I once had a class by the same name as the title of this post. I'll just say this, I was disappointed. Since I have my feet in both camps (worship and pastorate), I thought I'd put down what I would like to see in a worship leader.
I get frustrated with music/worship-types many times because they are often theologically shallow and performance/entertainment driven. My view is very opposite of this philosophy. In Hebrews, worship/praise is described as a metaphorical sacrifice: Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. --Heb 13:15
In light of this, the worship leader is like the priest, and his responsibility is to see to it that the sacrifice is acceptable to God. This goes WAY beyond musical talent. One of the most popular worship leaders today is David Crowder. To put it gently, this guy is not cute. On top of that, his voice really isn't that great either. What he has, though, is complete dependence on Jesus, which comes through often in his music.
Without dragging this on too long, honesty, humility, and heart go a lot further for me than technical precision and flare. Also, churches really need to get away from the professional musician mentality. Instead, worship leaders need to coach people on how to best let their heart and passion shine through their musical expression. Sure God wants and deserves our best, but my best is different from everyone else's best. I guess I just want to say that a worship leader should bring out the best in people, so that we can all corporately praise God with a spirit of unity, and with one mouth glorify the only Savior, Jesus Christ.
Also, ministers of music should not make and distribute illegal copies of copyrighted music. If you don't like it, write your own music.
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