One of the mission pastors in the Lifechurch.tv network has a post on Swerve today which I think is really important to remember.

If a group is struggling I always ask the leader what fueled their desire to lead in the beginning.  In nearly every case, the leader discovered that the group had strayed from its original purpose for beginning, which was the leader’s source of passion. As leaders we have to stay connected to our passion point.  Drift from it and the people you lead will shrivel up and eventually leave.  But, if you stay connected to it and lead with passion, you will draw people who will follow you with the same level of intensity.  In the immortal words of John Wesley, “When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn.”

Our passion is the first thing we cannot compromise.  But here is the problem: what is it that we are truly passionate about?  I believe there are two kinds of passion, and one of them is not good.  And, unfortunately, even people who are leaders in the church can get caught up in this passion and it will destroy them.

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;” 1 Thess. 4:3-5

This, certainly is a kind of passion that many people are involved in.  Lust will destroy you, and uncontrolled, unconfessed lust will destroy your ministry.  If you are a church leader dealing with this, get help!  Many other places throughout the New Testament, Paul talks about getting rid of worldly desires and passions.

Now, the second kind of passion is the kind Jesus had.  It was a burning desire to see people come to know Him and to live for Him.  It was with power and authority that He taught to the people.  Even after His resurrection, He was passionate:

After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” Acts 1:3 (emphasis added)

So, Jesus’ passion is what we need, and it is a passion that should not be compromised.  But now, here’s where I would love some feedback.  What happens when you burn out?  What happens when you pour so much passion into a ministry that you just can’t take it anymore?  How do you keep this from happening?  I have some thoughts…but I’d love to hear yours.

I was going to blog on the difference between playing piano and playing keyboard, but frustration with designing this blog has led me to a different post.

I’m decently average at quite a few things, including internet languages.  I can find my way around html code, can sort of decipher php code well enough to understand it a little bit, I can sort of do css code. I can run most computer applications fairly well, but….

I’m only great and well-skilled at a few things.  I am not skilled enough to tweak and design this blog on my own, as I found it after breaking a few things and having to reinstall a few things today, so I really need to ask for help from someone who’s really skilled at php and css.

So often we as leaders think that we can do everything ourselves.  We live in a society with D.I.Y. TV shows and magazines.  But we need to realize that we need to ask for help. Asking for help shows that we posess a few things that leaders should have:

• Humility. We aren’t afraid to admit that we don’t know how to do something and can’t do it.
• Trust. We need to be able to empower others and let them know that we trust them with something important to us.
• Encouragement. We need to able to encourage others and help them use their skills whever they can.

It is especially important for those of use who are young that we ask for help and never assume that we are smarter than those who are in authority over us.  It’s Biblical to submit to authority and as Peter writes

“Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5

I think it’s vitally important that we get help for things that we can’t do on our own.  So, when this blog is finally looking the way it’s supposed to, don’t credit me!

At what kinds of things do you just have to say “I need help! I can’t do it myself.”?

One of the greatest challenges that worship leaders who oversee a team of church musicians have is the whole issue of quality vs. quantity.  Bob Kauflin just wrote his response to quality or quantity on the worship team.

The first thing he says is “Don’t apologize for using the most gifted musicians to serve.”

I agree, but those musicians need to be humble and understand the purpose of the worship team or it won’t work.

Our job as worship leaders is to help use music and the Word to point people to Jesus without distraction. One of those distractions can be someone always buried in their music, focusing so hard on making sure they know where they are.  One of those distractions can be someone who knows that they know the music, and lets everyone else know by not having a servant heart.

When you can get a combination of someone who is very gifted musically, and very humble and knows that they are on the platform to point people to Jesus, beautiful things can happen.  Distractions from not knowing the music are eliminated and distractions from arrogance are eliminated.  The people see a musician who is dedicated to glorifying God with his gifts and they are able to glorify God all the more through the music.

So, if you are a worship leader, teach how to be confident.  Don’t just be the only confident one on the team.  Train and equip.  If you are on the team, practice. Get to know music so well that it comes naturally, and so that you can then just focus on worshipping Jesus with all your strength.

What do you do to minimize distractions in corporate worship?