I didn’t always appreciate this individual the way I do now. In fact we had a very difficult time working together at the beginning. The church had brought me on as the worship director and this individual as the program director and part time worship leader. Sounded great on paper, but we never defined anything. I was always stepping on his toes and he was stepping on mine. It created an environment of insecurity and frustration. My friend was growing into an amazing worship leader, but I was holding on so tightly to my “role” that I was oblivious to what God was doing. The tension in the situation just continued to build.

Over the months of tension it brought us to a crossroads in which we both realized that our insecurities and weaknesses were actually the other persons strengths. In that moment I realized that success and failure came down to my willingness to submit to the Lord and to submit to those who had strengths that I didn’t have.

What an amazing transformation in the relationship as well as the ministry. Genuine friendship, team oriented ministry, and more authentic worship both from the stage as well as the congregation…. but most importantly… trust.

They say that trust in earned. That was really the case in my situation. Learning to be humble and submit will go a long way in building those critical relationships and leaders in your ministry.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people
will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou

May this be true of all of us today…

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It’s like the few times when I’ve gone to Disneyland with a large group.  You walk into the park and in your mind you’ve mapped out exactly what you want to do.  Unfortunately the others in the group have done the same thing.  So you end up spending most of the day running from one side of the park to the other and never really get to enjoy the day because everyone has their own idea of where they want things to go.  I see this in meetings too…. People often come in with very different expectations.  So take a few minutes in your next rehearsal, meeting or any gathering to clarify for your team what you are and aren’t asking of them in the process.  Here is a tool that’s been helpful to me when collaborating with others.

Points of authority – What am I asking of you:
Veto Authority – the authority to have final approval. Reserved only for the top leader or team.

Point Authority –   the authority to initiate. The buck stops here. This person is ultimately responsible for the project or decision.

Input Authority- the authority to provide input into the decision and the right to receive feedback on how that input was considered.

Informational Authority – the authority to be informed once a decision is made.

Today I find myself realizing that experiences in life and especially the church can hold us back from being risk takers and ultimately being everything that God desires us to be.  Often I focus on what others say I can or can’t do and  make sure that everything is completely figured out and foolproof before I even take a step… But God is reminding me that the greatest thing in life is to rely on Him more and more each day.  Psalm 39 says it this way “I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence. If I go up to heaven you are there; if I go down to the place of dead, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.”  So today let me encourage you and myself to walk in that knowledge…. The knowledge that God is there to guide you and I and pick us up if we fall.  And just like that little boy I believe God is there today saying to us “you’ve just got to do it.”  So take some risks today…….

There were songs we were all up on our feet and others when we just sat and listened. In the middle of one of the quieter songs I looked down the row we were sitting in and saw a woman standing with her head lifted, eyes closed and arms outstretched. I remember thinking that what she was doing was the very picture of what an authentic worshiper should look like. Solely focused, unaffected by the opinions of the others around her.

This all sounds like a great example of worship… right?  Well, we were not at a worship concert. In fact we weren’t even at a christian concert. It was just a creative rock concert with some amazing musicians.  How could it have been worship? Worship of what?

So how does a person become so affected by something that they almost involuntarily stand, close their eyes, and raise their arms? In a church setting we would call it worship… but in a secular setting we would just call it an emotional response or a feeling.

Here is the point. The picture that each of us have for worship is usually the measure we use to determine if leading worship was effective. If we believe that someone standing, closing their eyes, and raising their hands is the picture of what authentic and real worship is, then we evaluate based on that.

My experience at the concert changed my perspective of what worship looks like. For me, it challenged my assumptions about what I saw in the congregation Sunday morning. It helped me realize that sometimes the responses we see in people are real and authentic, but other times people are moved by the emotions the music creates in them. One is worship and one is just a feeling.

Our job as leaders should be to create environments of authenticity and worship so that people can experience God in a real way. It can be easy to build services and gatherings around the intended emotional impact.  When we do this we are building something that strives to fulfill the picture of worship we have. Challenge yourself this week to change the picture of worship you have had. Challenge yourself to see past the creative package and desired response and realize that God wants you to trust him with how people respond.

Worship teams are great at playing this game in real life.  Some people call it telephone.  Others call it church gossip or triangulation.  Getting  info or sharing info with everyone but the people involved is never a helpful activity in a creative ministry. The ironic part, is that it usually happens with out people even realizing it.

Let me give you a scenario… You’re at worship rehearsal and time comes to share prayer requests. Then someone says “have you heard what’s going on with Tom? (fictitious bass player)”. Everyone leans forward to hear the details. “I heard from my friend Sandy who talked to one of Tom’s co-workers and they said that Tom got called into the CEO’s office for a closed door meeting…. We really need to pray for him! That usually only happens when someone is in a lot of trouble. Also we need to keep this confidential. Tom doesn’t know we know anything…”  Immediately, everyone is concerned and prays for Tom.

At first pass that sounds ok. Here is a band member, that everyone cares about, who might be in some trouble. People are concerned and it seems logical to share whatever information is available so we can pray accurately…. right?   Not always… The reason this can be so unhealthy is because the information rarely stops being shared when it is supposed to. Confidential doesn’t really mean much in a church or in a ministry setting. In the same way concerns are shared in one setting, they will be shared in outside settings as a prayer request, as a concern and as something that needs to be kept quiet. There is also the tendency for the information to change each time it is shared. Before we know what has happened, the entire team is under the impression that Tom is going to be fired for having done something really bad. How can a team undo all of the (well intentioned) misinformation that was spread about Tom? What happens when Tom finds out everyone mistakenly thought he was doing something bad? What happens when everyone finds out Tom actually got a great promotion and that nothing was wrong at all?

This kind of stuff happens in worship teams periodically. It is just part of working with people… So how do you stop things before they get out of hand? Simple…. DISCONNECT THE TELEPHONE!

Remind your team that information that does not build up the team will only break it down. Encourage people to personally share what they are going through  instead of passing the info through others. Reinforce the go-to principle which tells people to go to the person you’ve heard is struggling to find out if they are ok, instead of just passing the info on. Lastly, remind people that unless they are not part of the problem or part of the solution, they have no reason to share information about someone else.

Now i realize that a resume is supposed to be a brief overview for the purpose of additional followup during the hiring process, but i found it interesting as it pertains to ministry. When you go into ministry, regards of the type, you are not really going into a job. Even if you have a detailed job description, an employment letter, or contract, you are still not going into a job. Ministry is not a job. It is your life. It doesn’t matter if you fill out a time card or are full time, half time, no time, volunteer. Ministry is not your job. Ministry is your life! And even more important… ministry is a privilege.

Lately i’ve had a some discussions with a couple part time worship guys who like to use the phrases “it’s not in my job description” or “i’m part time…remember”. Usually it is because they have been asked to do something that doesn’t fit into their regular routine.

I’ve been a part time pastor, so i understand where they are coming from. There is only so much time and anything above that is outside the scope of the job.I remember times thinking: “I don’t have time to volunteer my time to the church for things they don’t have the money to pay for…”

Unfortunately a lot of church pastors and leaders (particularily worship guys) are part time, work second jobs, or are not paid at all. It is kind of the norm these days. But i have come to realize something. Every person who serves in a church (with out getting paid) either doesn’t need to work or they have a job. Which means anything they do to help in ministry is outside of their normal life. Yet we don’t usually hear about volunteers complaining when they are asked to serve above and beyond the hours they work during the week.

Over the years i have forgotten time after time the wonderful privlege it is to be a vocational ministry leader. Yes there are a lot of headaches, people, staff, schedules and others to deal with, but how many people get the opportunity to lead in a church?  not that many…

Next time you’re asked to do something outside of the norm, just remember how few people get to do what you do… and besides who are you really working for? the church? or the Lord?

1. every time I stand on a stage and people do not see God I perform
2. every time I make it about excellence over humility I perform
3. every time I make it about the set, planning or package I perform
4. every time I make it about anything other than God I perform
5. every time I question the quality of my presentation I perform
6. every time I rely on my skills I perform

Performing is always about pleasing someone (God, staff, people, ourselves)
Worship always happens within a spirit of humility. The result is not a feeling. It is an attitude of thankfulness and trust.