Driven by the conviction that ‘He must become greater and I must become less’ (John 3:30), Darin refrains from excessive talking and even praying when leading a worship session. " … let people just worship. I will pray at times, but don’t want to do anything that draws people to myself, but rather have them look to the Lord," he said.

Truly, Darin does not possess a spellbinding voice, which has turned out to be a blessing as worshippers are therefore not distracted. But he does have a special gift of leading people to worship God and focus on Him. This gift was well displayed at the recent Celebration 2000 evangelistic meetings where he led the worship sessions before the speaker, evangelist Bill Newman, took over.

As Music Director of Bill Newman International, Australia, Darin accompanies Dr Newman on his speaking engagement worldwide and is responsible for the music aspect of the meetings. This involves co-ordinating the songs for and leading the praise and worship session before Dr Newman speaks. Darin shares further his thoughts on worship leading and the role of music in evangelism.

Music is an essential part in evangelistic outreaches, especially big ones. Music spearheads the Gospel…it bypasses the mind and goes straight to the heart. The aim is always to prepare the hearts of the listeners, and even if we look like we are just having fun, we really have a central and serious goal to the music. I am well aware of the power of music in setting an atmosphere.

Music is most powerful when it supports the Word of God. It is not an end in itself. If ‘hearing comes from the Word of God’, then this must be central to the meetings, and the direction we are to head. The goal is not a great worship time or CD sales or a stack of autographs late in the night. The goal is to win souls and that is where we head.

Usually, I use well-known songs in worship, because we are there to use worship to set an atmosphere for the Spirit to work in people’s hearts, not teach 50 new songs! I love ministering with local bands and singers, although it is often hard work. At the Celebration 2000 meetings, we combined two bands into one, and I am sure that each person has grown in the Lord and in his musical ability.

I am a fairly free-flowing type of guy, extremely flexible in contrast with some of the less flexible band members who want everything written down, etc. Part of the fun is learning to follow a leader who is sitting on the edge of his seat waiting to see where the Holy Spirit leads him. I love to worship with freedom and, while the songs were chosen before time, song orders and repeats of choruses, etc. are made up as we go along.

Yes, I am musically illiterate and have had no lessons. I am essentially self-taught, or rather, Spirit-taught. I read guitar chords and can play guitar, piano, bass, lead, drums etc., but I have no clue when it comes to dots on a page. The advantage is that this does not restrict me. I have no choice but to play by ear, so I probably know more about how songs are structured and how they sound because that is how I learned music. All the glory should go to the Lord for any of my songs. He is the inspiration and substance of all the songs. I wrote seven songs in five days before the last album, and that is GOD!

A few years ago I had the opportunity to do guitar lessons with a friend. At the same time a Bible College opened in my area. I could not do both. I prayed, and chose Bible College, and now am an itinerant pastor. You see, I want to be a better guitarist, but I’d rather be a better servant of the Lord. Depends on where your treasure is, and what you feel the Lord is calling you to do.

Darin’s songs (with chords) are available on his website www.darinb.com