LEADERSHIP
GIVE ME A BREAK ! | Brian Michael Fuller
Genesis 2:2-3 says , “ And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done , and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done . Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it …”
It ' s so easy to feel the stress of having to execute great worship for your church every single week . After all , their counting on you , aren ' t they ?
Most of us are surrounded by amazing people who live to serve and love to give their time , gifts and talents to the church . These people love to help usher others into God ’ s presence through amazing worship . Then why is it that so often people still get burned out ?
The reality is that most of the amazing people that serve on your ministry will simply never ask you for a break . Just like you , they feel a pressure that if they don ' t show up , the ministry will fail . This is a lie that most of us believe at some point . Don ’ t buy it ! God wants the best for us as his children . He doesn ’ t simply need a guitar player !
When our spiritual tanks are empty or we are tired , it is very difficult to minister . Healthy worship teams are made of people who are filled up spiritually . There are people who know how to take breaks and seasons off . Rest .
I ' m not here to beat you over the head or act like I have it all figured out . I am here to remind you of the importance of creating a culture in which your team gets rest . There are three proven ways to make sure that your team stays healthy and vibrant . Here they are . Follow them at your ministry ’ s benefit !
1 . MANDATORY WEEK END OFF This is the simplest way to give people a break . I ' ve met so many people who have the same worship team every single Sunday . I understand that maybe you ' re at a smaller church and your musicians are limited but you cannot value your Sunday music over the health of your people . If your drummer has played every weekend for thirty weeks in a row , he needs a weekend off . It doesn ' t matter what he tells you . As a strong and healthy worship leader , your job is to let them know that you love and value them enough to force them to take a week off .
Now , you might be thinking that you won ' t have a drummer . Go back and read my articles about how to build multiple teams ! That ' s your longterm plan . But in the short term , remember , it ' s not the end of the world if you have a weekend where you don ' t have a drummer . Do an acoustic set . Your church might actually love it . Get rid of the band and just show up with your guitar and do a bunch of hymns . You ' d be surprised at how much people will love that . Make sure all of your musicians are getting at least one weekend off every couple of months . That ' s your first step to building a healthy team . Make it a rule that you will never have the same people play every weekend for more than two months in a row . Your team will thank you and you will be a better leader for it .
2 . EXTENDED BREAK This might seem scary but trust me , it will be worth it . The goal here is to allow folks to attend church with their family and their children . It will also give them a new and fresh perspective . The more people are taking breaks and vacations off , the more they ' re going to be excited about getting back on stage and their buy-in will grow .
If you ' ve had people on your team that seem tired or burned out , these are great candidates to give a couple weeks off . Approach them in love and remind them that you want them for the long haul , not just this Sunday .
3 . TEAM ROTATIONS Go back and read any of my articles about building teams and you will quickly realize that I am a huge advocate of this model in which you have consistent built-in breaks for your teams from the start . With multiple teams , no single person is playing every weekend . You are simply rotating musicians . This is the healthiest way to do ministry . Your teams have consistency . They know what to expect and they will value being a part of your team . They will come more prepared and more excited to be a part of your ministry . You will experience less burnout and less people leaving your team bitter or angry . I would encourage you to prayerfully consider this .
At the end of the day being a worship leader is not about leading songs , it is about pastoring and shepherding the people God has put under your leadership . Make sure that your people are healthy , growing spiritually and seeing serving on your ministry as an opportunity to grow in Christ . Your team and your church will be much better for it .
Be blessed .
Brian Michael Fuller Brian is a composer , multi-instrumentalist and worship musician who currently serves as the worship leader at several churches in North Carolina . You can hear some of his original production music at www . fullertime . com . www . FullerTime . com