6. Identify Your Left-Brained and Right Team Members
Creative people tend to be bad administrators, and administrators aren’t always the best songwriters. Your methods of working (both how you work and what you expect from your team members) need to be based on these strengths and weaknesses. If you’re creative, get administrative help rather than let your team suffer under your bad organizational skills.
7. To Feed or Be Fed
If you are in ministry, always remember that you have a responsibility to serve others. Sunday mornings are often chaotic and full of tasks, details, conflicts, etc. We can come home drained and feeling like we never “got anything out of church.” But the times when you’re serving aren’t always the best times for you to also be served. I tend to operate under the idea that on Sunday mornings, I am there to serve others, not to be served. It is up to me to be sure that I am getting fed spiritually during the week. Too often, we confuse “service” with “serve us.”
8. Team Devotions Should Be Focused
Devotionals times, while valuable for team building, can be misused. Team devotionals should either be related to the task at hand (worship, music, fellowship) or be related to the current teaching series of the pastor. They should not be used as your personal opportunity to preach or show off your biblical wisdom. Remember, many church members hear a message on Sunday mornings, a different message or two on the radio during the week, a Bible study in their small groups, a different study in their personal time, and then your weekly devotional. How are they expected to retain all these different messages? They can’t. Make this time count.
9. Don’t Get Sidetracked
(A) Rehearsal time is for rehearsing. When people give up their weeknight to come to rehearse, it is important that you don’t monopolize their time with stories about your kids. And you should always strive to be the most prepared person in the room. There is a big difference between rehearsing and practicing. Practice at home, then rehearse what you practiced with the team. (B) Fellowship time is about fellowship. Using social time to discuss “work” can be annoying. Use that time to just get to know your people. Have fun—it’s not a meeting. (C) Worship times are for worship. Once the service starts, allow that things will go wrong. At this point, you either believe it is in God’s hands or not. You stay focused on God. If you focus on the problems, so, too, will your congregation.
10. Stay Connected to God
This sounds easier than it often is for people in ministry. I constantly struggle with getting so busy doing “God’s work” that I forget to check in with God in my own life. Daily time with God is the most valuable thing we can do, and how often do we simply see it crowded out of our schedule? If you get one thing from this list, I hope it’s this one. For me, too.
I hope these helped. Do you have any worship leading tips?
These worship leading tips are from Tony Guerrero, who served as Music Director and Director of Creative Arts at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA, and his work as a contemporary jazz flugelhornist, trumpeter, composer, and producer has garnered him both critical success and a worldwide audience. Most recently, he has been establishing himself as a producer in the Christian Pop & Worship fields. His own worship songs, most notably “(I Will Not Be) Shaken,” have been recorded and used in churches around the world. He has spoken and hosted at worship conferences in the U.S., South America, and Eastern Europe. His monthly “Musician’s Corner” articles for Worship Leader Magazine have also been well received, and he has recently published a book entitled Attracting Quality Musicians, aimed at attracting quality musicians into the ministry. Learn more from Tony at WorshipLeader.com.
