If I were to ask your worship team what you cared about the most, what would they say?
A convicting question, but an important one. The question of what primarily drives your ministry not only says a lot about you, but also the kind of disciples you are making.
Because, of course, you’re making disciples whether you like it or not. If you lead, your vision, values, and passion are rubbing off on others. Whether it’s the good, bad, or the ugly, people are catching what you communicate. They are absorbing what you stand for.
That kind of influence is scary, right? But it’s also what makes leadership so thrilling. There’s nothing like leaving a mark on an individual that can change their life.
But sometimes I think I care more for my team’s excellence than I do their holiness.
Sometimes I think I care more about looking good and talented than God receiving praise.
Sometimes I think I care more about being used by God than I do the glory of God.
It’s time for a fresh perspective on leadership in 2014, wouldn’t you say?
10 Questions to Strengthen the Foundation of Your Leadership
I’m writing this blog post for you as a way to take inventory of your leadership – to be intentional and mindful of what you are communicating and who you are raising up. Here’s a series of questions that will help.
1. When I’m with my team, what do I talk about the most?
2. What do I communicate the most via social media?
3. What is the primary goal of my worship team rehearsals?
4. What constitutes a successful weekend of ministry?
5. What do I care about?
6. Why do I lead worship?
7. What and who do I pray for? Do I pray?
8. What am I seeing in God’s Word lately?
9. How am I growing as a leader?
10. Am I prioritizing what God prioritizes?
There you have it. If you take a solid half hour and work through these questions, you’ll have a fresh perspective on the strength of your leadership. Want to go to the next level? Ask some of these questions to your team members, garnering some honest feedback, if they’re willing to give it.
I’ve been praying for you for this new year. Believing for the best year yet!
Question: If I asked your team members what you cared about the most (or what was your greatest passion) what do you think they’d say? Let us know in the comments!
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
I’m probably in the minority on this, but I firmly believe that excellence in playing/singing leads to a higher level of worship, so I’m very concerned with excellent singing/playing with our team. Every Sunday, we pray that God will be here with us, front and center. I think it would be pretty hypocritical to ask the King of Kings and Lord or Lords to be here in our service and NOT give Him our absolute best.
I’ve noticed a trend when our playing/singing is at a high level. When we “nail it” we receive a lot more comments/feedback about how folks were able to “really worship today”, or that they “felt the Spirit moving”. We receive very few, if any, comments like this when we play/sing sub par. Perhaps wrong notes or singing the wrong words are distracting. Or maybe a wrong chord creates a dissonance that subconsciously frustrates people. I truly don’t know why, but I do know that it feels like folks don’t worship as much when we’re not playing/singing at our best. So we push for excellence.
Again, I realize I may be in the minority on this, but I doubt I will ever scale back my insistence that we play/sing at a very high level. There may be some folks in the church today that are only their because someone invited them under the premise that “we have a great band!”. What if that’s how someone in our church finally got a friend/family member to visit? What if that person thinks, “Wow, they really are good. I wouldn’t mind coming back to hear them again.” Does it really matter why they showed up the first time or why they decided to come back? The only thing that matters (at least to me) is doing everything we can to make them want to come back. If that means I push for excellence in our playing/singing, OK. If that means we push the envelope on our music set being called “performing”, OK. I just want them to come back, because maybe at some point, whether it be next week or 2 years from now, they’ll finally hear that small, still voice of conviction…
That’s just my opinion though.
Damon, this is great. I’m with you – excellence helps people worship. But what I’ve noticed is I can almost crave and long for excellence because it makes me look good more than I long for my team to be happy and holy in Christ. My passion for excellence can drift off into selfishness. Does that make sense?
It makes sense, but I think personalities and the attitude we have going into the worship time has a lot to do with it as well. Whether we play/sing well or completely screw it up, I’m not looking for compliments, affirmations or anything of the sort. If I were trying to sell tickets, CDs, and t-shirts with my name on them, sure, that’s exactly what I would be looking for from the audience. But when the goal is to be a catalyst that turns our worship time vertical, I just don’t care what people “think” about us. It’s pretty harsh, but what I would like to ask people is – “I don’t care what you thought about the worship time, but tell me this – did it help you (or move you) to worship?”. Perhaps that is a selfish attitude as well. Luckily my filter kicks in and prevents me from actually saying it, so I haven’t ticked off anyone. Yet.
I get where you’re coming from… But I don’t think sacrificing excellence to prevent possible arrogance or selfishness is fair to the people in the crowd. Again, that’s just my opinion.
Hi David!
I will probably be in an even smaller minority when I say that I very rarely talk about excellence. I push my team to develop their musical talents just to help them as musicians but I intentionally try not to connect “excellence” and “worship” in their minds. In a way, I agree with the above comments that excellent musicianship helps some people enter into worship. I would argue that at some point in that Christian’s life, either they or a worship leader made the connection between excellent music and excellent worship in their minds. So excellent music almost becomes a prerequisite to them being able to worship the Lord. And conversely, they are distracted when the musicianship is subpar.
I don’t think it has to be that way and I would propose that a worship leader’s role is not to perpetuate that mindset but to combat it. I don’t want my church family to be thinking about the music. I want them to be, essentially, singing their prayers and praise to God. Whether I have a full band behind me or its just me on an out of tune piano, it is my job to teach my congregation that worship has nothing to do with the quality of the music and has everything to do with fixing our eyes and attention solely on God. I intentionally create my worship team schedule to include weeks where we don’t have a full band. For about two years, I intentionally didn’t have a bass player just so I could ensure that my church learned not to rely on music to motivate them to worship or influence how passionately they worshiped.
I’m not advocating for disastrous sounding, unorganized, worship teams any more than I would advocate for a pastor who had no idea how to put a sermon together, or for the announcement person to stand on stage and say, “Okay… I have no idea who I’m handing this microphone off to next…” But what I am saying is that I believe there can be a well run worship team without teaching that team or the congregation that excellent musicianship is necessary for worship.
Sometimes on weeks where I have a small band or its just me leading alone, I get nervous when I see visitors in the congregation. I almost feel embarrassed and I hope the visitors come back despite my lack of excellence. But then, what am I really thinking? That worship music (aka a good band) is more about hooking visitors than it is about glorifying God? That I can somehow add to or dress up the Spirit in a way that will impress the visitors? The pridefulness in my truthful answers to those questions scares me so much that I would rather quit being a worship pastor than schedule a full team for the sake of “sounding good.”
I really hope I’m not coming off as offensive or argumentative. I’m just finishing up an overnight shift, I’m mentally exhausted, and this topic tends to get me going. We obviously fall on two very different sides of the spectrum when it comes to this issue and I would really like to have a conversation about it!!
Grace
I think you make a great point, Grace. As I stated in my reply to David above, the attitude we have going into our worship time (and rehearsal time, for that matter) is one of the key aspects.
You also make a great point about the expectations folks have. WL’s, in general, have trained people to expect great music. It might be fair to go as far as saying we’ve trained them to demand great music. It sounds like you are going to great lengths to undo that training, working to set a new level of expectation. I think that’s great and I pray it is working for you and your church. Whether or not I (or anyone else) agree with it is irrelevant. It’s what is in your heart and I applaud you for following it, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do.
I would like to ask you what my first music teacher asked me after my first recital. He was a very Godly man that felt music was a gateway to God. He always pointed out how people react differently to a prayer said without music supporting it versus someone playing softly on the piano during a prayer. Anyway, his question to me was – “Did you give Him your best?” I was 12, so I wasn’t certain who he was talking about at first, but once it dawned on me, I said, “I think so”. He told me, “He deserves nothing less. Don’t ever give Him anything less than your absolute best”.
So there you sit, all by yourself, playing an out of tune piano. Not much you can do about the tuning once the service starts, and there isn’t much you can do to cover up any mistakes when you’re the only one playing… but did you give Him your best? If you did, what in the world is there to be nervous about? How could someone possibly leave disappointed? Sometimes my best includes missed chords and wrong notes. Sometimes my best has me so caught up worshipping that I forget the words. But it’s still my best. My point – don’t confuse “excellence” with “perfection”. I don’t think anyone is looking for perfection. If they are, they’re nuts and probably horrible to work with.
Please don’t misunderstand – I’m not trying to convince you of anything. I’m merely sharing my opinions on the topic because, like you, I tend to get fired up over things like this.
D
Love your passion! This is great. I think you said it well here: “I don’t want my church family to be thinking about the music. I want them to be, essentially, singing their prayers and praise to God.” Very true. Excellence is important in accomplishing that goal. But excellence can also breed a congregation that just watches the worship leader worship. I like to employ what John Piper calls “undistracting excellence”. It’s excellence that encourages engagement and focus upon what really matters.
Hello, Mr. Santistevan: I originally found this after a mistype while searching for how to play hymns, as I am still in the learning process. Because I am ever so easily distracted, I took the liberty of reading through several of your posts and would first like to commend you on your diligence in serving the Lord with gladness and updating your blog regularly. I did, however, come across one statement that you made in this particular post that caused me to notice similar statements in other posts. This comment was, “Older generations love hymns and the younger generation appreciates them when they’re brought up to date with modern music and additional choruses.” While at first I disagreed with this statement, it prompted further exploration, and through your blog, your church website, and an interview with you I had found I learned that your blog and church support contemporary worship and contemporary music in worship, and while I would never judge you or anyone else for your belief in worship, I would like to share my opinion with you. I am not writing a criticism, but hoping to start a gracious Christian conversation about the difference in our views on worship. I do hope this is an edification and an encouragement to you, and I would love to read your response!
One thing I noticed from the interview was the frequent appearance of the word “worship.” Before we even come into the church of God, regardless of denomination or musical differences, to worship Him, we must understand first what worship is and second how we worship Him properly. To worship God properly involves first recognizing our humble estate so we can truly and fully ascribe all praise and honor to Him. Worship does not focus on us, but on God, and through reading your blog, I can clearly see concordance with this idea. God is the subject, center, and, equally importantly, the audience of our worship. Thus it is crucial to understand that worship is foremost about God, secondly only for God, and finally based on the commands of God.
If the Bible said nothing about worship, we would certainly be lost as Christians. How else can we know the will of God concerning worship if He does not tell us Himself? We would all agree that a majority of worship involves our mouth and our heart: specifically, the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart. Does this recall a verse to your memory? “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” This is Psalm 19:14. While this verse truthfully affirms that we do not decide the measures for worship, we must look further for the appropriate guidelines which God has set.
Philippians 4:8 likewise deals with these meditations, although the verse is differently phrased. In this context, the words “think on these things” tell us which meditations are acceptable in the sight of God. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” If we consider music a form worship (which, when done appropriately, it is), we must use these guidelines to ensure that God is truly magnified. I will compare neither your standard of music nor mine to these guidelines; I have done so previously in my heart and am hoping to talk about them with you perhaps later.
True: All Christians would say they believe the Bible is true, but do we always believe that the Bible is truth? And most importantly, are the ways in which we worship God approved by the Bible?
Honest: Is this sacred, or is it profane? Is it viewed and handled respectfully?
Just: Does this meet the requirements of God’s divine standards? Does it fall short in any way?
Pure: Is this clean and undefiled? Does it or anything associated with it displease God?
Lovely: Is this kind and gracious? Does it edify rather than degrade?
Good Report: Does this have a good testimony? Is every aspect of it able to be wholly attributed to a perfect God?
Mr. Santistevan, it is with the following mindset that I cannot bring myself to agree with the following statements from the interview and church website.
“Resonating with our church”: What truly “resonates” with the church? Is it the music, or the excitement, or the words and the message?
“Favorite song”: What makes something your favorite song? I do not recall any references to the words.
“Allison Park Church is a casual, contemporary……..”: Does being casual have a place in Christian fellowship? Certainly so, but does it have a place in the worship of God? Do contemporary elements belong in the worship of God?
“Church that is actually fun”: Does this insinuate that church is not “fun?” And is church meant to be “fun?”
“Our church is very contemporary”
“You’ll also see some people raising their hands as a Biblical expression of worship towards God”: Is the reaction to worship emotional, or truly meant?
“Older generations love hymns and the younger generation appreciates them when they’re brought up to date with modern music and additional choruses.”: Recently my family and I were blessed enough to manage a trip to our home country of Guyana. One of my uncles is the pastor of a humble church (of no more than ten members, mostly relatives) in the village of Diamond. He has suffered through unimaginable hardships and was saved from a desperately alcoholic lifestyle, and I know doubtlessly that he truly loves God. His church, which is a room on the side of their house, has one hymnbook. His wife reads the line, and the people sing. We sang one hymn while we were there, “Blessed Assurance,” and I know few feelings of fulfillment in music and worship like the one I felt just then. I have full assurance that hymns are not only adequate but a full expression of the love and admiration and joy of being a Christian.
Please understand that I am not railing on you, not criticizing your beliefs, not pointing to myself as perfect, not being judgmental, not being disrespectful. I appreciate you taking time to read this, and I pray you will take time to respond. I have tried to be as gracious and truthful and possible, and in respect I ask the same. Thank you, and have a wonderful day!
Thanks for the comment! I appreciate you taking the time to write. I don’t mind some healthy disagreement at all. There is a lot of diversity in the body of Christ, which means a lot of different cultural expressions of worship. I think that is beautiful.
Do forgive my inconsistency in that the specific post that I mention is not this one but the one titled “How to Write Your Own Arrangement of a Classic Hymn.” =)
David-As i sit here scrolling through your page-i find myself having sevearl “Ah ha” moments. Curious to see what others perspectives are regarding worship leading, styles etc. I have been a worship leader for 10 year snow. Initially because I have the heart of worship as well as being a “singer” i thought this assignment would be easy. I pushed for perfection which eventually lead to excellence. But As i have matured in this office-i realized that in order to achieve spiritual excellence HOLINESS is the key. You cannot say you are developing a team of worshippers (singers and band) if one you are not living a holy life and are not mandating that they do as well. So to sum it all up. You can have a great sound-get all the compliments in the world, but if there is no holiness(one accord) there is no excellence. We are not in this position to move people emotionally or tingl etheir flesh-but to bring them beyond the veil to a place of worship. Now saying all of that, its not something that happens over night. yo may get resistence but know that everything that God did was in order and He requires us who are in minstry to be in order. First order of business is holinesS (NOT JUST ON SUNDAY) then you develop a team who is striving for excellence. Next order is Skillfullness thats when the excellence overrides perfection. Developing skills vocally-bible study-etc then you will see holiness mesh with excellence and a worship encounter like never before…. Hope this makes sense.
David, I just love the way that you are so concerned about your heart being right, and your attitudes. It’s so refreshing to read about a worship leader who is so concerned about his attitudes and them pleasing God, that he is sharing his concerns that he might be more concerned with the excellence of the band than their holiness, and that he sometimes may be more concerned about looking or sounding good than God receiving the glory. What a wonderful transparent heart for God. I sure wish I could be in your church and on your team, but I live in AZ. Anyway, yes, of course excellence is super important because we are representatives of God and His Holy Spirit. Plus the people are looking to us (the worship team) to help lead them into a deeper worship experience with God. Excellence is also super important because a lack of excellence or a lack of diligence etc. can cause things to happen that distract – like mistakes being made. Wrong chords, or notes, or timing can distract so much that the flow of the Holy Spirit is actually interrupted and hindered!! Any distractions can cause this to happen, and sometimes when they happen, it can be very difficult or nearly impossible to recover from it and return to the same level of worship. So it is extremely important to prevent as many distractions from happening as possible (unless of course the distraction is God breaking in and doing something). But people worship best when there aren’t any distractions, and we can all worship together flowing in the Holy Spirit. So yes, excellence is of EXTREME importance! However, I DO believe that holiness (in the worship team members) is even MORE important because without holiness and full dedication to God in pleasing Him, there cannot be true excellence. It does not matter how excellent the band or singers “sound” or come across if there is a lack of holiness in any of the team members. It doesn’t even matter if the people listening enjoy or appreciate what they hear and can worship with the music – if there is a lack of holiness on the team. Holiness and pleasing God MUST always come first! Then the excellence should follow.