Leaders, Ministry Leadership, Worship Leading, Worship Planning
Strong Worship Leaders Avoid These 10 Things (Show #41)
#StrongWorshipLeaders (VideoBelow) What makes a strong worship leader? People will tell you there are things you should do to be strong or better leader. However, it’s not about the things you do, but about the things you DON’T do. So what are the 10 things that worship leaders avoid so they can become strong? You are not strong on your own, your strength comes from God alone.
1. They don’t miss daily time with God. God is the reason for worship. He is the source of your success. Spending daily time with God, reading the word and in prayer, is the main key to being a strong worship leader. Develop a habit of spending time with the Lord in private worship and prayer.
2. They don’t pick songs their congregation can’t sing. It your congregation is not singing, you are not doing what you are called to do. Are you picking songs that the congregation can learn quickly? Are you repeating the songs enough for your congregation to learn them? Are you picking great songs? Is your congregation just singing or are they worshiping with the songs? Are you putting them in singable keys?
3. They don’t alienate the sound engineer or tech team. Sound men and tech people can make you or break you. They are usually some of the first people to arrive and the last to leave. A great tech team is worth their weight in gold. Make sure you treat them that way! Strong leaders surround themselves with people who are stronger and smarter than themselves.
4. They don’t allow themselves to sing without worshiping God with their whole heart. It’s too easy to get caught up in making good music and forget the main thing. Worshiping God is the main thing. Make sure you practice enough so you can play and sing the music well and focus on worshiping God at the same time. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19
5. They don’t allow a rift to develop in the pastoral staff. Having a good relationship with your church leadership is paramount to a worship leaders success. Go out of your way to spend the time to have good relationships with the other staff, especially the senior pastor, since he is the one to set the vision for the entire church.
6. They don’t blame the band or other people about problems. Good leaders take the main blame for problems. They realize that with a better rehearsal and preparation most problems can be avoided. Don’t play the blame game, take responsibility and do better next time.
7. They don’t worry about pleasing everyone. You will rarely please everyone. Do the best you can, make the best decisions you are capable of and move on. There will always be negative critics but good leaders keep their ears open for good constructive criticism that will help them grow. The One we should strive to please is the Lord. “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:9 Your strength as a worship leader comes from God, not from pleasing people.
8. They don’t dwell on their mistakes, and they don’t continue to make the same mistakes. Don’t dwell on past mistakes. The devil loves to bring up your past mistakes and sins. Nobody is perfect, repent and let the past be in the past. Dwelling on your past mistakes can paralyze you. God wants you to forget the past and move on to the great things He has in store for you. Learn more from your problems and mistakes than your successes. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Experience is one of the best teachers.
9. They don’t give up after failure. Never, never, give up. God is on your side. Everyone fails sometime. Just get up, learn and keep on going! Never, never, give up!
10. They don’t expect immediate results. Good congregations and worship bands are not built in a day. God’s normal way is for us to build little by little, day by day. If you and your team keep improving day by day and week by week, good things will happen.
Bonus: They don’t put themselves in compromising situations. Maintaining moral purity in ministry will make you or break you. Too many have fallen into the trap of developing unhealthy relationships. Be very aware and very intentional about the relationships you develop.
Mark Cole, along with Branon Dempsey is one of our Worship Team Training Mentors. Explore what God can do through you, as we can help equip you for the upward calling in your leadership development through our Ministry Mentoring Program. Copyright 2016 Worship Team Training®
