Category: Ministry

Ten Things Worship Leaders Should Never Do

1Leading worship provides so many opportunities to make mistakes and be humbled and grow in maturity. I’ve made so many mistakes I’ve lost count. The benefit of those mistakes is that I now have an idea of some things I should never do. Will I do these things again? Yes. But should I? No. Here are ten things worship leaders should never do, courtesy of mistakes I’ve made (and will keep making) in all of these areas.

Don’t Willfully Disobey Your Pastor
Willfully disobeying your pastor is one sure way to grieve the Holy Spirit and put yourself on thin ice.

Don’t Publically Correct a Worship Team Member
Praise publically. Correct privately.

Don’t Allow Yourself to Be Made Famous
Take practical steps, in small ways that add up to big ways, to resist meaningless fame in your congregation.

Don’t Make Minor Things into Major Things
Think long and hard about whether or not you want to make a big deal out of what you’re making a big deal about. Is it really a big deal? Probably not.

Don’t Make the Major Thing a Minor Thing
The major thing is that people are able to see and savor Jesus Christ. You can do that in a lot of ways. But if you can’t do that, then that’s a major thing.

Don’t Neglect Praying with Your Team
Before you rehearse. Before you lead a service. Huddle up and pray together. If you regularly neglect to do this, you send the message that you don’t need any help.

Don’t Fish for Compliments After the Service
Pity the poor soul who sits across from you at lunch after church while you not-so-subtly fish for a compliment. Just be quiet and eat your lunch!

Don’t Leave the Room During the Sermon
Think about what you’re saying if you slide off stage and eat a donut and surf Facebook during the preaching of the word. Stay in the room and listen to the sermon.

Don’t Be a Diva
Set up your own guitar stand. Coil your own cables. Get yourself a water bottle. Be a pleasant/humble personality for your other volunteers/staff to interact with.

Don’t Forget Your Family
There is such intense pressure to prove your worth by how many hours you work and how busy you are. Nonsense. Give yourself first and foremost to your family, and fit your ministry responsibilities in when you can – not at your family’s expense. 

Mr. I’m-Too-Busy-To-Reply-To-Emails

Every few weeks I attempt to get my inbox to zero. And in the process, I inevitably come to the bottom few emails that I have let go for weeks with no reply. The person who sent them took the time to compose them and send them to me, but I never took the time to even write them back and say “I will get back to you soon”. I became Mr. I’m-Too-Busy-To-Reply-To-Emails.

And so I begin my belated reply with some sort of genuine apology. I really am sorry (and embarrassed) that I didn’t get to the person for a few weeks (and in some cases, months) and so I say genuinely apologize and ask for their forgiveness. Then I reply to their email.

And that’s the point. I do eventually reply to the person’s email. To never reply to an email is the equivalent of hiding in your house when someone rings your doorbell who knows you’re home. If it’s a salesman, or someone suspicious, you’re probably doing the right thing by hiding. But if it’s a friend? Or a church member? Or a brother or sister? You should reply to their doorbell ringing.

Likewise, if a friend, church member, or a brother or sister-in-Christ sends you an email, you should reply.

If your email volume is at the level where you need administrative help with sorting through them, then you should make sure that person gives the courtesy of a personal reply. And you should make sure your administrative helper isn’t weeding them out too heavily and keeping you from being engaged with people who are seeking you out.

There are occasions when I come across a Mr. I’m-Too-Busy-To-Reply-To-Emails. A few days go by and I figure he’s just really busy. Then a few weeks go by and I begin to get the idea that he just pressed “delete” and moved on to something he thought was more important. After a few months I just assume that person is too far-removed for me to ever be so fortunate to speak with him.

And that’s sad.

As much as you’re able, don’t become a Mr. (or Mrs.) I’m-Too-Busy-To-Reply-To-Emails. Even if, like me, it means you to have eat some humble pie and apologize to people you’ve kept waiting. Better late than never.

Where is Your Confidence?

Do you feel panicky when you’re not as rehearsed as you’d like to be? Do you feel anxious when you see a really full room looking back at you (or empty chairs)? Does your heart start racing before the service is about to start? If you make a mistake (say something dumb, forgot to take your capo off, mess up a song) do your agonize over it for days and replay it in your head?

If you’ve never experienced these sensations while serving as a worship leader, you’re not normal. But if scenarios above describe a regular experience for you as a worship leader, you’re missing the point. God very kindly allows us to feel all of these things – panicky, anxious, nervous, obsessive and embarrassed – so that we cease to seek our confidence in ourselves.

God is all about revealing the idols of our hearts and mercifully taking them away from us. For worship leaders, a common idol is self-sufficiency and self-centeredness. Feelings of anxiety are good for us because they serve a purpose: they remind us of our utter need for God.

The temptation is to think that if you’re panicky, you should have rehearsed more. Or if you’re anxious, then you’re not a good enough worship leader. Or if your heart is racing, you’re not ready for the big leagues. Or if you made a mistake (by the way, every worship leader in the world makes mistakes every single Sunday) that you ruined the service. None of these are true.

Maybe you should have rehearsed less, not more. Maybe you’re a great worship leader and you just need to relax. Maybe God has prepared you for this exact moment and you need to trust in him. Maybe your mistakes are helpful reminders to you (and your team and your congregation) that you’re a real person.

In all cases, and for all worship leaders, God is consistently reminding us that our confidence can’t be in rehearsals, polish, skill, or experience. All of those things are good things and you should pursue them. But none of them should be where we find our confidence. Our confidence is in God.

This might sound trite to you. It’s not. It’s the first building block of worship leading and if this one gets shaky, then everything else does too.

Allow God to humble you. Allow God to remind you that you need Him. Relax on Sunday morning and don’t stress over all the details and transitions and notes and chords and people and pressures. Fix your eyes on Jesus and you won’t sink. Look away from him and you will. He is our confidence!

Your Left-Overs Might Be Useful to Someone

A few weeks ago I left my house for work and passed a discarded kid’s basketball hoop on the side of the road. You can see a picture of it above. It was in great shape except for the fact that it was missing its hoop and a little dirty. It was in front of a nice house, and the owners had put it on the curb to be picked up by the garbage truck. I got it before they did and I took it home for my little girls to enjoy.

For the people in the nice house, this basketball hoop was a left-over, useless thing that belonged in the trash. For my girls it was a fun new toy.

This made me think about what things I consider useless that might actually bless someone else. And I remembered how, a month ago, I had a surprising experience:

The healing ministry at my church was having a weekend retreat about an hour away from here. I had asked about 12 different volunteers if they could lead worship for the retreat, and all of them had said no. I finally just told the healing ministry team that I would just record myself leading 4 short sets of worship songs, give it to them on a CD, and they could play it through the sound system at the retreat center. This was not an ideal solution but it was our only option.

So one afternoon I quickly recorded myself leading these 4 sets and burned a CD for them. It didn’t sound very good but it was the best I could do in a short amount of time. I gave them the CD, apologizing that I couldn’t find them a real-life worship leader, and off they went for their retreat.

I was surprised at how many people came up to me after that retreat and told me how much the worship at the retreat had blessed them. They said it was just the right fit. They said it didn’t feel artificial at all. They said it sounded wonderful. I was shocked. Were they really talking about my little thrown-together recording? Yes they were.

If God has placed you in a worship leading role, whether it’s paid, volunteer, up-front,

behind the scenes, regular, or seldom, let me encourage you to never consider the gifts God has given you as useless. You never know how God will use you to bless people. Look for places to serve, look for ways to give of yourself, and don’t be afraid to offer what you have. What’s the worst thing that can happen?

What I’ve Been Up To

The first five months of 2012 were absolutely crazy.

January:
– My church gets final word that we are to vacate our property. This was the end of a five year legal battle stemming from our congregation’s decision to leave the Episcopal church in late 2006. We were prepared for this eventuality, but it was a bit like a punch in the gut.
– In addition to preparing to leave, we decide to record a live worship CD in our building before we lose it.

February:
– We work to get everything moved out (that we were legally allowed to keep).
– I work to see if it’s financially feasible for us to record a live CD in the midst of all the craziness. On February 15th we get the final go-ahead. Since our recording will be on March 2nd and 3rd, this gives two weeks to get everything ready.
– Oh, and everything needs to be moved out too, because there’s a chance we won’t be allowed to come into the building on March 1st.

March:
– We record a live worship CD. We have an amazing 2 nights of worship and a morning worship team workshop. We begin the editing process.
– We get word that our last Sunday will be April 29th.
– I fly to California to lead worship for a conference of Anglican’s in Southern California.
– I also help my Mom buy a new car in here somewhere.

April: 
– Easter.
– CD editing and overdubbing.
– Preparing for our last Sunday on the 29th.
– Oh wait, will it really be the 29th? Maybe the judge will let us stay while we appeal. Or maybe he won’t.
– We finally hear that we definitely can not stay. But now May 13th is our last Sunday.

May: 
– All sorts of insanity as we (a) aim to get the CD finished with editing and overdubbing and sent off to Nashville, (b) have our final Sunday services on our property, (c) hold our first off-site worship services on May 20th, and (d) lose our offices and all the conveniences on which we’d become so dependent.

So last Monday morning, Memorial day, I have an idea to take Catherine and the girls to south Florida to visit my family. That day. With no warning. Thanks to ridiculously low rates on JetBlue for a flight leaving in 4 1/2 hours, we throw stuff in suitcases and have a few days to relax with family in sunny Florida. Got back late Friday night and we had a great Sunday yesterday morning.

Next:
– The CD is almost done. I’m really excited about it and proud of it, and I can’t wait for you to hear it. If you’d like to help us out by pre-ordering it or donating at www.tfcmusic.org, we’d be grateful.
– The new normal of off-site worship every Sunday. It’s insane and wonderful all at the same time.
– Seminary classes. Hopefully one or two this summer as I have time (!).
– The pool. Is there anything better than taking two little girls to the pool in the summer? I don’t think so.

It’s been a crazy 2012 so far, but also wonderful in many ways. Here’s a rough video of the opening hymn at my church’s final service in our building. What a joy to lead people in praising the King of Heaven.