WORSHIP TEAM COACH
5 WAYS YOU CAN KEEP THE CRAZIES OFF YOUR TEAM | Jon Nicol
BUILDING A QUALIFICATION PROCESS TO CREATE BETTER CULTURE Have you ever had someone on your music or tech team that you hoped God would call to the mission field ? Or Toledo ? Or just anywhere but your church ? I ’ ve prayed “ divine relocation supplications ” for many different reasons . The people may have had a sour disposition , subpar musicianship , authority issues , a questionable character , or were just plain mean .
If the life-rewind button worked , it ’ d be great to go back and block these people from ever being on the team . Because let ’ s face it , once they ' re in , it ’ s tough to get them out .
After inheriting a number of those type of people , and inviting in more than a few of them through my own negligent leadership , I ’ ve learned the value of a robust , multistep qualification system . Why ? Because it ’ s far easier to say " no thanks " than " please leave .”
This issue goes deeper than a person being a pain in the proverbial tush — it ’ s lousy stewardship of the ministry God has entrusted to us . When we invite an unqualified person ( spiritually , relationally , or musically ) into our music and tech ministry , we open the door to dysfunction into our team . A healthy qualification system will give you the time and space to recognize any of those issues . And it might mean that you still invite a not-quiteready person into your team . But they come aboard with clear boundaries , expectations , and a plan to grow .
So , what goes into a healthy qualification process ? Here are five key elements that every qualification system should have .
COMMUNICATE CLEAR EXPECTATIONS UPFRONT You can help people self-select out of the process before they even get to the application . Be clear on what you require for each position / instrument and what the time commitment is for serving on the team .
One massive expectation that you need to communicate is this : " You may hear , ‘ No ’." Applicants need to understand that they might not make it on the team . It doesn ’ t make hearing or delivering “ No ” any easier for either of you . But at least the person knew it was a possibility .
INVOLVE MULTIPLE EVALUATORS Don ’ t qualify people on your own . Invite at least two other leaders or core team members to help you . The primary reason is this : others see and hear things you don ’ t . And also , sharing responsibility with others helps build their “ ownership " of the ministry .
SET HIGH PREPARATION STANDARDS One of my early ( and frequent ) mistakes was not building in preparation . I merely asked the interviewee to play or sing something they knew . That ’ s not a bad thing for a first interview . It lets them feel confident early in the process . But you need to know if applicants can sing or play the songs that are a part of your team ’ s current repertoire . Requiring songs that they don ’ t know helps you determine how prepared they ’ ll be if they join the ministry . If someone fails to prepare for an audition , that ’ s a definite indication they probably aren ’ t a good fit .
LOOK BEYOND SKILLS Too many times , we let good musicianship drive our decision . While talent is necessary , we can guarantee an unhealthy team if that ’ s all we look for . Determine what your qualifying factors are . For my team , we use a variation of the common Cs :
• Character - heart and attitude .
• Craft - skill and preparation .
• Connection - commitment and involvement in our local church .
• Chemistry - a relational connection with the applicant and team .
• Calling - a sense that God is leading and they have availability to commit .
REQUIRE A MULTISTEP PROCESS Qualifying a new team member is an investment . It should take time . If you rush the process just to fill a spot , you ’ re probably also inviting frustration and dysfunction into your team . That ’ s why I advocate a multiple-step process . A multiple-step process gives you and others on the team time and space to get to know the potential team member . It also allows him or her to get to know you and the team . A multistep process also gives the applicants opportunities to disqualify themselves — that is , they opt not to continue .
We don ’ t have time here to get into all the steps that you could include in a qualification process , but take some time to think through what could work in your setting .
For a while , you ’ ll change the process each time a new person applies . But that ’ s OK . Continue to improve it each time you walk through it with someone .
And if you want to dig even deeper into building this system and all your ministry systems , sign up for the 2018 Worship Leader ’ s Boot Camp at the Christian Musician Summit . It ’ s a full-day intensive where you ’ ll get hands-on training and coaching in all eight of the essential systems your worship ministry needs . Learn more here .
Jon Nicol The founder of WorshipWorkshop . com and WorshipTeamCoach . com , two sites that help worship leaders build strong teams and lead engaging worship . He lives and serves in Lexington , Ohio with his wife Shannon and their four kids .
WorshipTeamCoach . com
June 2018 WorshipMusician . com
85