By Dwayne Moore
The goal for worship leaders and church musicians should be that they become ministers through music. It isn’t enough to be good musicians, or great performers. Your worship team needs to minister. Those who minister through music have some very distinguishing characteristics. They’re passionate about what they’re doing. They have a sense of calling. They’re disciplined. They’re full of integrity, and they clearly exhibit a servant heart toward God and others. What worship pastor wouldn’t want a stage full of people who fit that description! Conveniently, every one of these qualities comes along quite naturally as a result of one all-important process called spiritual growth.
You’ve got one big responsibility
It’s easy to get frustrated and impatient with members of our team when we don’t see them growing and developing like we think they should. When they grumble and complain, when they’re late for rehearsals and don’t take their responsibilities seriously, when they seem to want the spotlight all to themselves – all these attitudes and actions are realities every seasoned worship pastor has had to deal with at some point. “What am I going to do with these people?” we say in exasperation.
The answer is simple, or at least it starts out simple: We need to fervently and consistently pray for them. The good news is it’s not up to us to change them. That’s God’s job. The powerful message of 2 Corinthians 3:18 (TNIV) is that we are being transformed, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes the Lord, who is the Spirit.” According to Hebrews 12:2, Jesus is both the author and the finisher of our faith. Our responsibility then, first and foremost, is to intercede for those in our worship ministries, asking our great God to grow them and transform them in his time and in his way.
You first
Beyond praying for them, we have some specific responsibilities as leaders to help in the growth process. First off, we have to exemplify the qualities and characteristics we hope to see in those we lead. It sounds obvious of course, and if it weren’t for the oft-used insult “hypocrite,” I’d completely bypass it. But the truth is, what is easy to tell others to do is often the hardest to do ourselves.
Are we enthusiastic as we lead from the stage? If not, then what right do we have to tell others to be? Do we show up with a smile and an upbeat attitude each week for rehearsals? Can others sense our passion for God and for those he loves? That kind of passion will contagiously “rub off” on your ministry team if they see it first in you.
Then there is discipline. How incredible would it be if our musicians practiced their music at home before they came to the rehearsals? How much more effective would it be for the singers to memorize the lyrics to the songs so they could focus on the congregation and the Lord? If we desire such disciplines in our praise teams, we must set the example of discipline before them.
Exemplified discipline is also needed with spiritual growth. I was talking with a music director whose choir had recently gone through my worship study. I asked him how his people responded to the study, and his reply was that they didn’t “get into it” very much. Spurred on by curiosity as well as some concern, I asked him why. All he said was that he didn’t really know. Then, later in our conversation, he admitted something that cleared up the mystery for me. He said when he introduced the study to his choir, he explained how he wanted them to do it and why he thought they needed it. But then, he told them he just “didn’t have time to do the study” himself, thus he wasn’t going to participate in it. No wonder his people didn’t get into it more. They didn’t see their leader place priority on growing spiritually, so why should they?
Ask yourself if you’re the person you’d like your ministry team to be. If the answer is no, then you need to focus on yourself first. There can be no “Do what I say not what I do” in effective leadership.
Exam time
The second step to help move your team toward maturity is to examine – to purposefully observe your team members – taking note of their progress both in their ministries and in their spiritual growth. Are they being effective? Are they being challenged under your leadership? Invest time with them and be friends with them outside of rehearsals and hectic church schedules. Perhaps go out to eat as casual groups, or invite your team over to your home. Be sure to make use of your quality time around them to discover their attitudes toward the rest of the group and toward their ministry involvement.
I recently spoke with a bass guitarist who was dissatisfied with the church he’d been playing in for years. “We never practice before we play,” he told me. And as a result, he had finally decided to move to a different church where he’d be challenged and could play with more excellence. As we spoke, I couldn’t help but wonder if his worship director had any idea he was so discontent.
Not only should we as leaders examine our group, we should also lead our group to examine themselves from time to time. One tremendous approach is to draw a simple “spider graph” on a white board. Starting from a central hub, draw five lines of equal length away from the hub. Place 10 points or marks equally spaced on each line. At the end of each line, write one of the following: passion, calling, discipline, integrity, and servant heart.
Now, briefly explain each one to your group and ask them to agree together on a ranking of one to 10 for how they as a group are doing regarding each quality. Place a distinct marking on each line to represent your decision. After you’ve discussed and decided on a ranking for all five qualities, “connect the dots,” so to speak. The result is a “spider web” that clearly signifies the areas in which you are strongest and the areas where you need to improve.
Keep this in mind: Spiritual growth – both for your team and for you – is a journey and a joyful privilege. In the next issue, we’ll look at two more ways to develop your worship team to be ministers through music.
Reprinted with permission from the spring 2009 Neue Quarterly book-zine. Available at www.NeueResources.com.
Posted
Wed, Jul 1 2009 11:14 AM
by
MTBEditor