In my administratively-challenged days , I ' d say vague things like ...
• " Show up to rehearsal prepared ."
• " Church attendance is important ."
• " Let ' s pursue excellence ."
But I never took the time to clearly document what those vague rules looked like lived out . Or why they mattered . Instead , I ' d get on a kick of pushing some vital issue for a while and then switch focus for another pet project of supposed team improvement . I was all over the place .
The Cost : I was frustrated that my team didn ' t live up to the standards that were only clear in my head . But the actual cost was I didn ' t have a clear path towards accomplishing my vision of developing a better team .
We stayed stuck in the status quo . And any improvements were accidental .
4 . URGENT VS . IMPORTANT WORK The Issue : Investing too much time into urgent but less critical work .
As a disorganized leader , I ' d let myself get monopolized by tasks that weren ' t important in the long run . Or , when it was critical work , I ' d focus too much on it , not managing my time well .
The Cost : Being disorganized diluted , diverted , or completely wasted my non-renewable asset of time .
• It robbed money from my church — I wasn ' t effectively using the time the church paid me .
• It drained me of energy because I was working too hard with too little to show for it .
• And it sucked time and attention away from my family .
5 . ILL-PLANNED AUDITIONS The Issue : Reinventing the audition process each time a potential team member applied .
My disorganization cost me big-time when inviting new team members into the ministry . I ran my audition process differently every time someone new came along , which produced inconsistent results . I ' d even let applications sit for weeks without responding to the potential team member .
The Cost : I invited people onto the team who weren ' t qualified .
Some weren ' t musically skilled enough , which took a toll on the quality of Sundays . Others were toxic personalities who eroded the team ' s culture . I also frustrated potentially solid musicians with my scattered approach .
HOW TO FIX DISORGANIZATION So yeah , you can see that I was that guy .
I ' d be the first to stand up in a 12-step meeting and admit to being a now-recovering , disorganized mess . And while I still have those tendencies , I ' ve done some work and created some systems to help manage myself . And you can , too .
But before we get to that , you ' ve probably done the math and have realized that we haven ' t yet hit all ' 9 High Costs .' We ' ll finish those next month . Otherwise , this article will be crazy long . In fact , most of the worship leaders who need this article most probably got distracted by a guitar pedal ad 420 words ago .
But if you ' re still with me , let me give you a few tangible steps to take so you don ' t have to wait until next month to take action . To make these steps effective , choose one area of your ministry that ' s not running how you want it to . Don ' t think about your worship ministry as a whole . That ' s too overwhelming . Just think about one specific area . Then …
1 . IDENTIFY THE ISSUES . What are the specific things in that ministry area that are broken , missing , or just not how you want them to be ?
2 . ARTICULATE THE COST . With these specific issues , describe what the disorganization or dysfunction is costing you , your family , your worship team , and / or your church .
3 . CHOOSE THE SIMPLEST FIX . As you look at those issues and problems in that ministry , look for the one that ' s easiest to fix . It likely won ' t be the issue that ' s exacting the highest cost . That ' s OK . This exercise is about getting a quick win .
Over the next seven to fourteen days , work at fixing that single , simple issue . It might be to …
• Plan your setlists four weeks in advance .
• Determine default song forms and keys for next week ' s songs ( and make a vow to not change a thing ).
• Map out rehearsal so you can focus on the most critical parts of this Sunday ' s setlist and still leave time for a full run-through .
• Create clear guidelines or expectations for that particular area of your ministry . Share them with a few trusted team members and ask them to help you refine and implement them .
• Choose 3 to 5 songs that represent your repertoire well and make those the only songs you use to audition team members . That will enable you to be clear about what you expect to hear from each instrument or voice .
Again , you ' ll get even more practical help in the next issue , as well as the remaining four ' high costs .' But until then , if you work at those three steps and focus on the easiest , simplest fix , you ' ll gain momentum to start tackling other areas of disorder in your worship ministry . And then in the next issue , you ’ ll get even more practical help . See you then !
Jon Nicol Jon helps worship leaders build teams that will make every Sunday exceptional . He lives and serves in Lexington , Ohio with his wife Shannon and their four kids . WorshipWorkshop . com WorshipTeamCoach . com