Fixed or Rotating Worship Team?

I'v seen two major approaches to developing and scheduling worship teams...The FIXED TEAM approach and the ROTATING TEAM approach. 

Some leaders like to choose a FIXED TEAM that they work with week after week. The argument with this approach is that the members get to know each other intimately and are able to connect musically, emotionally and spiritually with great ease and comfort.  This is a bonded, high-functioning team with great flexibility and freedom.  They've learned to work off of each other and can anticipate each other's moves.  Because they play and sing every week, they keep their skills well-honed and lead worship with excellence and limited distraction. 

Some leaders choose ROTATING TEAMS.  Leaders who use this approach have team members sing or play about once or twice a month and typically serve with a different group of people each time they lead.  This approach allows many more volunteers to serve and use their gifts in the church.  It also gives leaders a great opportunity to mentor and train artists within their church.  This approach requires a larger investment of time and energy on the part of the leader to create excellence and spiritual connectedness in worship but keeps worship team members from "burn out" with a pool of people ready to fill in when a team member gets sick or has to go out of town.

I know that a leader's approach will depend a lot on the amount of time they have to invest in their ministry, the size of their ministry and the resources they have to pull from.  This post is not to say one approach is better than the other.  There are pros and cons to both depending on the situation.

That being said, I've had the privilege of serving in churches where there is a good amount of talent.  As a pastor, I believe my role needs to be what's outlined in Ephesians 4:11-12; an equipper of worshiping artists to do the work on ministry. In light of that, for me to pick a team of the most gifted in our church and using only them has never been an option for me. I know it would allow our church to have consistent excellence, more creativity in worship and a lot less work for me but I would feel as if I wasn't fulfilling my role as a pastor; I want to allow every gifted person in our congregation an opportunity to grow and use their gifts for leading worship.

I understand the necessity of excellence and creativity in our worship, especially in today's culture which can be very critical of the church and its music. To me, it's worth the extra effort and sacrifice of a musically professional presentation to see people grow in their artistic expression and work toward excellence.  When we create fixed teams that make leading easier, we have to guard against going into "auto pilot".  There's a little bit of insecurity and thus, dependence on the Holy Spirit with a rotating team that doesn't always exist in a fixed team setting.  Let' s not assume that the Holy Spirit doesn't use this dependence to reach even the most cynical critic.

So what situation are you in?  Do you use a FIXED TEAM approach or a ROTATING TEAM approach?  Why? 

If you use the FIXED TEAM approach, how do you deal with new musicians who come into your church?  What do you do when someone on your team needs to take a break and you need someone to fill in?

If you use the ROTATING TEAM approach, how do you work to develop musical excellence and spiritual bonding when you don't have the same team every week?

Let's get the ideas rolling.

Now That's A Great Setlist! Planning With Purpose

I've been asked a few times what my strategy is for planning a worship service setlist.  I'm excited when I get this question because it tells me that there are worship leaders who are intentional about the progression of their services.

As much as I'm a proponent of putting together songs of like key, tempo and theme, there's much  more that needs to be considered.  As worship leaders, we have the incredible privilege of taking worshipers on a journey with a desired destination.  The best worship service planner will look at this journey from the perspective of the worshiper in the congregation.  Even those worship leaders who have limited planning time during the week should prioritize purposeful progression of songs in a service.  It must be more than just throwing together whatever they've got on their favorite iTunes or Spotify playlists or the lastest stuff on Air-1 or K-Love.  Worship leaders who do this, do a disservice to the worshipers in their congregations.  We could be quenching the Spirit by not allowing them to go as far as God wants to take them.

For example, two songs may fit perfectly together musically but are in completely different worlds as far as direction, response, theme, and progression.  We must ask ourselves if the worshiper in the congregation is able to sing the words with an understanding of what's going on at that moment in relation to where they just came from.  This allows the worshiper to go beyond the music and allows God to penetrate to deepest parts.   That will never happen when the worshiper stands with their mouth hanging open because the worship leader just jolted them from a soul-searching song of surrender into a high-energy song of praise without any progression or preparation.

We also need to be conscientious about how we begin and end our times of worship.  I would probably never begin a time of worship with a song that calls on God to refine and mold us.  We're not ready!  Personally, I need to see who God is in light of who I am and allow Him into that secret place before I'm going to ask Him to work on me.  Remember, too, that most people coming into worship are already feeling anxious because they had to park in Timbuktu, make a pitstop in the restroom, say hi to their friends, and run their kids to children's church.  In that case, they're not thinking about what sins they need to confess.  They need time to de-focus from the "stuff" of life and re-focus their affections on God.

In addition, part of the journey we take worshipers on is allowing them to respond to what God is already revealing to them in their hearts, not necessarily what they want to hear driven by their musical preference.  We need to be very in-tune with what's going on in our culture locally, nationally, globally and within our church (i.e. a message series).

I know there are going to be people in our services that will never go on the journey with us, but we need to do all we can to give them that opportunity.  So many times, we make people sing words they don't mean because we haven't taken the time to prepare them adequately.  Shame on us!

So what is a good strategy?  There is no formula for invoking the Holy Spirit in our worship.  He works and wills as He pleases. However, as we take time to listen, pray, read His word and ponder what He's doing in our hearts, here's a progression that I try to follow.  When the theme of the songs go in this order, it tends to help the worshiper make the most of their time of worship:

1. Glorious, joyful praise to God, reflecting on His attributes of power, majesty, glory, etc.
2. My state of sin in light of God's glory and an invitation for God to work
3. Thanksgiving for God's provision and love demonstrated for us through Jesus and the cross
4. Surrender and response to God's forgiveness, mercy, grace. Confession, etc.
5. Personal action, declaration of faith, future of the church 

Do you have a plan for planning the songs in your service?  We'd all love to hear it.

Help! I'm The New Leader of an Established Worship Ministry

This weekend we had Exodus, one of the ministry teams from Liberty University, lead worship in our modern worship service.  Most of them were worship ministry majors and planning on going into full time worship ministry in the near future.  I really enjoyed hearing what God was doing in their lives and where He was leading them.

Ironically, the leader of the band has a full time position at a church of 6,000 waiting for him as soon as he graduates in May.  He brought up a situation that he'll be walking into. Even though it may not be at a church this large, it's probably not too foreign to many who are just starting out in worship ministry or transitioning from one ministry to another.

The concern he brought up was how he was going to handle band members who have been on the worship team a long time and are expecting to be "grandfathered in" but don't necessarily have the skill that's needed to take the ministry where he wants to see it go.  He doesn't want to create enemies right away or discourage people from serving but also realizes that there will be frustration all the way around if he continues to allow them to be on the team. Here is what I offered to him that might help the situation:

1. SHARE YOUR VISION FIRST THING: As soon as you arrive, have a "Get To Know You" Team Night with all of your worship ministry volunteers where you can share your vision for the ministry.  Make your expectations EXTREMELY clear and don't be afraid to set them high.  This should include a very detailed picture of what you want the worship ministry to look in 18 months.  Don't forget to let them know that you're looking at more than just music reading, harmonizing and improvisational ability but that you're also looking for passionate, expressive worshipers.  Explain to them up front that not everyone who is currently involved is at this level (this will scare them) but if they are willing to step aside and work hard, you will do whatever you can to help them get there. Be ready to back up your vision because you're going to get plenty of "why" questions...especially if excellence has not been expected from the previous leadership.
2. INFORMALLY RE-AUDITION EVERY EXISTING TEAM MEMBER: What I mean by that is to create an opportunity where you can assess each person's strengths and weaknesses without the auspiciousness of an "audition".  You can even create a "Night of Worship" just for the worship ministry volunteers where each person prepares a selection that demonstrates their ability and they perform it in front of their peers.
3. MEET WITH EVERY TEAM MEMBER INDIVIDUALLY: This is the time to let them know where they stand.  Be specific and contrast their ability with the expectations you laid out at the initial meeting.  If they're not where they need to be in order to be a contribution to the team, offer them classes/lessons so they can improve and come back in six months to re-audition again.

Needless to say, some will be hurt.  Those who have served on the worship team for a long time have "followers" in the congregation who love seeing them up on stage.  Be ready for backlash from them, too.

What have you done to help transition as a new leader of an established ministry?

Ego Check!

Les and I had lunch a little over a month ago....

Les is the worship pastor at a nearby church and we have become friends over the past year.  During that time, we've gotten to know each other pretty well...besides talking ministry, I've shared my story and he's shared his.

...during our conversation over lunch, he asked me a question that caught me off guard; partly because I didn't expect him to recall parts of my story that I'd shared with him and partly because it was something that had never really crossed my mind.

He asked, "How have you dealt with ego after moving from a multi-campus mega-church to a smaller one?"  I guess from the outside, it looked like I was stepping down from a high-profile "Top 100 Fastest Growing Churches in America " to little ol' Deep Creek, VA.  I can't say the thought never crossed my mind, but it certainly wasn't at the forefront.  Here's why:

• Travis Cottrell (in my opinion, the best male voice anywhere!) shared with me a few years back that "star" pursuit doesn't compare to the call God places on a person's life to lead His people in worship each week; no matter how big or small the congregation. This was a hard lesson for me to learn but it reinforced to me how HUGE worship is in God's eyes.  Jesus was about fulfilling His Father's purpose, not recognition. 

• I told Les that ego shouldn't be an issue if your church leadership team approaches their position from a  humble perspective.  The large church I was at never really looked at their size; they focused on their mission.  The church's success was only by the grace of God and they considered it a honor that He used it and allowed it to grow.  The leadership never got to a place where they thought they had arrived and was always striving to do things more effectively.  They didn't really make room for pride or recognition.  Those virtues were instilled in me while I was the worship pastor there.

• Being on the staff of a mega-church is an incredible learning experience.  During my 13 years of seeing the church go from 1,200 to over 6,000, I was stretched, pulled, twisted, yanked, and run over.  It made me stronger, wiser, adaptable, and more intuitive.  All of that led me to a place during my last couple of years at Woodside of feeling like God was preparing me to invest what I had learned into a new place that had a mission to reach people and could benefit from my experience to move to the next level.  Fortunately, I found the perfect fit.  I've never viewed my new position at Deep Creek (still one of the larger churches in VA) as less important because I'm leading less people.  From my perspective, I don't have to be leading thousands of people each week to make an impact for the Kingdom.

• One last thing I just thought of...If you're in a smaller church wishing you could be in a bigger one because you'd have better resources, more contacts, and a greater impact, don't be fooled.  The grass is always greener...Be content where God has you and bloom where you're planted.  You ARE having an impact; probably more than you realize.

I don't know if this post really helps anyone, but I thought that since Les asked, there may be others who could benefit from my perspective.  Maybe you're considering or facing a move from a larger church to a smaller one.  Are you looking at it as frustrating or an opportunity?  Maybe others could benefit from your perspective, too.

Once Upon A Time...Easter Version

I don't typically post videos on my blog but this one blew me away. I can't stop watching it! Riveting!

It's called Bullseye by Rhemedia.  It has a "Once Upon A Time" feel to it and could fit beautifully into a Good Friday service.  While it's a little lengthy, it could offer a speaker a myriad of directions to go in.  This particular video is free to download from Rhemedia's Facebook page during the month of March.

Not only is it creatively written and set, the production quality is incredible and the storyline is gripping!  Watch it!

So what do you think?  Could this work in one of your services?

Sorry...You Didn't Make the Worship Team

For those worship leaders who hold worship team auditions, one of the hardest things you have to do is tell a person they didn't make the worship team.  Here are some ways to help ease the pain when being the bearer of bad news.

• Include a short interview in the audition process where you find out a little more about the person other than that they have some sort of musical ability.  This is a great opportunity to find out their motives for wanting to be on the team. As they share, take note of any interests outside of music and use those to encourage alternative opportunities if they don't make the team. The interview also gives you a chance to share with them that their ability to demonstrate their gift in front of people doesn't define who they are. You can reinforce with them that our identity is in Christ and that we all have value and worth as a worshipers whether we sing or play in front of people or in own private worship.

• Make your expectations clear about what you're looking for.  Make your number one pre-requisite for team membership a passionate, growing relationship with Jesus.  This will become clear in the interview process.  Next to that, the more specific you are, such as the ability to harmonize by ear, the ability to read notation, the ability to be physically expressive while making music, the ability to ad lib, etc., the more ammunition you have when giving reasons as to why someone didn't make the team. 

• Have a list of people who offer private music lessons or classes for those who need improvement.  As a ministry leader, offering this option accomplishes your role as an "equipper".  Let the person know that if they follow through with lessons, they can come back in six months and you'll audition them again. 

• Choose your words carefully, but be honest with every person when they ask specific questions about their audition.  Being dishonest because you don't want to hurt the person builds false hope and sets them up for failure and devastation down the road.  

How do you tell people they didn't make the worship team?

Beyond the Music & Lights

Every worship leader's desire is to see the congregation fully (heart, mind and soul) engage in worship in a way that engages God's heart.  We want the heart to influence the body, not the other way around. Atmosphere is hugely important in our corporate worship gatherings, but unfortunately, there can be so much external stimuli (trendy styles, eye-catching lights and graphics, and virtuosic vocals) that it draws people's attention away from a heart-engagement to merely a "tickling" of the senses.

As a worship leader, here are some things that you can do to help take people to a deeper engagement in your corporate worship gatherings:

• Go Acoustic From Time To Time
• Thinning out the instrumentation can make is easier for the worshiper to focus on the lyric and pathos of the song without the distraction of epic guitars.

• Get Your Technical Volunteers On The Same Page As You
• Include your tech teams when you communicate ministry philosophy.  Every techie wants to have fun and experiment with the crazy ideas they heard and saw at the last rock concert they were at. Help them understand that the worship service is about engaging God's heart and that cultural relevance is more about authentic worship than a consumer-driven light show or technically savvy set.  Provide them with an environment where they can be creative within the boundaries of the vision of your ministry.

• Take Advantage of Grace Gateways
• If you've been leading worship for any time, you've experienced those moments in corporate worship where you sense that God is doing an unusual work in the hearts of people.  You witness an engagement and a weightiness of the Holy Spirit that should be dwelt on. In those moments, there's nothing wrong with stopping the click, spending time in that moment, and allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work.  Make sure you prepare the band for what to do in these moments.  I encourage our band to allow the keyboard to go into a two-chord rock (I and IV) and layer on top of that as the Spirit leads until we come back to a concluding chorus.

• Start The Service With a Definition of Worship
• I learned this years ago from Dan Adler and it completely changed the atmosphere of many of our worship services.  Defining worship from the start of the service is a great reminder of why we've gathered.  In addition, reinforce your definition with examples of worship expression from Scripture.

• Take Time To Pray
• Avoid the temptation to provide a concert where you go from song to song to song without any interjection to help create a spiritual journey in the heart of the worshipers.  In every worship service, I plan a "transitional" moment where the songs move from declaring the attributes of God to our surrender or response to those attributes. This is a wonderful time to pray and help the congregation make that transition with you.

• Give The Lyrics Deeper Meaning
• Much like your pastor will use an illustration, as a worship leader, you can take a song in your setlist and paint a picture that expands the meaning of the lyrics.  

• Have A Band Member Share Their Story
• People are much more likely to follow and engage with people they know. If you're in a larger church, it can be difficult for the congregation to get to know the people in the band.  During rehearsal, ask your band which songs in the setlist have the greatest meaning to them and why.  As they share why, evaluate whether one of the stories would be effective in setting up that song in worship.  

• Have An Extended Time of Worship After the Message
• If your schedule allows, moving a larger amount of the corporate worship in song after the message allows for a very meaningful time of response to the message that God has left on the hearts of the congregation

How about you?  What have you done in corporate worship to help the congregation go beyond the atmosphere and move to a deep connection with God?