If you want more information on creating a congregation-engaging song rotation , check out my book , The SongCycle : How to Simplify Worship Planning & Re-Engage Your Church . It ' s available on Amazon , and all proceeds go to feed starving children in Ohio . Specifically , the ones in my house .
4 . PREFERENCES , NOT PREROGATIVES A fourth practice healthy MWL churches embrace is to tolerate preferences but not prerogatives . Let me explain :
Every leader has personal preferences for which songs they lead , what styles they prefer , and even who serves on their Sunday team - band , tech , vocals .
But a prerogative is different than a preference . It ' s a sense of exclusive privilege or a right . This attitude brings us back to our entitled leader : " This is my song , my week , my band ..." our songs intentionally . That means worship leaders sometimes have to plan songs they might not love , ' feel ,' or ' have on their heart ' some particular week .
It ' s time to take off the kid gloves with entitled worship leaders and say , " It ' s not about your own individual worship experience . Leading requires an intentional decision to serve the congregation and choose to worship - no matter what your preferences are ." But before you say , " Suck it up , buttercup !” to a rogue worship leader on your team , you better clarify the final healthy practice of successful MWL churches .
5 . CLEAR AND CONSISTENT EXPECTATIONS Without consistent guidelines that every leader agrees on , a multiple worship leader situation will inevitably descend into multiple worship leader mayhem . So , don ’ t let each leader or sub-team have their own set of standards .
no way to build consistency with that much disparity in standards .
If you ' re one of the worship leaders in an MWL situation , and there ' s no one central leader for the ministry , this process of creating clear and consistent expectations will be challenging . If you can ' t get cooperation and buy-in from your other co-leaders , you probably need to seek the counsel of the senior pastor or church leader above you .
I know I ’ ve painted a rather bleak picture of multiple worship leaders . But in truth , it can be the most life-giving aspect of a church ' s corporate worship . When multiple worship leaders share the load , let go of competition , forgo their preferences , and work towards a common goal , they will be a blessing to the worship team , to the church , and most of all , to the heart of our King .
The thing healthy worship leaders understand is that our preferences take a backseat to serving the congregation . Remember that thing about our songs being our liturgical book ? If we are to be good stewards of the worshiplanguage of the church , it requires rotating
For example , a worship leader recently told me of this inconsistent mess : Two of her leaders plan at least a week in advance . Another leader typically arrives at rehearsal with a setlist that no one ' s seen but him . Oh , and he frequently changes songs on Sunday morning . There ' s
Jon Nicol Jon ’ s 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 - and now a brand new Westie puppy named Angus . WorshipWorkshop . com WorshipTeamCoach . com