Element Church Insider

You can read the other posts on this HERE, HERE and HERE.  Like I’ve said…I am NOT a worship leader, but I feel like there are some things that can make a great one.  These are coming from the perspective of the senior pastor.  Let me say this too.  These are ALL things that I see in Adam, which is why I noticed them.

#4  Submission to the Senior Pastor. The senior pastor needs to give freedom, but the worship leader needs to remember who leads the church.  I am convinced that the worship leader will have NO PROBLEM submitting to the senior pastor, if they feel like the senior pastor trusts, supports and gives them some freedom.  Pastors, if your worship leader isn’t submitting, it may be because of the way you’re leading.  Just saying!

While Adam has creative freedom and song selection freedom, there are times he has to submit.  I know it probably hasn’t always been easy for him.  There have been Sundays I’ve asked him to cut songs short because I need to preach longer.  That probably sucks for the worship leader, but EVERY time I’ve asked him, he does it.  I hope that’s some reflection on the way I’ve led by allowing him freedom.

There are weeks when he’s had an entire worship set done and I ask for a specific song to be added, AND HE DOES IT!  I know that I’ve asked him to sing songs that he would probably NEVER pick.  Guess what?  You probably never knew as an attender because he sang it like it was his favorite.  THAT will make a GREAT worship leader.  If you’re not willing to sumbit to the authority of your senior pastor you shouldn’t be on the platform leading worship because you DO NOT have the heart of God.

I think it’s funny that some people have made comments to me about worship.  Whether it’s volume, style, song selection, whatever.  Like Adam is just running willy nilly with worship.  I support what Adam is doing 100%…BECAUSE HE’S SUBMISSIVE TO THE WAY I WANT WORSHIP AT ELEMENT!  Adam wouldn’t lead worship in a way I wouldn’t approve, that’s part of what makes him great.

If a worship leader wants to be great they have got to submit to their senior pastor.  If you can’t do that, YOU NEED TO LEAVE!  Adam and I meet every week to discuss sermon themes so he knows how to select songs that set up my message.  Adam ALWAYS runs the song sets by me, knowing that even though he has freedom, he wants to make sure he’s in submission to my leading.  I’ve heard of pastor and worship leader nightmares.  We just don’t have that at Element.  I give him freedom, he leads with excellence and in submission.

Learning to lead,

Jeff

Continuing my series of posts today on the making of a great worship leader.  My first two posts can be read HERE and HERE.  This is the only thing in the list that is out of the worshp leaders control, but I think it is absolutely VITAL to the success of ANY worship leader.  No matter how talented and gifted a worship leader is…no matter how in tune to the heart of God…no matter how great their desire for God to be worshipped…without this one they are sunk.

#3  A senior pastor who…  A.  Worships. If the senior pastor who leads the church is not a worshiper, the congregation WILL NOT be as well.  There may be a few exceptions, but the senior pastor sets the tone for the worship of the church.  If the pastor doesn’t stand when supposed to, the congregation will pick up on that.  If the pastor doesn’t sing out loud the congregation will pick up on that.  If the pastor is not expressive in worship, the people will not be expressive in their worship.  I think for a worship leader to be great, they MUST have a senior pastor who engages in worship AND enjoys it!  I do my best to be on the front row for an entire worship set at least one service each Sunday.  I also get up to the front row for a portion of every worship set.  I want to support Adam in leading and I want to lead our people in worship.  I LOVE worship and I want that to be SEEN!

A senior pastor who…B.  gives them freedom. I think the two people that need to be on the same page the MOST on a staff team are the worship leader and senior pastor.  The senior pastor has to set the tone for the vision and the direction of the church, and that includes worship, BUT at some point the pastor MUST show his trust and support of the worship leader by giving them freedom.  I made it clear to Adam the kind of worship I wanted when we started Element Church.  We didn’t see eye to eye on worship right away, but through some discussion and vision we molded what Element worship would be.  I can’t be over Adam’s shoulder always telling him what worship should be.  That will stifle him AND stifle the worship of the church.  If a pastor cannot trust their worship leader to LEAD THE WORSHIP MINISTRY then they shouldn’t be leading worship.  Adam has creative freedom at Element.  I don’t tell him what songs to pick or how to sing them.  He DOES ask for my input, and on occasion I will request a song that really fits my sermon, but Adam is paid for, AND I TRUST HIM to lead that ministry at Element.  Most Sunday’s I’m as surprised as anyone when it comes to the sound or arrangement of ANY song.

Pastor, you must be willing to sing songs that you may not have chosen, using styles that may not be your favorite, in arrangements that you had no control over.  And if you do, you’re helping make your worship leader GREAT!  More importantly, you’re helping to facilitate GREAT WORSHIP!

It is HORRIBLE leadership if you are a senior pastor and will not let go of AND release your worship leader to have freedom.  Either you have the wrong worship leader, or the church has the wrong pastor.  Ouch…But it’s true!  You’ll end up losing a potentially GREAT worship leader if you don’t give freedom, or you’ll have a church that doesn’t worship!

Worshiping,

Jeff

Yesterday I started a series of posts on worship leading.  You can read my first one HERE.  Admittedly I am not a worship leader, but I felt like God gave me some insight into what makes a great worship leader.  These are in now way original to me I’m sure, they are just things I’ve been processing and wanted to blog them. The first thing a great worship leader has is a desire for GOD to be worshipped! This is greater than their desire to worship God personally!

#2  A commitment to spiritual disciplines I am convinced that a worship leader who is NOT consistently committed to spiritual disciplines WILL NOT be a successful worship leader.  A great worship leader can’t rely on their God given talent, their song selection, their band, their “experience”.  A great worship leader MUST rely solely on their personal connection with God through the developing and practicing of spiritual disciplines.

The worship leaders desire needs to be connecting the people with the heart of God.  How can they lead people to the heart of God if they themeselves haven’t gone there?  In my own ministry, there is a DEFINITE difference in my sermons when I have practiced spiritual disciplines and times when I haven’t.

The worship leader MUST be in the Word of God daily, and it needs to be personal time with God, not office time looking for Scripture guidance for songs.  The worship leader MUST spend intentional time of seeking God’s face through prayer.  This needs to be personal prayer time as well, that is NOT centered around worship planning, but around the molding of their own heart.  The worship leader needs to schedule times of fasting.  Fasting is a spiritual discipline in which we abstain from something (food, caffeine, tv, etc) in order to seek God’s direction or will in our lives.

I think pastors and worship leaders make a very common mistake.  We spend too much time praying for God to direct and bless our ministries, inspire our sermons or give us a great worship set.  We need to be praying for God to make US into who HE wants us to be.

If the worship leader is not purposely allowing God to mold him, his ministry will never be molded and he will never be great! We MUST stop concerning ourselves with the outcome of our ministries, and start CONSUMING ourselves with the outflow of our heart!  Now that dog’ll hunt right there.  If the outflow of my heart is in tune with the heart of God, my ministry outcome will be successful!  (And that applies to ALL areas of ministry and life)

Trying to be disciplined,

Jeff