Sometimes people don’t share your enthusiasm.
They just don’t care.
You pour your blood, sweat, and tears into developing a vision for your team, expecting a triumphant roar of applause only to hear the sound of a few sniffles & coughs.
Excitement turns to discouragement.
What do you do when your team resists your vision? When they don’t care, don’t seem to love God, and appear bored?
We all imagine a worship team where everyone on stage is pouring their hearts out to God, worshiping passionately, and growing in their personal discipleship.
But that’s not always the case. At times there seems to be more passion at a funeral service than there is on your stage.
Who is on your team?
The first step is to realize the type of people you have on your team.
I can think of a few:
- The Non Believer – I know this is controversial, but some of you have non-christians on your worship team. It can be difficult to see your spiritual vision fulfilled when a team member doesn’t even know Christ. I’m not saying it’s wrong, but it is more difficult.
- The Gigger – This team member may or may not be a Christian, but it doesn’t really matter. They see the worship team as a gig. It’s a place where they can shine their brilliance, play on a big stage, show off their skills. They are there to play the gig.
- The Backslider – This is the team member that refuses to submit because they are away from God. Most worship team members in this category don’t stick around too long.
- The Fireball – This guy or girl has encountered God. They catch your vision and they live it. They are looking for ways to grow and invest their talents for the kingdom of God.
- The Reserved – Sometimes a team member loves God but is just reserved. Allow these players to be who they are. Believe it or not, they may be your most reliable people.
Here’s the bottom line: It should your goal to see everyone on your worship team take the next step in their relationship with Jesus.
Everyone won’t look the same. Everyone is at a different stage in their journey. But YOU must lead them.
Here’s how:
1. Be Patient
It’s OK to go slow. Always challenge but never overwhelm. Don’t use your team to get what you want. Teach them. Train them.
Don’t get frustrated and angry because they don’t look like Hillsong every Sunday. A culture like that needs to be fostered over time. Own that responsibility. Be patient.
2. Vision Cast
NEVER shrink back from your vision. Go for it. Speak it. Don’t develop it on a curve. Bring it forth with full intensity.
3. Have Private Conversations
If a team member is disruptive and overtly resists your vision, have a side conversation, asking if they really want to be a part of the team. They don’t have to be perfect but they do need to be submissive and willing to grow.
As hard as it sounds, sometimes you just need to let people go. Still, private conversations help to clarify expectations on both sides.
4. Give Responsibility
Sometimes team members resist your vision because they haven’t been challenged enough. They hear you talk but don’t know how it applies to them.
Give responsibility. Appoint them to lead a rehearsal. Challenge them to lead the devo next Sunday. Maybe have them lead worship. Your goal as a leader is to constantly push people to their potential. Learn to see that in people and continually challenge them.
5. Develop A Plan Of Action
When there are issues on your team, never seek to pass the blame. Own it. Take responsibility and seek to make a change. Sometimes what you think is a stubborn team member resisting your vision is actually you implementing a bad plan.
How are you following up on your vision? How is your team applying what you say? Build excitement and momentum by getting things done.
Question: How have you dealt with team members who resist your vision? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
There’s some good parallels with a church staff in general. You worship guys get a bad wrap a lot because you are on stage the most.
But I see some of this in staff meeting too. I usually end up being the fireball. The fireball has to be careful though. I tend to push people away because of my passion. If I don’t tread carefully, I end up in someone’s face about something.
I hate being complacent and I always want to tweak things and make them better. I encounter a lot of backsliders and reservists.
But I think the more interesting part is while it may be commonplace to find teams made up of this, but it almost seems like it may be necessary to have that much diversity.
I agree, I think diversity is good. The problem comes when certain people won’t adopt the vision of the leader. Or, if they say they will but don’t actually do it. In the staff situation you described, are you the leader?
It depends on the situation. Most of the time I am not the leader. There are a few exceptions where I do step and become the leader when needed or when very specific situations call for it.
If everyone is not on board with the vision, you’re right, it doesn’t matter who is on the team.
Thanks so much for sharing this today! I needed it! I’ve been currently having minor problems in my worship band about practicing and everything like that. The only time some peopleare practicing is right during sound check. You can’t expect to let God amplify His ministry if you are only giving Him half of what you have in you!
So your band members don’t practice on their own?
Some do and some don’t. I try to encourage them and mention that we aren’t doing what God wants us to if we aren’t practicing, but some still don’t.
To be honest, a lot of them (2-3 out of the whole band) are backsliding and have just lost focus. It is really affecting a lot of things…
It is a youth band, so you can;t really expect it to be like an adult worship band, but it is kinda crazy. The commitment to learning new things is just not there. And for a worship night that is coming up this Wednesday, there are some that can’t be there for soundcheck. It just isn’t that important to everyone.
Any advice?
EDIT: All of them do care to a certain extent, but to some it is just not that important to learn new thing…etc
Have you thought about having additional members that work on a rotation? I know finding more volunteers is a pain and a cliche at times.
Is it possible the environment is low invitation/high challenge? Meaning it is only inviting for a select few (ie auditions, selection, etc) and then once inside, they get burnt out because of the level of responsibility?
Thanks David again for a great blog. There are a lot of things you mentioned in this blog that point to right where we are as a team. Good points to implement. Thanks for the perspective. Sometimes I tend to hear what God wants me to do and plow right through it. I do need to realize that not everyone is of the same personality and make up. They don’t necessarily receive things with the same passion as I might. Thanks for the encouragement to not let go of the vision. That is a temptation for me to do if I tend to feel resistance. Good post all around.
Yea, Sandi, that’s so important. Don’t let others dictate your passion and your vision. Just be patient. I think your team will come around. Sometimes it just takes time and good leadership.
I’m with you on that thought!
Never make your team dependent on personalities. I’d rather have a group of less talented people who love God than a group of uncommitted hot shots. If you work hard with more committed people they can eventually even sound better than the hot shots. Choose less complicated songs and give them plenty of lead time on scheduling and personal practice materials. Chord sheets, audio, etc.