I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way during my experience as a musician and as a worship leader. Here are seven lessons learned that I’ve love to take a closer look at in the coming weeks.
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Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership. And lack of it. Both in my own life and in other places I’m affected. Here are 5 lessons that I’ve learned and am trying (or will be trying) to apply.
- Give direction. People under your authority need to know what to do next. They need a goal to reach. Give both to them.
- Encourage. It’s tempting to always want to fix things, look at the big picture and wonder why it’s not happening yet. Instead, give encouragement for little things you see happening along the way.
- Follow through. This one is a constant struggle for me but one I desperately need to discipline. Do what you say you’re going to do. Period.
- Respect others’ time. Do not waste other people’s time because of scheduling decisions or “things that came up last minute.” If you have to cancel something, give a good explanation as to why.
- Care. Ask people how they’re doing. Listen, really listen, to people. Don’t just listen because it’s what you have to do. Listen with empathy.
What are some lessons you’ve learned that you can add?
(not sure why this particular wordpress theme shows ordered lists as A, B, C, etc. instead of 1, 2, 3. I’ll have to look into that)
Something I would love to do more often is to integrate more younger players and singers into our worship team. Watch this video of veteran worship leader and musician Paul Baloche as he shares some good thoughts about how to do it.
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Shannon Lewis posted a great question yesterday that I thought would be worth weighing in on. You can check out the full extent of the question at his blog, but here’s a quick summary:
My question is this: is there a Biblical balance, and if so, where is it to be found? Is worship ever to be “seeker friendly”? Even if not “seeker friendly”, is there ever a proper time to use songs because they are comfortable or familiar?
I think there’s definite Biblical support for both sides, which would lead me to believe that “pastoring” includes using both new and familiar songs.
For instance, looking at Deuteronomy 6 where the people are commanded to “teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise…you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” – speaking of the law that God gave to the people through Moses. These things they were supposed to remember would be familiar to them, even to the point of them dangerously becoming too familiar as we see through how the Israelites acted (and how we act!), but they were still commanded to dwell on and remember those things.
Contrast that with the multiple times in the Psalms where the writers urge us to “sing a new song.” I also think of how Paul exhorts us to both “think on these things,” speaking of whatever is good, excellent, noble, etc., AND move from milk to solid food.
In the case of music I think all of the above can, and should, be applied. Familiar songs remind us of truth in an easy-to-remember way. They also make it easy for us to meditate upon those truths. New songs, as long as they truly are filled with truths that stretch us, move us from milk to meat.
This past weekend I was able to enjoy a day-long worship seminar from Tom Kraeuter hosted by the Association Free Lutheran Theological Seminary. It was highly beneficial for me (and hopefully many others there). What was interesting was that I came expecting a workshop on practicals and mechanics of worship ministry (namely – musical training) but was instead taught skillfully from God’s word about what worship is, developing worshipers, how to worship God in the hard times and more.
One thought that struck me deeply and has me thinking differently about a lot of things was this question that Tom asked:
Are you more interested in leading worship or in developing worshipers?
It is so easy for us to get caught up in the “importance” of leading worship and try to force fruit out of our congregation all the while forgetting that we must look at the root of where worship comes from. If our people don’t have a biblical understanding of worship in their hearts and minds (root), no evidence of worship (fruit; excitement, physical expressions, etc.) will even be possible.
No amount of musical technique, words of exhortation, or any other way to urge people to worship will work if they don’t understand who it is their worshiping, why they’re doing it, and how to do it.
Lord, help me be someone who is much more interested in developing worshipers than leading worship.
What are some ways you’ve taught people how to become worshipers instead of just church-attenders and spectators?
