just a worship leader – the person responsible for planning and leading Sunday . You are a Worship Ministry Leader . You run a complex organization staffed with volunteers who you need to develop musically , technically , relationally , and even spiritually . that , they only dabble in the non-urgent work of developing their team members , growing leaders , and building healthy ministry structures and processes . And inside the crazy cycle are four ‘ sub-cycles ’ that make this problem even more complex . time and focus . It feels like you can never take enough time away from Sunday work to develop your worship ministry for the long term . Or , if you did invest that time , the quality of Sunday would drop , and your job would be on the line .
To lead this team and successfully produce Sunday services , you are responsible for running or overseeing several structures , processes , and systems that keep the ministry running :
• Scheduling
• Service Planning
• Music Distribution
• Song Management
• Rehearsals / Sound checks
• Tech / Production
• Team Communications
• Team Member Development
• Leadership Development
• New Team Member Acquisition
And that ’ s just in the worship ministry area . If a smaller or medium size church employs you , you may wear other leadership hats …
• Student Ministry
• Small Groups
• Video / Graphic Design / Marketing
• Family or Children Ministry
• Outreach
And then there ’ s that pesky line in your job description , “ And any other responsibilities deemed necessary by the senior pastor .”
Oh , and I forgot to mention . Each year , two major holidays will demand unreasonable expectations for high production and extra services to impress people who only come to church twice every 12 months .
Am I getting close to describing your situation ? You ’ re in the Worship Leader Crazy Cycle .
THE CRAZY CYCLE Most worship leaders get stuck in this cycle by focusing on the urgent work to get through Sunday after Sunday after Sunday . Because of
THE EXHAUSTED CYCLE After too long of primarily focusing on Sunday demands , worship leaders realize they ’ re doing it all themselves . They haven ’ t equipped other leaders or core team members to help carry out the work of the ministry . That lack of help and support compounds week after week , month after month , year after year until , one day , they hit a wall .
Now , this Exhausted Cycle is sneaky . You can go round and round on it for years at various levels of fatigue and avoid a full-tilt burnout . But , even the low levels of exhaustion keep you from investing the time and energy into developing your worship ministry for the long term . And rest assured , if you stay on this cycle , you ’ ll one day experience the soul-crushing exhaustion of burnout . Maybe not soon , but someday .
THE ENABLING CYCLE Because of Sunday demands and too little focus on development , worship leaders enable their team members to stay at low levels of semi-committed and self-focused behavior . This self-focused and semi-committed behavior might include …
• Showing up late
• Last minute call-offs
• No-showing for rehearsal
• Not practicing enough
• Entitlement and other attitude issues
And all this frustrating behavior makes your job even harder . But , when the urgent demands of Sunday are breathing down your neck , it ’ s easier just to let that stuff slide than try to tackle the root cause of it .
THE ENTRENCHED CYCLE The Crazy Cycle makes you feel like you can ’ t get out of it because Sunday requires so much
You feel stuck .
THE EROSIVE CYCLE There ’ s also a continual erosion going on in your ministry . Because you have to spend so much time on maintaining your Sunday service standards , your team ’ s spiritual and relational health often erodes and deteriorates .
The semi-committed and self-focused behavior isn ’ t just an issue with a few people . It becomes part of your team ’ s culture :
• Preparation isn ’ t a priority .
• Team members act entitled and get territorial about their positions and parts .
• Gossip , sarcasm , and other corrosive language are allowed to go unchecked .
• Those pursuing spiritual growth and demonstrating maturity are the outliers – and they ’ re finding themselves more and more repelled by the team culture .
The worship leader in this Erosive Cycle risks losing good people , further deteriorating the culture .
Where Are You ? You might not yet be at a place where you see or feel all the effects of the Crazy Cycle . But if you ’ ve been leading worship for more than a couple of years , you ’ re probably starting to experience some of the tension . I want to help you escape the Crazy Cycle before it wreaks havoc on you , your family , and your worship team .
On the other hand , you might be feeling every bit of that endless Crazy Cycle . And because of those demands of Sunday after Sunday , you don ’ t see a way out of this any time soon . You might be ready to give it all up to deliver packages for Amazon . You may or may not be considering a career switch to a last-mile