Serving

I get weird about the words we use in church. It’s not a stage, it’s a platform. We’re followers of Jesus rather than Christians. We’re not gigging, playing, singing, or even volunteering - we’re serving. For me, serving carries the idea that we are here for Someone and something outside of ourselves. We have responsibilities apart from our own goals and agenda. And our serving should be in response to the God who “…came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).”

How might we model service in our serving? Perhaps it looks like:

Serving the congregation you have, not the congregation you wish you had. Serving with the musicians you have, not the musicians you wish you had. Serving with the equipment you have, not the equipment you wish you had.

Sometimes that might mean choosing a key that wouldn’t be your first choice.

Sometimes that might look like introducing a song that will speak to your people but may not have been at the top of your list.

At one year's LIFT Conference, I heard Christy Nockels talk about how she envisions leading worship as table waiting - choosing the linens, cutlery, and the meal's pacing.

When we come to the house and table of the Lord, it is always God himself who is the feat. And waiting on this table means we are not focused on our own consumption or the feeding of a few, but at the insistence of the Master of the feast, we call people to taste and see that the Lord is good (Luke 14:23, Psalm 34:8).

Asking Someone To Step Off The Team

Relationships are hard work.

Relationships with volunteers you are leading can also be hard work.

There can be an unstated expectation that in the life of a church, if someone wants to serve they should be allowed, regardless of their level of skill, or their personal integrity. After all, are we not called to extend grace and forgiveness? Are we not told that every member of the Body brings something useful and beautiful to the Body?

As followers of Jesus, our first responsibility is to lead and shepherd our own hearts, and the hearts of our families. Then as people who carry a role of responsibility within the local church, we are called to shepherd and lead the team we serve, and then the wider congregation. One of the ways we shepherd our team, and the people of God is by guarding in humility who is on the platform.

What we must acknowledge is that every member of our team is a worship leader whether they ever hold a microphone or exercise any authority. There is a level of trust our pastors, elders, and congregations are placing in us to shepherd the congregation well by first shepherding who is on the platform. For me, this means several things, first, I want to have a relationship with the people who are serving on my team outside of our shared common task. I want to know them, and for them to know me. I want to be aware of the shape of their life, and how I can pray for, love, and shepherd them as we serve together. It means I never want to rush someone into a place of leadership or authority. Discipleship is the long game, and I am okay to go slow in onboarding new people to the team. This also means that I want clear communication and expectations about what it means to serve as a member of this team. Not just in the expectations on the platform, or the sound booth, but in the way we are to lead lives of worship, submit to the leadership of our local church, commit to the community of faith, faithfully give, and serve as we invest in our own personal walk with the Lord.

These boundary lines obviously do not prevent being placed in a position to ask someone to step off the team or to take a break from serving for a season, but I have found that clarity, in the beginning, relationships that extend past a shared common task, provide the loving context for these kinds of conversations to take place.

The truth is sin easily entangles. We should not be surprised by this in the lives of people with whom we serve, because we should be aware of this reality in our own lives. We must be humble and prayerful whenever we approach a brother or sister caught in sin - and keep watch over ourselves (Galatians 6:1).

As worship leaders, we are not solely responsible for the care and shepherding of those we lead, but we can often be the first line of defense. We may be more aware of the nuances of the lives of the people with whom we serve than any other leader or person within our churches.

Life moves in seasons. Perhaps you need to ask someone to step off the team not because of ongoing and unrepentant sin, but because that individual is in a season of life where they need to be encouraged to place their energy and efforts elsewhere. Maybe that is in their family, their studies, or in a different area of ministry within the church. When we help shepherd our team through seasons it confronts in us the tendency to hoard, or possess the people that God has entrusted to us, and frees those we lead to serve with joy rather than obligation or compulsion.

Assessment and Stewardship

Assessing a team made up largely of volunteers may seem cold, formal, or too professional. These people willingly give their time, energy, and talents, shouldn’t we just let ‘em at it? Does creating some kind of expectation of excellence and growth focus our work externally when what we should really be concerned about is the heart?

As with many things we hold tensions. On one side we are commanded to play skillfully (Ps 33:3). On the other, we know that the Lord seeks true worshipers - and true worshipers live a life marked by worship (Jn 4:23, Rom 12). But I would like to suggest that these two tensions hold hands. And our responsibility as leaders of a team is to hold both tensions on behalf of those we serve.

Assessing our teams requires a shift in perspective. We can easily mistake assessment for comparison - contrasting what you see in other worship teams, and other churches, or even among the individuals serving in your team. Comparison is a perverted form of assessment. Assessing your team is about stewarding well the gifts and resources God has entrusted to your Church, your leadership, and the worship team. And as leaders, we carry the gift and responsibility of calling forth life from those we serve alongside. To name what we see. To encourage and fan the flame of beauty, goodness, and truth.

As you begin to assess the team, I suggest a grid of four categories to consider: Musical, Theological, Practical, and Leadership. These four categories help us to think holistically about the individual, not just about the way in which they fit into the team. I have a free assessment tool that gives you questions for each category, you may download the assessment tool here. And when you’re ready to move your team from assessment to actionable steps you can schedule a phone consultation with me, here.

People are not obstacles to overcome or tools to use, they are image-bearers of God, entrusted to our leadership to love, serve, and call forth life. What a sobering reality for those of us that lead teams.