of his team members . He knows their platform worship will never exceed their private worship . So he ' s shepherding them to be worshipers of Jesus first and church musicians second .
Heart Check : If you ' re still more concerned with the quality of your team ' s sound versus the quality of your team ' s culture , you ' re building a house of cards .
7 . Loves the Church The second-half leader does not hide out in the green room . But instead , she connects with her church family before , after , and between services . She ' s committed to the church ' s vision , follows her senior pastor ' s lead , and loves the people she worships with each Sunday .
Heart Check : I once had a senior pastor say to me , " Jon , I don ' t think you really love the people of this church ." Ouch ! As much as that hurt to hear , he was right . The journey to second-half leadership means we recognize this : loving the Church is more important than leading songs for a church .
8 . Leads Leaders The second-half worship leader spends less time doing the work of ministry and instead equips others to minister and lead . He also recognizes that his team needs a plurality of leaders with different gifts , backgrounds , and experiences . So , he actively works to create that diversity .
In other words , he takes Ephesians 4:11-12 seriously .
Heart Check : If your efforts at ' leadership development ' only create substitutes and assistants , you ' ll never reach that second half leadership .
9 . Invests in People And Processes The second-half leader sees the need for efficient systems and processes but still embraces the organic and relational side of ministry . In fact , she leverages systems so she can be more people-focused .
She has also overcome her own strength / weakness mix when it comes to people vs . tasks :
• If she ' s wired to be more task-oriented , she ' s learned to value spending time with her team and leaders . But to overcome that even more , she ' s raised up shepherds to help her nurture the team .
• And if she ' s naturally more peopleoriented , she ' s learned to embrace systems and processes . Then , to implement and manage those effectively , she surrounds herself with administratively solid leaders and team members who balance out what she lacks .
And as the second half-leader grows , she gets ultra-intentional about renovating her ministry systems . Not just for efficiency but to create learnable and repeatable processes . That is , she ' s always working toward healthy delegation to her other leaders .
Heart Check : If you ' re still running and gunning towards ' this Sunday ' with little time for shepherding , development , discipleship , or time for personal rest , you need better systems .
BOTH / AND WORSHIP LEADERSHIP Looking at these nine mindsets of a secondhalf worship leader , without a doubt , Abe had so many of these traits .
Had he been given the right balance of mentoring and tough love , I know he could have become a second-half worship leader .
And had Pastor Ethan given him the opportunity and leadership support , their worship ministry would have avoided the turmoil and drama inflicted by Tyler ' s inexperience . Tyler was just given too much responsibility too soon .
If you ' re a worship leader approaching ( or over ) the age of 35 , it ' s time to start considering what Second-Half Worship Leadership looks like for you .
Some of those nine mindsets will likely come easy for you . Others will feel utterly contrary to your personality and leadership style . But just like picking up a new instrument , embracing a different leadership approach has a steep learning curve .
If you ' re a senior pastor with an older worship leader who no longer seems ' relevant ' - don ' t push them before investing in coaching and mentoring for them . I would love to connect with you and discuss how I and my team can help yours . I ' ve personally been working for over a decade to help churches implement the ancient " both / and " leadership wisdom of 1 Chronicles 25:6-8 into their worship ministries :
" They made music at the house of the Lord . They and their families were all trained in making music before the Lord , and each of them was an accomplished musician . The musicians were appointed to their term of service without regard to whether they were young or old , teacher or student ." ( NLT , emphasis added )
The Church is both young and old , ancient and modern . So let ' s be worship leaders who embrace the wisdom of " both / and " no matter how old ( or young ) we are .
Some of the content of this article was adapted from an earlier piece I wrote , Senior Pastor : What Should You Do With An Older Worship Leader .
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