I’ m going to paraphrase one of the things from his soon to be released book that really floored me, and chances are they do the same for you …
Cynics started out as optimists who lost hope. After the last time I got burned to the ground at a church, that became me. Don’ t let it become you. God isn’ t about the situation, it’ s about what He’ s wanting you to learn from the situation. He sees the long game and so should we.
ME CHURCH
As much as that video is funny, at that same time it’ s not. Even worse, if we’ re really honest, chances are that at some level we’ re trying to shape our current team to reflect something that we loved about our church of origin. I’ m the last one to argue about the need for best practices, but sometimes we get caught up romancing“ The Way We Were” that we miss what God is trying to change and / or bring out in us in this season. Sometimes it’ s good to leave the‘ greatest hits’ in the past. Even worse, these things can become an idol of sorts where they take on a significance that is not healthy for you, your leaders, or your team.
WORSHIP PASTOR OR CREATIVE ARTS DIRECTOR? In my previous role as a Creative Arts Director at an average sized church, caring for the team was as important to me as what happened on Sunday morning. And if you think about it, you have six days to impact peoples’ lives and one day to demonstrate that in worship. A team that is growing and moving forward can hold more fruit. In Pat Barrett’ s interview in this issue he talked about his buddy whose peach tree fruited too early and the branches fell off because they couldn’ t support the fruit. I personally don’ t believe that a team that is off
the charts musically and not being fed spiritually is one that is sustainable.
Worship pastors / creative arts directors tend to be hired for either their musical gift or their ability to shepherd people. Most of the time people’ s ministry happens through the lens of that gifting. This is why good good answers and not holding on to the things of the past can really transform our serving experience.
LEADERSHIP IS DISCIPLESHIP Alex Pappas is a total rock star in my book, emphasis on the word total. In his interview, he mentioned releasing the drummer on his team to find and raise up other drummers. Leaders, leaders, leaders – this is for you. The mark of a great leader is not what happens when you’ re on the platform. It’ s what happens when your gone. It’ s the fruit of your labors building up and releasing the people around you. If you aren’ t a pastoral leader, find someone to help you do that.
FOLLOWSHIP We spend way too much time chastising leaders for their shortcomings, and I believe fall short of holding people accountable for what it means to be a great steward in the art of followship. While we all tend to want what we want, sanctification is about becoming more Christ-like and a key part of that journey for me at least has been dying to myself. And trust me, I have died a thousand deaths – and still counting.
TALK YOUR WALK Another amazing Nieuwhof-ism that we’ ve all heard, but he says really well is that if we actually talked our walk, what comes out of our mouths would be a lot different. There is a gravity that can pull these two into alignment. Finding that is key to happiness.
COMMUNITY At the end of the day, one of the things that so many worship and tech peeps crave is community.
CALLS TO ACTION As I promised at the beginning of this article I was going to offer a few CTAs, so we’ re going to start with a few questions …
Followship How committed are you to following your leader? Do your actions demonstrate that you’ re a great follower? Would your leader agree with the above?
Talking Your Walk Does your talk reflect the reality of your walk? What would you need to change to get them better aligned? Is there someone you can go to for accountability around this?
Me Church Do you want your present church to look like church of Christmas past? If so, do you think this is healthy for you, your leader, and your team? If it’ s a mixed bag, can you make a list of the things that would be a help?
Replication & Growth If you’ re a leader, is there someone you can raise up and release to grow the team musically and / or spiritually? If you’ re team member, are you willing to go to your leader and ask them what they want you to do to better serve the team on the above fronts?
Culture What are some of the things about your culture that could improve? What are some of the things you can do to make that a reality? Are you willing to do them?
THE WRAP Next issue we’ ll be continuing on this theme by addressing community. In the meantime, the last call to action I’ d suggested is deciding to grab Carey Nieuwhof’ s book“ Didn’ t See It Coming” which will be available via your favorite bookseller on September 4th. Visit careynieuwhof. com / didnt-see-it-coming for more details.
August 2018 WorshipMusician. com
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