Leading a congregation – Page 10

Keep Your Focus on the Congregation

As a preacher’s kid and someone who’s been leading worship either as a volunteer or paid staff member since I was 12, I’ve had the opportunity to see the inner-workings of many church staffs, with all of the good, bad, and ugly stuff that goes on. It helps me understand why so many people who start off in ministry with eagerness and expectation end up dropping out confused and disillusioned.

Whether you volunteer or are paid on a church staff, you know what I’m talking about. On church staffs there are politics, power plays, and power blocs. There are certain people who are just plain difficult. There are emails that hit you from out of nowhere and leave you whiplashed. There are glaring areas of neglect that go on being neglected for years. There is mismanagement. There is competition. It’s enough to make you want to throw in the towel.

In order to stay sane, you have to stay focused on the congregation. You can’t let staff “stuff” distract you from your primary role of helping the congregation worship Jesus. You have to be able to put on blinders when necessary and not allow all-too-common church staff distractions to have a detrimental impact on your Sunday morning leading, and thus the congregation.

Living in D.C., you hear politicians use the phrase a lot that they “work for the people“, as in “the people” who elected them. I think worship leaders should have a similar creed. You work for the congregation.

And, let’s face it, your congregation doesn’t care what your title is, or who is upset with who, or what email got sent to what person, or what heated conversation took place, or who got the blame for breaking the copier machine. They really don’t care. They’re just hungry for something satisfying. And you can show them Jesus in all his goodness. Stay focused on feeding your congregation this Sunday, even if that means ignoring a lot of things swirling around you Monday – Friday.

What To Do When You’re New

Your first year as a worship leader at a church is critical. How do you lay a solid foundation with your fellow staff members, your pastor, and your congregation? Here are four crucial tips for your first year:

1. Don’t change anything major. Not for a whole year. Do it the way they’ve always done it. This shows them that they can trust you. This shows you what you’ve gotten yourself into. This helps you get the lay of the land. Take it slow, learn a lot, ask a lot of questions, listen, sit in on meetings, and be quietly prioritizing what needs attention in your second year. The exception to this rule would be (a) if it’s something you absolutely can’t put off, or if (b) your pastor asks you to make a change. Although in the latter case, you would be smart to make sure he’s thought it through.

2. Be a “yes” man. Not in a negative/weak/pushover way, but in an eager to serve way. Be the guy who steps forward to attempt something challenging. Agree to serve on a committee you don’t care much about. Research something the pastor expresses an interest in. Do administrative work that no one else wants to do in your department. When you’re asked if you’ll do something, unless it impedes on your commitment to your family or your conscience, then say yes.

3. Get out of the staff bubble. Go to the potluck dinners and sit with members of the congregation that you don’t know. Lead worship for church retreats. Mingle after the service. Accept (and solicit) lunch invitations. Pursue Godly mentors from your congregation (your pastor will have some to recommend). Help out with Vacation Bible School and be willing to dress up like Noah. Immerse yourself in the life of your congregation. People will notice, and it will help them trust you. And it will help you develop a heart of love for the congregation God’s brought you to.

4. Be consistent. Just like you’re getting used to your new congregation, your congregation is getting used to their new worship leader. Don’t do anything crazy. Don’t alter your approach dramatically from week to week. Dress like they dress. Don’t talk too much. Be faithful, don’t be the source of any major angst, and remember that rapid change in a congregation is very often the most damaging kind of change. Slow and steady wins the race.

Follow Through On Stuff That’s New

I am oftentimes guilty of teaching a new song to my congregation on a Sunday, without either committing myself or making sure it’s possible to use that same song the following Sunday. I’ll teach a song and the congregation will hear it and join in towards the end, and then will either decide to dump the song, or let several weeks pass before I use it again. Bad idea.

If you (and by “you” I mean “me”) are going to teach a song to your congregation, then you have to commit (and make sure it’s possible) to follow through with that new song and use it again, if possible, the next Sunday. This helps people learn it. This helps them feel confident enough in it to start to sing it. Better yet, if you do it a third week in a row, a critical mass of people will actually “know” the song and sing it out.

It’s not fair to your congregation to teach them a new song, then let a week or two (or more) pass before doing it again. It gives them whiplash. You’ve known it for months, they haven’t. You’ve practiced it, they haven’t. You’ve gone through it with your team and worked on getting it right, but they haven’t. They need time with a new song to get acquainted with it. Give them that time.

And don’t do what I do, which is do a song once, and make a decision based on that one usage of the song whether or not it’s worth using again. You can’t tell, after using a song one time, if it’s a keeper or not. Maybe you butchered it and need to try it again. Maybe they just couldn’t hear the melody clearly enough. Who knows. If a song seems to be a dud the first time, I still suggest you follow-through, since you took the time to teach it in the first place, and let people attempt to get to know it.

It’s not often when a song catches on the very first time. It usually takes 4 or 5 times for people to hear it and sing it to get comfortable with it. So give a new song several rounds on a Sunday morning before you decide if it’s a regular or not. This is advice I need to hear!

Learn to Read a Hungry Room

Yesterday morning at my church, our 11:00am service went long. And when an 11:00am service goes long — you have a room full of hungry people to deal with.

By the time our pastor got to the end of his sermon, it was 12:40pm. That might not seem too late to you, but it seemed too late yesterday. The song I had planned for after his sermon was a long-ish one that we had spent considerable time rehearsing, but as I sat on the front row yesterday, it became increasingly clear to me that, while people were engaged with the sermon, they were hungry.

(In the past, I might not care that people were hungry and wanted to eat. “Too bad!”, old me would say. This is church, and we’re here to worship, and nothing is more important, and your belly can wait!)

But that’s immature. And it’s foolish. Learn to read a hungry room. And if the room is ready for lunch — then unless the Holy Spirit comes down in literal tongues of fire and everyone forgets for a moment how delicious Chipotle sounds — you cannot overcome the dynamic of a hungry or fidgety room. Just go with it, and be willing to adjust your plans.

So, as his sermon came to a close, and the band and I took the stage, I led us briefly in singing the doxology and then people were on their way to lunch. And it’s amazing… I didn’t get a single person who complained that we skipped the last song. They were grateful I was clued-in enough to skip it. And we all got to eat our lunch about 5 minutes quicker. And there was much rejoicing. And there always will be.

Ten Worship Leading Non-Negotiables

There is so much good and helpful advice for worship leaders out there that I thought I’d try my hand at condensing it all down into 10 non-negotiables.

You are not the center.
You make Jesus the center.
Your priority is helping the congregation sing with faith.
You support your pastor.
You choose songs that are full of truth.
You use musicians who are gifted and have soft hearts toward Jesus.
You tailor the keys and arrangements of songs to serve the people in the room.
Your family comes first.
You’re never alone with someone of the opposite sex who isn’t your spouse.
You won’t ever compromise numbers 1-9.

May we be worship leaders who, at our core, love Jesus, love our congregations, and love our families.