one of my ministry goals. It seems like a simple solution but it is easy to lose sight of when you're constantly trying to do better, come up with new music, and always seem to run out of time to do it in. Unlike my microwave, my musicians listen (whether I have a voice or not). They listen to me and they listen to each other. The latter is what makes them stronger and more able to be less dependent on me. I hope They know they are needed, wanted, prayed for and loved. Especially from their music leader with no voice.
