Should We Have Worship Leaders (revised)?

Update (11/2/2010): After realizing today that my blog comments were enabled but I wasn't being notified about them, I came across Bob Kauflin himself commenting on my post about Should We Have Worship Leaders?  I was surprised, since I've only told a few people I was doing a blog; I'm guessing some Google tools are behind him finding this post.  Regardless, I am grateful for him taking the time to interact with my thoughts, such as they are, and his kind tone in doing so.

Anyway, I went back and re-read Chapter 6 in Worship Matters several times.  I have revised some things I said previously and have rewritten my conclusion, because I don't feel that I did his presentation justice.  In addition, I realized some of my criticism has more to do with what I observe about how worship is practiced in contemporary American churches, rather than what Bob was saying in his book, and I didn't make that clear enough.  I look forward to finishing the book soon, once things slow down a bit at work and home.

Revision of original: In his book Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin argues that we should have worship leaders.   I've been reading his book off and on during the past month or so.  The first few chapters were thought-provoking and helpful in terms of what worship is and our attitude as we approach worship--specifically on Sundays, since giving God glory (worship) takes place outside of the church assembled.  But as he turns to the concept of worship leaders, I still have some reservations about the role of a worship leader.

From chapter 6, "What Does a Worship Leader Do?":

We can glean some important principles from Old Testament Levites....But we can't transfer everything they did then to what we do now.

A few paragraphs later:

Second, the most important worship leader is Jesus. He reveals God to us and through his perfect sacrifice provided the only way into the Father's presence (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 10:19-22). 

We can't do what only Jesus does.

And a little further on:

Humanly speaking, the pastor is the worship leader.  He is the one responsible before God for the corporate worship of the church (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).

In light of these reasons, which are obviously not exhaustive, is there a biblically based role for a non-pastoral worship leader?  Kauflin states that "teaching and leading roles are pastoral in nature"; therefore, in Sovereign Grace churches, worship leaders are men.  At the end of the chapter, he outlines his definition of a worship leader, which is very good.

In contrast, many contemporary American churches are led in worship by a man, woman, or group whose primary qualification seems to be musical ability, especially vocally or with the guitar.  If worship is a central aspect of the service, shouldn't the most essential qualifications be theological training and spiritual maturity?  When they aren't, the result seems to be a prioritization of performance and entertainment, rather than a focus on God and how to rightly approach Him, with prayer and reverence and awe (John 4:24; Hebrews 12:28-29).  Worship in these cases typically follows what's been happening for a while or else what people like.

I'm glad that Worship Matters urges those who lead in worship to think more biblically about the issues involved. In the absence of biblical precedent for much of what the church today does in worship, we need to step back and consider whether we do what we do out of habit, convenience, or preference, or because we are convinced that it is the best way to glorify God.