"People worship in different ways.”
The concept seems simple and clear but it is something often overlooked by worship pastors and leaders, according to Christian singer/songwriter Charles Billingsley, who also serves as worship pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Virginia. He recently told The Alabama Baptist he found the start to his musical career in Alabama.
While studying at Samford University in Birmingham, Billingsley went on a retreat with Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills. During the retreat he wrote a poem based on Matthew 10, “The Sparrow,” which later became a song on his first album.
Early music leadership
Billingsley later sang with contemporary Christian music group NewSong for about two years in the 1990s and has released 28 albums in his career between the group and solo work.
When he began serving in a music leadership role at Thomas Road Baptist, Billingsley said the tone of the church was unfortunately “all about performing from the platform” and not at all about worship.
He eventually got “fed up” because the congregation just wouldn’t sing, he said. He recalled how one evening he came to church when then-Pastor Jerry Falwell told the congregation that a church member desperately needed a van for a ministry she was running.
“Just as I was getting bitter, the Lord slammed me,” Billingsley said, explaining how the church gave $7,000 in one night.
“I realized this was a worshipping body but they worship with their wallets, not their mouths, which by the way is much more sacrificial.”
‘Completely engaged’
“Not everybody’s gonna sing and raise their hands. … I took a step back and God began to work in my own heart. … I’ll never forget the day we turned a corner and we shifted from performing songs to a church that’s completely engaged in worship. But it had to begin with the worship pastor or worship leader.”
He encourages worship leaders to remember that as they lead a “seemingly dead congregation … you sometimes just don’t know the whole story.”
“They may have lost a loved one that week or may have just had a fight with their spouse. They may just not feel good. There are so many elements at play. … But there are many ways that you can help bring them to life.”
Billingsley said a worship leader must always learn to face the tension between technically presenting a song well and leading in worship at the same time.
“You’re trying to use your artistry and point it to a place of engagement with the crowd in the presence of the Holy Spirit,” he explained. “If it’s just artistry, then you’re just trying to engage the crowd in your art.”
Training worship leaders and worship pastors how to handle this “tension” is something Billingsley is passionate about and gets to assist in as an artist-in-residence and instructor at Liberty University in Lynchburg.
When he’s not leading or teaching others how to lead, Billingsley is recording new albums.
He recently released his 29th album, “Right Here.”
“The lyrics are very intimate but there are soft songs and powerful songs,” he said.
“[The new album] has a whole bunch of really great songs that point nonbelievers to Christ and encourages believers. There are songs about the cross, about the resurrection and a song about the difference between knowing God and knowing about God.”
His motivation
Billingsley shared a song from “Right Here” during his time at the Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference held at First Baptist Church, Montgomery, in early March.
He said he keeps releasing new albums, teaching and appearing at events because of his motivation — “seeing people’s lives moved and changed” through song.
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