Serving Leaders

One of my favorite things about leading is working with teams of folks, especially leaders. I love believing in people, challenging them, stretching them, equipping them, leading them, serving them and learning from them.

I imagine you and I have both heard and read a good bit about being a servant-leader. Hopefully I keep getting a little better at that, year-by-year.

But I have to say one of my most cherished things about being part of a pastoral team is being a serving-leader.

I'll do my best to explain the distinction with a trio of examples.

First, while Pastor of Worship Arts at Memorial Baptist in Frankfort, I loved serving my leader, my pastor. I walked into his office most Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings to ask, "Is there anything I can do to help you be ready for tonight? (or this morning) Sometimes we would talk between Sunday morning services and he would give me the incredible privilege of giving feedback about his sermon. And he would actually change some stuff. Sometimes. I think we got to that kind of relationship because, in part, he knew I was there to serve him. I loved serving my leader.

Second, while in the same church, I designed, formed and led a group of leaders we called the Worship Arts Team. These were team members who became team builders. That was part of the design God gave me for that place. And I loved serving those leaders. I wanted to provide for them in any way I could. If they needed comforting after a rough week or hard morning in worship, I'd comfort. If they were struggling to step up, I'd communicate how deeply I believed in them and encourage away. If they needed resources, I would go to bat for them. I loved serving the leaders in my ministry.

And third, I also wanted to do my best to serve those "on par" with me, organizationally speaking. Though they had longer tenure, and far more expertise in their fields that I ever dream of having, I wanted to serve those leaders too. So in and out of staff meetings I would offer as much support and insight as I could. Sometimes that was nothing. Sometimes it was a lot.

So how do you do it? How do you serve your leaders? Those above you in the flow chart, or under you, or next to you? The rest of us can learn from you, too! How do you help those around you thrive in their ministry?

Choosing the Right, Right, Right song

Those of us who view worship services as something to be crafted inevitably spend a good bit of time choosing which songs to use. We consider all kinds of things, often without being aware of it.

Old or new?
Traditional or contemporary?
How traditional or how contemporary?
Familiar or sort of familiar or new?
Up tempo or medium or slow?
Corporate or individual text?
Sung to God or sung to one another?
Tired or fresh?

And we could go on with that list, I imagine, for quite some time.

But I want to approach choosing the right song with a different slant, going 3 levels deep.

First level--Is this the right song?
   That's pretty simple, but can be really important. My personal bias is that the most important song choice is the one right after the sermon, but you could make an argument for the one right before the sermon or the one that opens the service or the one that precedes or follows a worship element other than the sermon. For purposes of an illustration, let's decide the right song for a particular slot on a particular Sunday is "In Christ Alone" by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend.

Second level--Is it the right version of the right song?
   A quick look at PraiseCharts reveals there are eight arrangements of "In Christ Alone", some quite different from the others. On the Getty's website there are two very different full orchestrations. In itunes, there are closer to 100 versions. Great news! Finding the best arrangement is one of the ways we can really identify and connect with the heart-song of a local congregation. The more we try different arrangement-styles, the more we can identify what helps connect the hearts of our people with the heart of God.

Third level--Is there something we can do to customize the best version we can find?
   In most of the places I get to lead worship, the arrangement that seems to work best is the one by Travis Cottrell on his Alive Forever recording. I tend to be in places that are very cross-generational, so the fact that he included "The Solid Rock" chorus in the middle of his arrangement is meaningful. But as I've lived with the text of the song, I've come to a meaningfully different approach to the first part of the 3rd stanza. ("There in the ground his body lay, light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave he rose again!") So I have all drop out but piano, and it is played up an octave. At "Then bursting..." the piano returns to loco and there is a quick 2 measure build from ppp to ff (super quiet to very loud) so the congregation feels the resurrection in the music. 

This same thinking can apply to song after song after song. Is it the right song? Check. The right arrangement? Check. Anything to tweak? Check.

Connecting hearts? Check!


www.worshipcoach.us

Me? A theologian?

Are we really theologians?

Yep, we are.

We have a system of belief about who God is. It's based on our study--regardless of how much or how little we have studied. 

We've studied the Bible a little, maybe more. We've studied books about the Bible a little, maybe more. We've studied the stories of people we do life with a little, maybe more. And most of us have studied our own experiences more than a little.

And when we wrap all of that up, it is our theology.

Problem is--or at least could be--that our theology informs the way we think about, plan for, prepare for, and lead worship.

If our theology is bad (forgive me for suggesting it might be?) then elements of our worship planning, preparation and leading will be, well, bad. 

And if our theology is good, thankfully, the converse is also true.

But this is undeniable--there's no such thing as neutral theology. 

So "Do your best to present yourself to God as a tried-and-true worker who isn’t ashamed to teach the word of truth correctly." (2 Timothy 2:15 GW)

The craziest thing starts happening: the more rightly we understand God, the more vibrant our worship leading becomes.

So yes, you and I really are theologians. And as leaders, we are shaping the theology of others. This matters in the songs we choose, the things we emphasize within those songs, and the way we make the most of the lyrics within them. 

Please don't hear me saying your next step in the journey as a worship leader is to hop on www.christianbook.com and order Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. Your theological journey may be found in those 1264 pages of study, really, but it is more likely that you can do some other things first.

Read the Bible a little more or at least a little differently.

Listen to some great preachers via podcast. (Visit my website for some suggestions.)

Preach to yourself. Especially when you are struggling to process the circumstances around you, look through the filter of God's word for us.

Everyone is a theologian. Either we will be good ones or bad ones.

Let's be good ones.


www.worshipcoach.us

Song Leader vs. Worship Leader

My dear friend Jennifer Click suggested (via Facebook) that I talk about the difference in a song leader and a worship leader. I've been thinking about that for a long time, and I hope these words do justice to the distinction. And maybe stretch us a little at the same time.

First, some of this distinction is simply a matter of familiar terminology. My grandfather (who would have turned 97 a few days ago if he were still living) would probably call me a song leader. That is the only term that was in his lexicon for what I do. I lead singing. Some other dude does the preaching. OK, he wouldn't have "dude" in his lexicon either, but you get the idea. So let's not be too harsh on folks who may use the only term that is familiar to them.

In my brain the difference is both simple and significant. A song leader leads songs. A worship leader leads worship. That's pretty obvious, right? Well, drill down just a bit.

A song leader can lead any song. It could be a patriotic song, a folk song, a bar tune, or a gospel-saturated worship song. Their goal is to get people singing a song. They are a leader of songs. And, at some meaningful level, a leader of people. That's it. Two dimensions.

A worship leader may not be able to lead songs. But they can exhort people to give their minds attention and their hearts affection to Jesus. And if they can lead songs, they may have very little desire to point out how great a song is. Instead, they can't help but point out how great their Savior is.

A worship leader who can lead songs works with three dimensions. They lead songs. They lead people. And through songs they connect people to God.

A song leader believes in the power of his song.

A worship leader believes in the power of her Savior.

The destination of a song leader is the singing.

The destination of a worship leader is the Throne of grace.

Song leaders are invigorating.

Worship leaders are inspiring.

I suppose, after getting all of that out, my aspiration is to be a worship leader who can draw on the skills of a song leader. And my fear would be that I would be remembered as a song leader who never took people to such a beautiful, transformational destination as the feet of Jesus.

This is a topic I'm guessing lots of worship folks have considered. Any thoughts out there, blog community?

Aspiration. Inspiration.

Here it comes. I confess. Transparency in abundance...

I cry at movies.

Not all movies. I saw the Bond film, Skyfall, and didn't cry. But whether I go to a movie that's been chosen by greater forces (I live with a wife and two teenage daughters, and you're right, they didn't go to Skyfall) or almost any movie with an underlying theme of "love wins in the end," it doesn't seem to matter. My eyes moisten, my nose runs, and sometimes tears stream down my cheeks.

There. I said it. I feel better now.

Switch gears: When my older daughter turned 18 a few days ago, I talked with her briefly about "taking stock." I asked her some big picture questions. Do you have a bucket list? Are there things you see in your future that you can share with me? Those sort of questions.

She wondered why I'd ask.

And that's when the two dots of movie-crying and daughter-raising were connected in my heart.

There is inspiration in aspiration.

What do you aspire to? Let's tight focus on that a bit: What do you aspire to as a human being? As a Christ-follower? As a church member? As a church leader? A worship leader?

The better we communicate what we aspire to, the more we will inspire others to.

And as we do that in worship gatherings, like when many of us go to the movies, some will be moved to tears. Hearts softened. Lives changed.

What a privilege it is to be part of leading worship!


www.worshipcoach.us

Open your hearts...

I was struck by a set of Paul's words as I read through 2 Corinthians. I've read that book a few times before, so I don't know why the words leapt off the page this time, but they really did. Check out 2 Cor 6:13:

I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!

I was also intrigued, as I finished the book, to see Paul use that phrase again. (2 Cor 7:2)

Open your hearts to us.

Isn't it a beautiful quintet of words?

Open your hearts to us.

But I hear melancholy, too. Sadness that there are folks Paul deeply desires to serve, to love, to guide, to inspire. Yet at least some of those folks in ancient Corinth seemed to keep their hearts closed off.

Open your hearts to us.

I empathize with Paul. There have been people throughout my years of ministry who seemed to close themselves off. Perhaps their hearts were stabbed too many times to trust another leader. Maybe their hearts were scaled by bitterness. Likely there was some fear encasing the soft fleshy life-source we call the heart. And I'm sure there were times I was the culprit, and that saddens me greatly.

Open your hearts to us.

Sometimes you just have to be as direct as Paul was, I suppose. 

Open your hearts to us.

And other times, I imagine the only way hearts can be opened is for the Holy Spirit to break through callouses that have grown to cover the tender places.

And then I wonder, too, how many times Father, Son and Spirit have whispered to me:

Open your heart to us.


Check out my new web site - www.worshipcoach.us

Learnings about saying thanks

The more I blog about how to be a good worship leader, a great worship pastor, a difference-making leader, the more I am aware of my shortcomings. Many of the things I'm sharing in these "pages" are things I do passably, or pretty well, but don't excel at doing. I know the right things to do, but I struggle to do them. (Sort of like the apostle Paul in Romans 7, I suppose)

I'd like to share today a handful of thoughts about saying thank you. As I share, I'm aware how I've failed at this. Oh, I've said thank you a gazillion ways to a gazillion people. But I've been inconsistent. I've forgotten. I've minimized when I should've maximized. And vice verse. I've sometimes chosen one means of thanks when I should've chosen a different one. Maybe if I go on, you'll understand better.

First, let's admit it. We all like to be thanked. Some of us have an unhealthy psychological need for it, and for others it is nearly unimportant. But for all of us, a genuine "thank you" is a win. So if you are a worshiper, thank those who lead you. If you are a worship leader, thank those you lead and those with whom you lead. Worship leaders, thank your pastor. Pastors, thank your worship leader.

Look someone straight in the eye this Sunday and tell them plainly, "thank you for _________________ in the worship ministry."

Second, it is a different thing to be thanked privately from being shown appreciation publicly. Both can be powerful. But sometimes public recognition without an accompanying private moment can appear (or be) manipulative. Other times all of the personal moments of thanks are rendered powerless without any public acknowledgement. So pay attention. Learn the hearts of those you are thanking. And then thank them in the ways that mean the most to them.

Third, there is unique power in using the phrase from Paul in Ephesians 1:16: "I have not stopped thanking God for you." It is one thing to be thankful to someone. It is quite another to be thankful to God for someone. And to say so in front of them. If you lead a choir, you may gather with them before the next time they sing for a service and say, "I can't stop thanking God for the honor of walking through life with you." If you work with a band, you might circle up after practice and say to them, "I want you all to know that when I pray for you, I thank God for entrusting me with such musically gifted team members." And if you are married, it will serve your spouse to say, "I thank God that He chose for you to be the love of my life." 

Fourth, be aware that gratitude and generosity are at the very least cousins. They may very well be twins. The more grateful our heart becomes the more generous it will be. And the more we practice generosity, the more gratitude gets stirred up in our hearts. The reason I share that here is because I want you to express your thankfulness. Be generous with it. And the more outlandishly you practice thankfulness, the more thankful you will become. This is a beautiful gift of God, a grace that can be magnified as we reflect the generous image of God.

Fifth. Finally. Be thankful. I hear tender imploring in Paul's tone of voice in Colossians 3:12-15, but especially at the end. Almost pleading in a whisper: "And be thankful." 

Then do what you are.

Be thankful.

Do thankful.

As we wrap up today, I am thankful for you, my readers. There is an abundance of "stuff" out there, and it isn't loss on me that you choose to sit and read my thoughts. I often wonder at the fact that more than a handful of people would choose to take a few minutes of their life to read what I have to say. I am astounded at your choice to read my words. Thank you. From the deep places in my heart and soul, thank you.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and that this Sunday your heart will be filled with thankfulness as we worship our great God.

(One of my very favorite newer hymns: My Heart Is Filled with Thankfulness)