This is personal to me as well . That same kind of authoritative , bullying , narcissistic senior pastor came into my own church just as I was handing the reins to my successor . In the matter of a few months , that worship leader I had invested over two years in quit . Not long after , two-thirds of the church exited , including my entire worship team .
It was painful to watch everything I had built for almost 10 years get destroyed in 10 months . But no legacy is worth trying to continue to minister in a spiritually abusive environment . If you think you ’ re in a situation like that , reach out to my team at help @ worshipteamcoach . com . We can talk and point you to some resources .
4 . TAKE 3X MORE SUNDAYS OFF THAN YOU ALREADY ARE . You ’ re not taking enough time off . How do I know this ?
You ’ re a worship leader . In a church .
In my book , Exceptional Every Sunday , I talk about the three kinds of Sundays you need to take off . For the sake of space , I won ’ t go over them here . But here ’ s a recent WM article on the topic .
Just know that if you keep runnin ’ and gunnin ’ week after week — even if you ’ re taking a ‘ day-off ’ during the week — you ’ re still heading towards the sputtering mess of burnout . No church or ‘ calling ’ is worth wrecking your spiritual and emotional health and damaging your family .
5 . DON ’ T GET ENAMORED WITH THE EXTRAS . When you ’ re leading worship music in a modern church setting , it ’ s easy for the line to blur between the essential stuff and the extra stuff .
The click keeps our band on time and helps eliminate distractions . The tracks help punch up our sound and fill in the gaps . The lighting and graphics help create an environment to encourage people to worship . And then there ’ s all those instruments on the stage . And the personal mixers . And the rehearsal tracks we send out . And the lead guitarist ’ s massive pedalboard that can be seen from space .
It all starts to seem so … necessary .
Take caution . All the extras can become the new hymnals and organs and choirs that our grandparents vehemently fought to keep — and thought were necessary for worship . We need to make sure we ’ re not fighting the same fight over a different herd of sacred cows .
Strip it back to the essentials every so often . Then ask yourself — is all the ‘ production ’ worth doing every Sunday ? What ’ s it costing our team ? Add back in what makes sense . But keep an eye on where the diminishing returns kick in . Determine what ’ s ‘ enough ’ and deliver that each week with excellence .
6 . HAVE AN EXIT PLAN . Someone might be thinking , “ Geez Jon , just because you left ministry doesn ’ t mean everyone else will .” Um , yeah it does .
Everyone leaves . Eventually .
Even if you haven ’ t been at your church for very long , you should start considering what happens after you ’ re gone . It may not happen for another decade . But it might happen in the next twelve months . You just don ’ t know . But planning for it will actually help you lead at a higher level .
The typical pattern for most churches and worship ministries is this : The worship leader puts in a 30-day notice . The team appoints a volunteer interim , and they muddle by for a few months or even a year . The church ( finally ) hires a new worship leader . He changes everything . The team members adapt or move on ( the faithful interim is often in that exodus ). The new leader serves for however long and then puts in his notice to move on to bigger and better .
The cycle repeats .
Imagine if you could be the one to break that . A big step towards a healthier cycle of exit planning is implementing # 1 — embracing E4 Leadership . That will put you on a path towards healthy succession . And like I mentioned earlier , it will be messy . But it ’ s far better for your team and your church . And , I can tell you it ’ s worth the work to walk away well .
7 . HAVE FUN . I would stop to remind my team ( and myself ) this every so often : making music together is fun ! Sure , there ’ s work to do . But we should be having the most fun of any ministry in the church . Here ’ s a way to look at it : Sunday morning might be the short-term goal you ’ re working towards each week . But the long-term goal is to build a healthy team who loves each other and loves being with each other .
So have some fun and learn to enjoy the journey together .
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And speaking of the journey , this is where mine ends . At least as far as a writer for [ WM ] Worship Musician Magazine and owner and director of WorshipTeamCoach . com .
I just want to wrap with a special thanks to Bruce Adolph and Matt Kees for inviting me into the Worship Musician / Christian Musician Summit fold so many years ago . It ’ s been a fantastic experience and I wish them , and you the reader , only the best moving forward .
And as Bruce would say , “ Lord Bless Ya !”
Jon Nicol Jon lives in the middle of Ohio with his wife Shannon and their four kids . He ’ s the founder of WorshipTeamCoach . com and WorshipWorkshop . com , two sites that help worship leaders make every Sunday exceptional . If you want to explore coaching or mentoring with the WorshipTeamCoach team , visit this page . WorshipWorkshop . com WorshipTeamCoach . com
32 June 2023 Subscribe for Free ...