Envision it. A team that doesn’t just play music on Sunday, but a family. Not only a family, but a family on a journey together, chasing the heart of God.
Does this describe your team?
If you’re a leader, you feel the pressure. We need to disciple our teams. We need to be spiritual. We have to worship and have deep conversations. But it’s rare for a team to really do this well.
And believe me, I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to choose a book for your team to read together and find that no one reads it. I know what it’s like to have a Bible study and no one engage.
So how do we do Bible study? How do we do discipleship with our teams? It’s not enough to talk about it. What does this actually look like? I’m going to give you some (hopefully) helpful tips and suggestions. This is less theory and more practice.
1.Make it Normal – Bible study and “going deep” only feels weird if it’s not common. If you never do something it will feel weird to introduce it. So if your team hasn’t done “Bible Study” well, embrace the awkwardness and get started. Soon the culture will be established.
2. Find a Strategic Time – Most of us don’t want to schedule another meeting on another day of the week. We’re all busy enough. So plan your Bible study and devo time when everyone is there. For years we’ve done one every Sunday morning
3. Talk About the Bible – Struggle to talk about the Bible? Simply pick a passage of Scripture and dialogue about what you find interesting or weird. Don’t worry about applying the Scripture in these moments. Learn to look at it and see the beauty and the mystery. That begins to open so many great discussions. Oftentimes we avoid portions of God’s Word because we feel it’s too difficult to understand. I actually find it leads to amazing discussions.
4. Delegate – Having issues getting people on your team engaged with Bible talk? Create a schedule and delegate other people on your team to lead it. Make sure you train people how to do this and prep them for it. There’s nothing worse than a poorly led Bible study. Well, actually there are worse things but you get the point.
5. Encourage Integration – It’s easy for the worship team to become its own entity, disconnected from the rest of the church. But the healthiest teams don’t just see the worship team as their church. They are raving fans of their pastor and are fully engaged in the life of the church. What if you worship team was part of a small group, outside of the worship team? What if worship didn’t just revolve around music but around a common mission to be the church?
6. Read a Book…& Follow Through – How often have you started to read a book, only to give up a couple weeks later? What if you chose a book to read together and actually followed through. Chris Tomlin & Darren Patrick’s new book is a great place to start. But it can be anything. It doesn’t even have to be a book about worship. Read a book like Knowing God by J.I. Packer. Or Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer.
7. Get Close – Going deeper spiritually happens in an environment of closeness and family. You can’t expect someone to follow you if they don’t trust you. Don’t just relate to people on the surface. Don’t only see them at rehearsal and service. Be interested in their lives. Pray for them. Hang out with them. Then watch how your pursuit of God together takes on a new intimacy and intensity.
Let’s discuss.
What would you add to this list? How have you done discipleship well?
Let’s talk about it in the comments.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
Gary L says
Hi David,
This is a great topic. I think there is tension on this topic as in an ideal world there would be time for both a small group aspect to a worship team and the practical rehearsal piece that is required to prepare for a worship service.
In my experience, it can be difficult to do both aspects well in a single week day evening time together. When we had a great sharing and Bible study time together, we would typically not have much of the evening left for music rehearsal.
Have you had positive results on worship teams that you lead?
Thanks
Gary L
Southern NH (U.S.)