OK, Worship Pastors. Let’s get real. Have you ever had to explain what you do?
Have you ever had to answer a random stranger the question of what you do for a living? You can’t just say, “I’m a worship pastor.” Because that doesn’t make sense.
Unless you’re a church person, you’ll have no idea what that means. Typically that question is answered with, “I’m a music pastor. I lead worship. I oversee the music in my church. But it’s more than just a Sunday job. There’s a lot of other things I do too.”
I could go on and on. It’s a long answer.
But what do we actually do? Of course, this post isn’t about explaining ourselves. I simply want to help you have a good week.
Oftentimes we live in two different extremes. On one side we’re planning, dreaming, brainstorming the future. We want to break new ground. Stay ahead of the curve. Anticipate what’s coming next. Many of us are there. But many of us are also buried, drowning in the sea of mundane maintenance. We’re not inspired. We’re not advancing. We’re just getting by.
You may even be asking the question, “Am I supposed to be here?”
But what if you could engineer a great week? What if you could plan a week that was filled with real, genuine ministry? Not just tasks, todo’s, and endless busy work. It’s possible. It just takes some advanced planning and a resilience to keep at it.
Do you remember what the Bible says about ministry?
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
We are not here for ourselves. We are not here to simply be busy. We are here to equip.
5 Ways to Have a Great Week as a Worship Pastor
Here we go.
1.Make Phone Calls – Email and text messages have overtaken our lives. Yes, they’re more convenient. Yes, it’s easier to get an answer. But a phone call goes the distance. You’ll never know how effective a phone call can be in someone’s life. Look at your team roster and call people randomly. No agenda. Just to thank them for serving and to pray for them. Simple, but so effective.
2. Develop Someone – Who are you going to develop this week? Who are you going to pour yourself into? This needs to be a main agenda for every week. Maybe you feel threatened by more talented team members. Maybe you fear someone will take your place. The truth is, the most important and effective Worship Pastors are those who develop others. You won’t be known for the strength of your talent but the strength of the team underneath you.
3. Connect With Your Lead Pastor – Be proactive. Don’t wait. Plan how you’ll serve your Pastor. Think through the weekend services before he comes to you. Corporate worship isn’t a place to do what you want. It’s a place to serve a local body and the vision of your Pastor. The better you serve the vision, the more you connect, the more he or she will trust you with your vision.
4. Expand Your Team – How will your team grow this week? What steps can you take to build connections with people and grow your team? There is an ebb and flow to church life. There are seasons where you may not “need” musicians. But if you know anything about ministry, you know those times don’t last long. Always create context for more involvement. Keep the door open for new disciples.
5. Spend Time With Jesus – I know that’s an answer everyone knows. It’s common sense. But if you’re ministry doesn’t flow from a living reality in Christ, it won’t work. This isn’t a profession. It’s a calling. This isn’t a good career move. It’s a commission. Always be moved by Jesus. Keep your heart in a soft place. Stay close to your Bible.
What would you add?
How do you structure your week to get things done and do real ministry?
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
To add to the very fine 5:
I would like to know how the words “Worship” and “Pastor” came to be used as a single expression?
Worship is a verb and pastor is a noun and or a verb.
Elder/Bishop/Presbytery is an office.
Perhaps there are those who “pastor” or shepherd a church who use music as one of their talents. But to indicate that worship needs or assumes to need a pastor or music assures the obvious non-biblical wording of how music and musicians are connected to a ministry.
It also tends usher in those who have not fully understood the requirements for Eldership and leadership within a congregation. It seeks to minimize the sober calling of a leader so that anyone can “do it”.
If not just anyone can prepare and serve food to the president, then how much more does ministry to the Bride of Christ as leader in an office refine and appropriately restrict who may become a leader.
If one is gifted and called as an Elder, duly ordained and set-apart by God and affirmed by a local congregation, their calling is obvious. Their lives will conform to the requirements for Elder and Deacon.
This is different from a musician who is “pastoral” and caring in the assignment of duties and ministry. This is not an office.
Worship does not need a leader or a pastor. People do.
Churches that drift from the clear and defined governance of qualified leadership open many unfortunate doors to misunderstanding and abuses of office. It can lead to Mere Men Worship. https://openhandspublications.com/2018/04/03/mere-men-worship/
“People who love God and obey Christ are genuinely concerned to minister to others.” This defines each of us within the body of Christ. Hopefully we are all qualified and active here.
People who are called to biblical office of “Elder” describes very few people in the body dimension of things. Here’s why:
“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” James 3:1
“Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.” I Timothy 5:22
Let us be slow in the creation of non-biblical designations of service and quick to recognize those whose calling is evidenced by their orthodoxy and orthopraxy of scripture.
A “called” minister is one who is doing works of ministry long before they ever accept a title for doing so and they will be slow to accept title and recognition. Like the Christ they serve, their life is marked by humility and deep-simplicity.
“Therefore when you do merciful deeds, do not sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from people. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.” Matthew 6:2