about loving and serving the congregation whom they lead .
For instance , a worship team member at this level may study platform presence - not as a way to look good , but to better engage with and serve the church . And she carries her love for the congregation off the platform , too . There ' s no hiding in the green room between services for her . She ' s out connecting with her church family .
There ' s also a conscious choice to put others on the team before herself . Things like showing up on time or coming in prepared aren ' t a " have to ," they ' re a " get to ." She knows her presence and preparation affect the rest of the team .
Imagine what your team would look like if it was full of Ministry Level worship musicians and techs ? It would be glorious . And it would feel like you could stop right here . Almost . But there ' s one more level that every healthy worship team member should eventually rise to …
THE LEADERSHIP LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT Let ' s talk Star Wars . ( You either got really excited or just rolled your eyes . If the latter , please hang with me . There ' s galactic truth here .)
In the original Star Wars movie ( that ' s Episode IV : A New Hope , in case you care ), Luke Skywalker is the hero . Literally , he ' s on the hero ' s journey . His two central guides through that trilogy were Obi-Wan and Yoda . But then , at the end of Episode VII , The Force Awakens , we find a wrinkly , gray , grouchy Luke . And as the story progresses through the next movie , it ' s clear : Luke ' s no longer the hero . Instead , he ( reluctantly ) becomes the guide to the new hero , Rey .
You see where I ' m going with this . At some point , every leader and team member needs to step out of the spotlight and take the mantle of a guide . This doesn ’ t mean they no longer play or lead , but they ’ re making room for and raising up the younger generation . 1 Chronicles 25 is clear : the temple musicians were " young and old " and " teacher and student ." Some were young Skywalkers ; others were old Yodas .
It ' s painful to watch an aging tech , musician , or leader refuse to move to this level . He often becomes territorial because he ' s threatened by a next-generation team member . Don ' t hear me wrong : his age isn ' t the issue ! It ' s that he ' s protecting and burying his " bag of silver " that the Master gave him , rather than risking and investing it for a greater return . ( Matthew 25 )
Some of the hesitation to move beyond the Expression and Ministry Levels for some team members is they don ' t yet see themselves as leaders . But keep encouraging them towards this goal . You have team members who likely already have tremendous influence and leadership without a title or official position .
Also , remind some of your “ reluctant guides ” that ‘ being a leader ’ doesn ' t mean ‘ being in charge ’ of a large group of people . You need people who lean into one-to-one and one-tofew mentoring relationships . They will make a quiet but critical difference in the lives of your other team members .
A shining example of the hero becoming the guide in our ' worship world ' is Paul Baloche . I ' ve been both a participant and teacher at scores of worship events over the last twenty-five ( plus ) years . During that time , Paul intentionally and humbly moved into that " true elder " role :
• Encouraging younger worship leaders and songwriters
• Championing them
• Graciously sharing the platform with them That ' s a picture of someone who ' s moved into that Leadership Level . And I imagine there was a lot more of that behind the scenes that I didn ' t see . But he inspired me to intentionally make the transition from " the guy " to " the guide ."
And from my experience , while raising up and holding space for the younger generation isn ' t always easy ( and sometimes not fun ), there ' s so much reward and fulfillment in becoming a guide . And when leaders and team members
move to this level and begin to make an intentional investment in others , the Kingdom will advance , and more glory will be given to the One we worship . Amen ?
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 . WorshipWorkshop . com WorshipTeamCoach . com