Here we are in part 2. if you didn't read "The Creative Process," you might find it helpful as an overview.
The role of Worship Pastor was mine to fill. I could not have done what I did without the tremendous support and trust of my pastor and my friend, Chuck. I'll talk more about that in my next post.
Before most meetings here's what I'd do:
Coordinate the meeting time. We scheduled each meeting so everyone could be there. I would send out a dozen options that the pastor and I were both available to meet, then ask team members to let me know when they could come. As soon as I'd heard from everyone I would find the best way to spread out our meetings and send the schedule to the team. By doing it this way we had "perfect attendance" at more than 95% of our meetings. This proved to be a huge dynamic as we built the team.
Prepare for the meetings. Before almost every meeting I would send an email to everyone with a reminder of the time, a summary paragraph of the work we were meeting to do, and an agenda. One of the things we usually did was discuss a book about worship/worship planning. So I'd remind them of their reading assignment. If anyone had tasks they had committed to do, I might remind them of those as well. My goal with this pre-meeting communication was evident: to help everyone succeed.
Facilitate the meetings. Those first two tasks were just that--tasks. But this one, this was fun! We started with a substantial devotional/prayer time. Max Lucado taught me something profound about prayer and productivity. Peter's sermon at Pentecost didn't take long. It was effective not by the length of the sermon, but the amount of prayer (weeks) that preceded it. In our meetings there was plenty of "work" to do. But invariably, when we prayed as long as we felt like we needed to--sometimes 30 minutes!--the work went faster and better. But there was more.
We had a blast. We laughed a ton. Every meeting. Belly laughter. It was Godly joy in action. Meetings were almost always focused on one conversation at a time, but it was because no one wanted to miss out on that conversation. We were engaged. We were creating. The details could be worked out after the meetings--that's why the folks on the team were leaders. I trusted them to figure out HOW to implement WHAT we decided together to do. And if they needed help, they knew they could count on me to do everything I could to help them. Oh, and if they wanted the input of the team, they just asked. There was great freedom to speak up and speak out in our meetings. I have learned that this isn't always the case. With a healthy team, it always is.
Recap the meetings. Depending on the nature of each conversation, I would send notes, pictures of a whiteboard, and a summary of what needed to happen next. Again, this was to help them succeed, not in any way to micro-manage or control them. If you have any doubts, let me know and I'll give you their names so you can ask. My job as the leader was to serve my team members, to do everything I could do to resource them, to support them, and to cheer them on. I loved being that guy. Loved it.
Carry out assignments. In our context we each had different tasks depending on the meeting, the services, and the series. I wrote most of our drama sketches. I coordinated a lot of personnel. I prepared music. I contacted those outside the church who might be part of our plans. (guest painter, high school drum line, etc.) And whatever else the creative process demanded. If the unpaid servants on my team needed something done that was a "work day" function, I often did that.
I can't figure out how to put this in part of the rhythm of what I've written already, but let me add that one of my most enjoyable functions was to be a spiritual coach to these folks. I learned more from them than they did from me, no doubt. But as a member of the pastoral team, this was my team. And I pastored them. I gave biblical counsel. I prayed for them. A lot. I believed in them. A lot. And I trusted them. Completely.
No wonder we had a great time, yes?
Next time I'll talk about the role of my team leader, the Teaching Pastor.
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