Worship leading is the art of getting out of the way.
Entertainers get attention and keep it. They bask in the focus of their audience; if they lose the focus of their audience, they strive to regain it, and if they fail to regain it, they fail entirely as entertainers.
Worship leaders are called to decrease that Jesus might increase. Worship leaders stand before the congrgation and point them to Jesus, striving to get their attention off of themselves onto Jesus. If they gain the people's attention and keep it-- they have failed in their purpose. The idea is to get the people's attention for a few seconds and then give it away to Jesus for a good half-hour or more.
This does involve producing sound, however. The idea is not to be such bad musicians that people divert their attention in distress. The idea is to provide a surface of sound that bouys them up while their sails fill with the wind of God, and they are driven by him, across the surface of sound that you make. He drives the ship with his wind. You be faithful and let the ship ride on the sound you make. His wind determines what the surface of the sound is like-- ripples or rollers, or glassy smooth.
Sometimes the surface of the water will be turbulent and sometimes calm, but the surface must be there. The congregation is unified by the sound-- even when that sound is silence. It must, however, be a confident sound, even a confident silence. If the trumpet sounds an uncertain note, what do the troops do? (1 Co 14:8)
SO-- you get the congregation's attention long enough to point them to Jesus. The quicker you point the better. The faster their attention is swept into Jesus, the sooner you can just provide that surface for their ships to skim across. Point them to Jesus and then get out of their way so they can see him.
Lists:
Lists aren't bad. I used to think they were terribly unspiritual. I use them more now. Sometimes I even steal from my bandleader's Sunday list for my kinship list.
There are a few reasons why. One, I've decided that God can tell me ahead of time what he wants the same as he can tell me on the spot. Two, if I am more confident (because God has spoken to me about what to play already) then the "trumpet" gives a confident sound and the "troops" respond with similar confidence. Three-- if God wants to change the list mid-ministry time, that's fine! So he's still "free" to do as he wills and I'm still "free" to change things on the fly if I feel that's what he's asking for.
Why steal from my Sunday leader's list? Because sometimes God is still working inside people on the same stuff mid-week as he was working on Sunday. It just helps him to continue his work. It also means that that song is fresh in the minds of the worshippers-- and the worship leader, too. If I'm not worried about the song, I'm freer to worship, and so is the congregation.
Which songs:
When you start leading, pick songs that you like and can play easily. In fact, pick your favorite songs from your church's list. Why? Because you'll worship better. If you worship with your whole heart, the congregation can follow you in to God's presence. If you are struggling with chords, they'll be too busy praying FOR you to worship WITH you.
As you continue to lead, keep leaning on the songs from the church list that encourage you to worship deeply. A worship leader teaches by example, and if the congregation sees you immersed in God, they will follow. So sing the songs that minister the most to you, that make you cry or that echo the deepest longings of your heart.