I will never have strong , natural proclivities towards strict organization . But the work I ’ ve done to learn to manage myself has helped me grow as a leader and grow other leaders .
It also led to overcoming the next big issue .
9 . SUNDAY-DRIVEN MANAGEMENT The Issue : I was a Sunday-driven manager .
As all these issues from my disorganization compounded , I struggled to keep up with my work . As a result , I focused only on the urgent stuff . Which meant I primarily focused just on this Sunday and next Sunday .
As worship ministry leaders , we need to be good managers of all that ’ s required for Sunday . But when that ’ s ALL we focus on , we become what I ’ ve termed as “ Sunday-Driven Managers .” When that happens , it exacts another cost .
The Cost : The long-term growth of my ministry suffered .
When we focus almost exclusively on meeting the demands of upcoming Sundays , we don ’ t have the capacity to develop our teams for the long term . As a result , we ’ re not able to implement the leadership wisdom of Ephesians 4:11-12 , which shows multiple leaders sharing the work to equip the God ’ s people to do the work of ministry .
Here at WorshipTeamCoach . com , we call this E4 Leadership™ .
If getting more organized and transitioning from being a Sunday-driven manager to an E4 leader interests you , take a few minutes to
watch this video where I teach the concept a little more in-depth .
ONE THING TO FIX ALL THIS ? So as we wrap , let ’ s quickly recap the 9 High Costs of Being a Disorganized Worship Leader and then give you one thing to fix all this . ( No , really — one thing .) Here are the nine costs … 1 . Set planning suffers . 2 . Practice is deemed pointless because of last-minute changes . 3 . Unclear expectations for team members . 4 . Important work gets neglected . 5 . Auditions allow ‘ bad fit ’ people to join . 6 . Sunday quality is wildly inconsistent . 7 . The leader loses respect . 8 . The leader doesn ’ t grow . 9 . No intentional , long-term growth of the team .
So this list contains a wide range of issues and problems . And to even suggest ‘ one thing ’ could fix all this sounds a little nutty-bananas . But there is one thing …
INTENTIONAL SYSTEMS When I learned about the power of systems as I studied organizational leadership , it changed everything . I don ’ t have the space to go into this too deeply but know this … systems shape behavior , change culture , and give you the ability to lead effectively . Even if you ’ re naturally disorganized .
Several years ago , a woman who had just joined my worship team came to me after the service and said , “ Jon , your worship team is so organized !” I laughed . She was a funny lady , and I thought she was being sarcastic .
“ No , seriously !” she continued . “ I ’ ve been on other teams in other churches , and your worship ministry is set up so intentionally and is so well run .”
What she was seeing wasn ’ t the fact that I had become some robotically organized leader . I still had ( and have ) daily challenges with staying organized . Instead , what she saw resulted from ministry systems that I had intentionally implemented . And it was those systems that kept the ministry running so well .
Eventually , I was able to go part-time at my church to coach other leaders yet continue to grow my worship team toward higher standards of excellence — musically , spiritually , and relationally . All thanks to great systems .
If you ’ d like to learn more about ministry systems and the concepts I teach in these two articles ,
visit this page for free training videos ( no sign-in required ). And if you ’ re a full- or parttime worship leader , and you ’ d like my help to understand how intentional systems can help you build an exceptional worship ministry , you can visit that same page to schedule a time to connect .
Not being a naturally organized person can be a barrier as you run a complex organization like a church worship ministry . But you can overcome that through intentional systems .
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 ’ d like to connect with Jon for coaching or mentoring ,
visit this page . WorshipWorkshop . com WorshipTeamCoach . com