YOUTH WORSHIP TEAM
[ RAISING UP A YOUTH TEAM PART 9 - PERFECTIONISM VS. EXCELLENCE ]
Vance & Michelle Shepherd
A few helpful things in this battle of the mind
and heart:
• Realize that perfectionism is the enemy of joy.
This takes time. When you feel perfectionism
rise within you, take a moment. Remind
yourself of why you have chosen not to see
your efforts in this way. Know that if you work
hard at something, invest your heart and
your passion and your mind, your outcome
will be great.
At one of our recent worship events, one of our I believe that trying to attain perfection is
vocalists was distraught to the point of tears the enemy of excellence in worship, and
about not being able to hit a note exactly like here’s why:
our sound check and run through, and could • When we are focused on being technically
hear her crying. Her mom was trying to console perfect, the focus turns inward. It’s on
and encourage her, but it wasn’t working. I ourselves, and our own capability (or lack of).
knocked on the door, asked if I could come in, • Perfectionism is a bottomless pit. Our
and I could see that she was distraught and brain says “I’m never good enough,” or
beating herself up to the point that all of her “Everybody will see me as flawed if I don’t
joy was gone out of her singing and leading do this perfectly,” or “I only feel good about
worship. Singing was turning into something myself if I meet my standard of perfection.”
negative, something humiliating and stressful to Perfectionists are always disappointed in
her, and she was not able to worship God with themselves and can become paralyzed
the freedom that she had experienced before. by fear.
into in-action is. Change how you relate to
to be avoided at all costs. Mistakes are
opportunities for growth. You can’t truly be
passionate about something unless you’re
willing to risk getting something wrong. You
don’t learn anything by standing back on the
sidelines. You learn by falling down, getting
back up, and then going a step further.
• Perfectionism isn’t part of your personality.
Perfectionism is just a way to cope with
the unpredictable. It’s about control. You’re
not changing who you are as a person
by renouncing perfectionism, you’re just
To see her so upset made me really upset,
because I knew where her head was at, and I 1 Corinthians 10:31 says this: “So whether you
wanted to do whatever I could to get her to see eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the
it for what it really was. glory of God”.
It’s something that every singer or musician has Striving for excellence demonstrates that you
to face down at some point. I had a serious have a good work ethic, strength of character,
heart talk with her, and explained to her that and integrity in what you do. Perfectionism, on
what she was feeling was anxiety, stress, and the other hand, sets standards that are so high
depression from trying to be PERFECT. It’s a sly they either can’t be attained, or only with great
tool that the enemy uses to render us ineffective difficulty. Perfectionists tend to believe that
in our worship. As vocalists, we go through so anything short of perfection is horrible, and that
many emotions, continually battling the idea of even minor imperfections lead to catastrophe.
perfection, of not being good enough. Singing Over time, you might even start to believe that
is such a vulnerable and emotional thing, and you’re not as capable as others, so you should
we can negatively spin out of control if we don’t just give up. And that’s why we have to stay
have a healthy grasp of why we’re doing it, and mindful of why we do what we do, and Who
Who we’re doing it for. we do it for.
January 2018
Mistakes aren’t the problem, being paralyzed
mistakes. Don’t think of them as something
she wanted to. I walked by the restroom after
32
• If you make a mistake, be okay with it.
discovering who you are without this
false armor.
It was a very teachable moment for me with my
student that night, as I reminded her of what
she should be focusing on: the things of God,
and the things of eternal value. Things that
cause the name of Jesus to be honored and
worshiped, and that cause people to recognize
their sin, repent, and move closer to God. And
that is what we get to do as worship leaders
when we use our voices as an instrument,
bringing glory to God. May you be blessed as
you pour into the next generation of worship
leaders and musicians!
Vance & Michelle Shepherd
Founders of The Shepherd School Of Music in Las
Vegas, NV, where they work with youth to raise up the
next generation of worship leaders and musicians.
www.ShepherdStudiosLV.com
WorshipMusician.com