Let me start off by saying that I am not in full-time vocational ministry; I’m not a full-time, or even part-time worship pastor, associate pastor, youth pastor or any of the like. I am a construction superintendent by trade, and my full-time ministry relies more on a tool box than on a pulpit.
I have been playing guitar since I was 13 years old and started playing at a large church when I was 15. Through the years of playing in multiple churches with varying styles since then, there have been ups and there have been downs. I continue to faithfully serve my church when it hurts and when it’s great because Jesus is worth it and I want to emphasize this fact. This isn’t a “dirty laundry” kind of rant. This is a way for the simple volunteer musician to convey their heart for worship and some steps to take if your worship team is in crisis. After all, the pool for musicians that love God is so thin already; we aren’t doing very much good for the Kingdom if we ostracize the ones that passionately serve alongside us every Sunday.
I have developed seven fundamentals that every worship leader should consider and pray over:
5. Empower your team.
The best advice that I was ever given when it comes to leadership was to always treat the people that follow you like they are going to be doing your job one day. What lessons would we teach ourselves and in what manner? The best organizations that I have worked for have this mentality and it clearly trickles from the top down. When everyone is there for the success of the team and recognizes that if the people following them are successful, then they as a leader succeed and it is contagious.
How many of us are fearful that if we train up the next generation of worship leaders that one day there may not be a need “for an old, tired dog like me” further on down the road? I’m not saying that we purposefully sabotage the careers of our younger worship leaders, but do we do everything in our power to make sure they can fully develop, grow and bloom into everything God has intended them to be? Sometimes this requires a firm yet loving conversation telling that “young gun” that they just aren’t ready yet out of respect and love, and that’s a great and valuable lesson if applied correctly. If this is the case, we need to make sure we are edifying our worship leaders with the positives of what they do well and the clearly defined benchmarks and walking step by step with them to that next level.
My first instrument is bass guitar, but about seven years ago, while I was still in college, I had been playing acoustic guitar for some time and led a band that had played some small venues in Northern Colorado. I auditioned for a spot at a smaller church that we had been attending for about six months, and the leader was delighted to have me play but wanted me to grow and mature in my walk first (which was all well and good to me). Unfortunately, he never checked in again, never asked how my walk was going, never called, nothing. Did this set me off the tracks a little as far as being a worship leader is concerned? Absolutely. If he had looked at me as though one day I would be in his position he probably would have invested in me or at least set me up with a fellow brother in the church that could help guide me through what it meant to be spiritually mature enough to become a worship leader. Maybe he could have provided some resources or a specific Bible study that I could go through on my own or together or as part of a group. I was a 21-year-old, immature college kid that played guitar. How could this have turned into a moment of teaching and empowerment rather than a disappointment and, at the time, what I conceived to be a failure?
If you are the only worship leader in your church, this is your opportunity to get a couple of weekends off. OK, that’s some selfish motivation; but we always talk about how we want to transform lives through worship, and honestly, it starts with those that we have the closest relationship with. We have no idea the impact that we can have on our worship team and what it means if we just come alongside them and teach them. God has gifted all of us with a talent and maybe even an aspiration to lead worship. Let’s help our teams reach that full potential spiritually and musically so they can one day take our jobs.
