The Wrong Fix
“Next month, we’re going to audition everyone that’s on the team, and not everyone is going to make it. There have been people on the team for years that shouldn’t be, and this will fix that. Plus we’ll also be able to add some new folks.”
The worship director told me this with excitement in his voice.
My heart fell. I’ll tell you why.
There are several approaches to achieving excellence in ministry.
On one end of the spectrum, it’s an all-play and just the luck of the draw if you can create musical quality. Often it results in a team of thirty mediocre players and singers. Though there are likely relational, spiritual, dress, and punctuality standards, there are no musical standards. It’s the kind of worship ministry where you’re the same bass player you were ten years ago, like a twenty-something that still acts like they are fourteen. Bunch of babies! Hope you like diapers.
But there’s the other end of the spectrum. The auditions are next Tuesday. Pass or fail. You’re in or you’re out. Meet these criteria or else…you can serve in the tech booth or children’s ministry. Come back when you’ve taken lessons and audition again. We’ll soon be hiring some pro musicians to fill empty slots.
I don’t find either of these approaches to work. What’s missing is the main responsibility of the church, of any ministry.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV)
And he gave [the leaders] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Listen to the assumption: everyone comes to us unprepared and immature and it’s our job to lovingly and truthfully, equip and develop them. So any strategy of ministry that expects people to arrive at an A- or better and that doesn’t have a system in place to develop people is completely missing it.
Perhaps you’ve fallen into the trap of making Sunday a great event, rather than a place to learn and grow.
What rises up in you as you read that last line? Something about quality, excellence, and standards? Cringing about the out-of-tune singer, the out-of-time drummer?
Do you know what I dream about? I dream that every single worship ministry would be able to develop people. That its leaders would have the heart and the ability to mentor, train, and develop both the newbie and the old-timer. That they would have the drive to assess where their team’s skills are lacking and work together with them to grow. I wish they would design their weekly rhythms around giving their team greater confidence.
I was just hearing about a church whose previous worship director had this heart, but the new director didn’t and people were either stagnating or falling by the wayside because of it.
I also realize that a big part of why Ad Lib exists is to equip leaders to be this kind of leader - an equipper! Our coaching is designed to help you figure out how you (uniquely) would do that. Maybe it’s time to bring us in to coach your team at a rehearsal or sign up for a season of one on one mentoring.
How can you start today to shift your rhythms to develop people?
Have a midweek rehearsal and invite new people to stop by and try things out
Give great chord charts and recordings in the right keys to the team two weeks before rehearsals
Ask others to lead at least one song each set
Rotate who leads team devotions at rehearsal
Take your team to lead at a neighboring church’s youth group
Take your team to seminars, conferences, and retreats
Pray! Ask the Lord to give you His heart to build the team in His Church
-Dave Helmuth
(purchase my book, "Worship Fertilizer: (the first hundred)" HERE)
The Wrong Fix (Nº 312)
