Connecting the Gathering

I live and serve in the South. Cultural Christianity is alive and well in the Bible Belt. Having the external appearance of faith without a heart that grasps and truly responds to the Gospel is my short-hand description of cultural Christianity. It has the external appearance of goodness, or morality with a compartmentalized heart and understanding of the way our faith should influence and impact everything about the life of a believer:

Our desires and affections.

The way we view and spend our money.

Our thoughts and actions.

The words we speak, and the way we use social media.

Our interactions with our family, our neighbors, and our enemies.

Our engagement within our communities and around the world.

What we treasure, and what we reject.

To some extent, this is not a unique reality for Americans living in the South. Every human lives a compartmentalized life. We divide ourselves across work, family, friends, free time, money, and faith. But if we are called to be and make disciples, that is a call that must pervade every area and aspect of our lives.

When I started to see worship leading as a place of discipleship, I began to see the gaps between what we do on a Sunday, and how we live the rest of the week.

Sunday worship is the overflow of Monday through Saturday worship.

Sunday worship fuels and propels the people of God to live as worshipers throughout the week.

In gathering with the people of God are reminded that God is much bigger than we are, that we are never alone, and we encourage one another to live as followers of Christ.

In gathering with the people of God we are reminded of our dependence upon God and the gift of His Body.

In gathering with the people of God our attention and affection are refocused around the person and work of Christ rather than the desires of the flesh or the culture.

May our lives, and the lives of those we lead look increasingly less compartmentalized.

Other posts that might be of interest:

All of Life Worship.

How to respond to Current Events.

Growing as a Communicator

Connecting Songs and Sermons

Fine Art Of Worship

Worship is a fine art. As in any art, love is involved, and so is discipline. - Father Thomas Pinkel

More than songs.

More than music.

This fine art of worship is a reflection of Romans 12 - responding to the mercies of God in sacrifice to Him, and in-service toward others.

Love toward God comes from first experiencing God’s love toward us. Experiencing the love of God frees us to give love to even our enemies.

Discipline is the result of deep discipleship. As we offer ourselves in obedient, spiritual worship to God, our lives are given away for the glory of God and the good of people.

More than songs.

More than music.

May our leading in worship look like love and discipline in action.

The First 48

They say the odds of solving a murder go down drastically outside of the first 48 hours. Now, as worship leaders, you probably are not having to solve many murders, but one of the things I have found happens best within a 48-hour window is feedback. It is so important to create, establish, and maintain a culture of feedback when serving together.

I have both given and received feedback that was too early as well as too late.

When we give feedback that is too early, often we are reacting rather than responding. It is easy to speak from being held hostage by our emotions, rather than taking a moment to collect ourselves to respond with love, grace, and humility. Waiting a day or two gives us the ability to calm down, and ask ourselves if addressing this is really necessary. It gives us time to consider the individual and their story - is the most loving thing to address this, or simply let it go?

When we give feedback that is too late, we are often remembering our emotions more than the ins and outs of the experience. Bringing something up so far past the time it occurred can begin to seem petty or silly. As though you’ve been holding onto something for the purpose of hurting someone rather than healing what may have been broken.

How can you better love, serve, encourage, and equip your team by finding the sweet spot of feedback?

Grumbling and Complaining

People can be hard.

Ministry can be hard.

And there is something about corporate sung worship that feels personal to those within a church community. Congregations have ownership of songs and singing in unique ways - more so than maybe any other area of ministry. Because of this, songs and singing can often feel precious to the people and can feel tied to people’s experience of God, His Church, and worship.

So how do we deal with grumbling and complaining from the congregation?

Or our team?

Listen. I love how Tim Keller talks about listening for a kernel of truth, even in harsh critique or criticism that seems unfair. What is really being said? Is there a thing under the thing? How can we make sure that people feel heard, rather than ignored or disregarded?

Learn. We must learn our people and context. Is there a history for which we are unaware? Have we inadvertently or carelessly stepped over a line or triggered something? We must be willing to admit that we don’t know everything and that in seeking to lead and serve the people of God our posture must be one of humility and teachability.

Communicate. Some of the best advice I was ever given was - you have thought deeply about what you’re doing and why, you have to help your team see the thought process. In a spirit of humility and gentleness, we must be able to clearly articulate the reason for our decisions. Have you thought deeply about what you are doing and why? Have you taken the time to ‘show your work,’ and lead people through a process of understanding?

Love. Let even the painful interactions be an invitation toward dependence upon the Holy Spirit for the grace necessary to love. To lean away from your own strength and toward the strength and grace of Christ. How might God be using people from your congregation or team to keep you humble and tender? How can you watch over your own heart to not respond in kind? How might you see this person the way that Christ sees them?

Interview Questions: From A Worship Leader

Last week I wrote for the interviewer, the kinds of questions I would ask as a worship leader if I were trying to hire a worship leader. Questions that help you assess not just the obvious and easy - musical ability, personality fit - but questions that give you a sense of a candidate’s theological understanding of worship, the gathering, and how they function in their role. This week, I want to provide worship leaders with questions that will allow them to do the same - move beyond the surface and give some clarity to what is going on at a deeper level within a church.

Tell me about the working relationship between the pastor and worship leader? Relationships can be tense - especially when you are wearing multiple hats. As a worship leader working with a pastor, this person is often your boss, employer, pastor, coworker, friend, and direct report. Trying to understand what has become ‘normal dynamics’ and ways of operating between the pastor and worship leader will give you a good sense of what is acceptable across the whole staff.

What things did you love about your previous worship leader? Getting a sense of what is valued and celebrated will help you understand in what ways you will be similar, and different than a church’s previous experience. If a pastor, leader, or team cannot name anything, or at bare minimum be able to speak well of someone - regardless of how poorly the relationship has gone - that too will communicate about their culture to you.

Can I speak with your previous worship leader? An interviewee has to provide references, why not also ask for references from the church? This can be another piece of the puzzle of understanding relationships, dynamics, things to be aware of, and things worth celebrating.

How engaged are pastors, elders, staff during the worship gathering? A church will only ever be as engaged in the corporate gathering as their leadership. A pastor’s presence, or lack thereof, communicates to the rest of the church how the worship gathering should or should not be valued. If the pastors, elders, and leaders do not see themselves as leading from the congregation, it does not matter how much they tell you they value the worship gathering, that behavior communicates otherwise.

What kind of training and discipleship have you historically provided for your worship leader, and the volunteers on the team? We invest in what we find valuable. Most churches will say that corporate worship is valuable, but are slow to invest money into quality equipment, and/or haphazard about the discipleship and development they are providing for their worship leaders, musicians, vocalists, sound and tech team. We need both.

If you are a worship leader in the interview process, I know how hard, discouraging, and exhausting that can be. I hope that these questions can open up deeper conversations, and provide more clarity in being able to assess the things you value and what you are hoping to find as you partner with a local body to serve God’s people.

Interview Questions: For A Worship Leader

Regardless of what side of the interview table you are on, interviews are stressful. The stakes are high, the time is too short to know anyone in any depth. Much less to assess their skills, heart, experience, and if their personality will fit well in your specific context. I have been the one being interviewed, and I have had many conversations with pastors, leaders, and search committees looking to hire a worship leader, I am always surprised at the kinds of questions that are asked - some great, some not so great.

If I was looking to hire a worship leader, here are a few questions that would be at the top of my list:

How would you describe the working relationship, and dynamic between you and your previous pastor or pastors? The relationship between a pastor and a worship leader can be tense. Whether the previous relationships have been healthy or completely dysfunctional, hearing how people speak about former coworkers or employers communicates a lot about their hearts. And understanding their history will help give you a sense of the type of hurts they may be carrying into a new team.

What does your workweek look like? The smallest part of the time we as worship leaders spend in our week is the visible part - actually leading the congregation in corporate sung worship. What does preparation look like for this worship leader? How are they using their time not just to execute a weekly service, but to build into and grow the team, grow their own personal relationship with the Lord, and move this particular area of ministry ahead?

What would be the five songs you would want to introduce to any congregation where you are leading? This will help you understand not just the musical leanings of a worship leader, but their theological persuasion as well. Songs are contextual, theology is not. You are looking not just for a competent musician, but a competent theologian to build set lists and shepherd your people from the platform.

What is worship? Basic, I know. But you’re not hiring a musician primarily, you are hiring a theologian and shepherd. It is imperative that the person filling that role has at least a basic grasp on a theology of worship. And an understanding of how worship fits into the corporate gathering, and the rhythms of life.

What is the purpose of the corporate gathering? What you are trying to understand from this question is if the worship leader understands their role narrowly (only responsible for music), or as a small piece of a larger story - and how their role fits into that larger story.

These questions are not exhaustive, but hopefully, they will give you a greater ability to assess not just someone’s musical ability and character, but their personal understanding of worship, and the role of corporate worship in the life of the Church. If you are in the process of looking to hire a worship leader, let me help you ask the right questions, not just for the potential candidates, but of your church culture and organization as you begin that process. Send me an email here.

Weary Worship Leaders

Have you ever felt weary as you have approached the Sunday gathering? Tired to your bones, apathetic and indifferent toward God and His people? In many ways COVID has turned all of us into endurance athletes, unsure of the course we run, and the direction toward the finish line. For our teams, for ourselves, for those attending - or streaming - this has been a season of soul tiring. And yet, Sunday is coming whether we feel ready, or rested.

Even before COVID seeing people respond in ways different than we had hoped during our preparation, or feeling like the execution of a Sunday service did not accomplish all you had intended, can we discouraging, and disorienting.

So we do we do with our hearts, and minds as we encounter these weekly challenges? First, I believe we need to name the reality. That this is different than we thought, expected, and desired. We must acknowledge and confess how our own sin, pride, and ego are wrapped up in our unmet expectations. We trust that external response is not always an accurate representation of what has happening internally for those we serve. We believe that the Holy Spirit can work regardless of how well we have ‘performed.’ And we rest in the reality that Jesus perfects all of our broken offerings before the Father.

One of my youth pastors growing up told a story that whenever he felt disconnected or dry in his worship, he would hold a specific picture in his mind that would throw kindling on the embers of his heart: he would envision his father, who was not a follower of Christ, falling on his face in worship.

The beautiful reality is that Scripture tells us one day that will be true of everyone, everywhere: ‘…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil 2:10-11)

As you lead worship to a camera, or look out on folded arms, and furrowed brows, or feel the team limping toward the end of a set list, remember the reality of Philippians 2. You are looking out on those who one day will in fact be facedown in confession and worship. He is so worthy.

What pictures of the beauty and worth of Christ, can fuel your worship when your heart feels wearied, burdened, or half-hearted?

Fighting Discouragement

Ministry is a front row seat to the best and worst moments in people’s lives. Weddings, births, baptisms, conversion, calling, mission are mixed in with death and divorce, illness and sin.

Life is hard.

Ministry is hard.

How easily we can become discouraged as we pour ourselves out in preparation, and leading only to be met with apathy or critique. How easily our hearts default to grumbling and complaint, bitterness and resentment when we feel unsupported, and under appreciated. If you have been involved in ministry vocationally or as a volunteer for longer than five minutes I’m sure you have encountered these realities in yourself as well as the people you serve. Here are a few things which have helped me fight discouragement and fight for joy in my serving:

Speak Truth. The Psalmist commands his soul: ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God (Ps 42:5).’ We must fill our hearts and minds with truth - the truth of who God is and what He says, what He has done, and who we are, because there are always serpents in the garden whispering lies.

Gratitude. Over and again in Scripture we see God calling His people to remember. This is why they build Ebenezers - visible, physical reminders of God’s help, provision and faithfulness thus far (1 Sam 7:12). Look back, remember, how has He proven Himself faithful, good and kind to you? What are the Ebenezers you need to raise?

Get Outside Of Yourself. When we are discouraged, we can easily be tempted to think exclusively of self - my problems, my circumstance, etc. Fight against selfishness, pray for others, be present to the needs, desires, hopes and fears of those around you. How can you pray for your team, leaders, pastors, and yes, even your enemies right now?

Laugh. Life and ministry can be so ridiculous that sometimes you just have to laugh. Maybe not in the moment, maybe not for awhile, but finding the humor in the absurd and over the top can be such a release from taking yourself too seriously even as you take seriously your role.

How have you learned to fight discouragement in your own ministry context?

Four Things Every Worship Leader Needs From Their Pastor

The relationship between pastor and worship leader can sometimes feel like a tug of war. When these roles are pit against one another, no one gives up the ground and everyone loses. As a worship leader for many years, I have had my fair share of heel-digging standoffs. But I have also experienced the disarming power of pastors and leaders who invite me to stand on the same side of the rope as we pull together.

There are four elements I have found consistently among those pastors and leaders working to stand on the same side of the rope:

Input…

Set vision for your worship leader not just for a service or sermon series, but for the next five, ten, twenty years of the church. Cultivate and value the formative power of the gathered Church singing, reading, praying, serving, and being sent. And equip and empower your worship leader to serve you, and lead God’s people in this way.

Trust…

As you shepherd your worship leader, trust them to translate your leadership and input into the corporate gathering. And trust the Spirit of God to do what only He can do – lead us into all truth.

Presence…

Both in preparation, and during the service your presence – or lack thereof – speaks. To the worship leader, your presence communicates trust, humility, and partnership. When pastors and worship leaders are only present in the service during ‘their’ portion of the morning, it subtly undermines the value and importance of all aspects of the gathering. As pastors, you set the tone and posture of every service.

Feedback…

Whether life-giving encouragement or loving rebuke you can shepherd the heart, skill, and vision of your worship leader through feedback. When you create an environment where input is welcome, trust is given, and presence is steady those are investments not only in your worship leader but the congregation as well.

October 15: Tuesday Refocus

‘O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds You performed in their days, in the days of old: You with Your own hand drove out the nations… for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but Your right hand and Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You delighted in them.’ – Psalm 44:1-3

The nations rage, our flesh is at war within us, we wrestle against rulers, authorities and cosmic powers – but we turn away, harden our hearts and have seared our conscious (Ps 2:1, Rom 7:23, Eph 6:12, Heb 3:15).

Turning away from this present darkness is not resignation, rather, an attempt to fight a battle in your own strength.  This battle requires the same arm that drives out enemies, to uphold and save heirs.  You do not have to run, hide, or fight – you have only to be still (Ex 14:14).

‘But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere.  For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…’ 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

This is a battle already won.

Jesus, You have been victorious over Satan, sin and death at the cross.  You lead us in triumphal procession over our enemies, and into the very presence of the Father.  Forgive us for turning away from the wars of the world, spiritual realm, and our own hearts.  Your blood has spoken for all of these things – help us to be an aroma and fragrance of Your completed work as this battle wages on.  In Your name, amen.

Standing,

AB

September 17: Tuesday Refocus

‘It looks like I’m going to have to let go of what I expected and enter a mystery.’ – Eugene Peterson

There is a desirable clarity in an expected life. 

Black and white. 

Easy to measure and manage.

But the life of faith lets go of the seemingly certain, and clings to the Rock that is higher than I (Ps 62:2).  The life of faith is entering a mystery.

In this mystery we see a God whose voice strips the forest bare, but also speaks tenderly to His people (Ps 29:9, Hosea 2:14).  We see a God who is good, and does good, and can even turn evil for His good purpose (Ps 119:68, Gen 50:20).  We experience God – not as distant, but One who dwells in the heart of all believers through faith (Eph 3:17).

Lord, let us be people who walk by faith into the mystery.  Deeper into the beauty of Your heart, and deeper into the brokenness of the world.  Thank You that you have chosen to reveal Yourself at all.  Let us cling to You, not our expectations, in Christ name, amen.

Entering the mystery,

AB