Communicating With The Team

Communication is an invaluable part of any relationship. And when you are serving on a team, there must be clear, open, honest, and frequent communication to be able to move together toward a common goal. And that common goal for those of us that serve on worship and production teams is to enable the people of God to proclaim the truths of the Gospel together in song, word, prayer, and gathering.

Communication with your team should begin before you gather for a rehearsal or service. Who are the musicians who are serving? What songs are you singing? What are the keys? Are there elements outside of the service that will affect the way you move through the service? What are the structures of your songs, and transitions? Communicating these details again and again, in writing and aloud will be incredibly helpful for your team to be able to move in the same direction together.

Consistency in your communication is just as important as what you say. When can the team expect to hear from you about when they are serving, the set lists, and any changes to the normal rhythms? Will you communicate everything individually, through a Facebook group, an email chain, or Planning Center? Ultimately, you need to use the tool that makes the most sense for you and your team, but building regular rhythms of communication from week to week, as well as month to month, is essential to creating consistency of expectation for the team.

The rehearsal is a locus point of communication for the team. Again, finding a consistent way that you move through rehearsals will build familiarity and comfort for the team. Walking your team through the order of service, clarifying parts, setting expectations, and giving space for questions in regards to the liturgy should be incorporated frequently for a team to have clear communication.

Finally, clarity is a necessity with as many moving parts as we oversee as worship leaders. Holding the larger picture of the whole morning, and how every aspect of those we lead contributes to what we are trying to accomplish in a morning. Practice what and how you will walk your team through rehearsals and a service, make notes, write it down until there is clarity in what and how you are communicating.

October 11: Tuesday Refocus

“A gospel of reconciliation can only be communicated by a reconciled community.” - E. Stanley Jones

The chasm between one sinful person and another sinful person will never be as eternal as the chasm between a sinful person and a Holy God. But thanks be to God, because in Christ ‘…all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him…” (Colossians 1:19-22).

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so (Psalm 107:2). We must remind ourselves of our own reconciliation to God. We must remind our brothers and sisters in Christ of the way God has reconciled us to Himself. And this reconciliation should be evidence to the world of the life and peace that is available in Christ.

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) Amen.

Reconciled,

AB

9 October: Liturgy + Set List

• GOD SO LOVED

  Call to Worship: Ephesians 2:4-7

  The Good News of the gospel is not that God takes good people and makes them better. The good news of the Gospel is that God takes dead people and makes them alive. And if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you are someone who was once dead and has been made alive in Christ. That is not something that you have earned, achieved, accomplished, or deserve - but it is simply a gift of Grace from a God who is rich in mercy. And this morning we are going to teach you a new song that reminds us of who Jesus is, what He has done, and how we as His people are invited to rest, depend and abide in Christ. We’ll teach you the chorus first:

• ABIDE

• HYMN OF HEAVEN

  Sermon: Romans 6:1-11

  Life in Christ is first death to self. Life in Christ is first dying to our sin, so that we may be raised to new life in Christ. Your sin not in part, but the whole has been nailed to the cross of Christ, and you bear it no more - praise the Lord. Let’s celebrate and confess what we believe about our faith in the words of the Apostles’ Creed:

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

• COME BEHOLD THE WONDROUS MYSTERY

• A THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS

  Benediction: Hebrews 13:20-21

Singing Theologians

I define worship as the right response of our whole lives to God’s revelation of Himself. That is a definition that I have Frankensteined from some of the most helpful definitions I have heard over the years.

In Romans 12, Paul tells that all of life is a spiritual act of worship lived in response to the mercies of God. This means that right worship does not begin with us, it begins with God. God reveals Himself to us, and we must respond.

God created us worshipping, but sin broke that perfect response of worship. Sin did not stop our worship, it distorted, and warped our worship - making us worship everything and everyone besides God (This is a concept I learned from Harold Best in his book, Unceasing Worship). But right worship is living our whole lives in worshipful response to God.

In Romans 3, Paul tells us that no one seeks God. Again we see that right worship is only our response to God’s revelation of Himself. So if we are merely responding, how does God reveal himself to us? There are many ways, here are five:

Through Jesus. We see the glory of God in the face of the Son. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Through His Spirit. The Spirit leads us into all truth. John 16:13

Through His Word. All scripture is breathed out by God. 2 Timothy 3:16

Through His Church. We are His ambassadors on earth. 2 Corinthians 5:20

Through His Creation. The heavens declare the glory of God. Everyone is without excuse. Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20

Why does any of this matter? Why should it be important for worship leaders to be people who deeply know, believe, treasure, and study the person and work of God? Because every one of us is a worshiper, and every one of us is a theologian. Professor Gordon D. Fee says,

“Show me a church’s songs and I’ll show you their theology.”

As worship leaders we do not lead songs, we lead people. We are in fact singing theologians.

October 4: Tuesday Refocus

“…suffering can never be solved. It can only be shared in compassion, shared in community, and every effort to put ourselves in charge of the relief effort weakens the very sharing in which our hope resides.” - Parker Palmer

Sorrow, suffering, pain, and death are normal and common living in a world after the Fall of Genesis 3. But we know this is not the world God intended for humanity. Perhaps this is why we resist the reality of brokenness with such force - because we know it is not supposed to be this way. As followers of Jesus, we can rest in the truth that, ‘The last enemy to be destroyed is death.’ Because Jesus died a death to sin ‘…once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God.’ (1 Corinthians 15:26, Romans 6:10).

Knowing that death has died frees us from the need to fix its sway over this already and not yet world. The death of death enables us to suffer with and to weep with those who weep, rather than attempt to fix something Christ will make new (Romans 12:15, Revelation 21:5).

Jesus, as you wept over the grave of your friend Lazarus, knowing full well that you would raise him to life, may we weep with those who weep, knowing that you will one day make all things new once more. Amen.

With,

AB

2 October: Liturgy + Set List

• BEFORE THE THRONE

  Call to Worship: Psalm 139:7-12,17-18

  In the depths and in the heights, in the sorrow and in the joy, inside of me, and outside of me - there is no place where God is not present, aware, ruling, and reigning. And for followers of Jesus, this should be a comfort that draws us closer to the Lord. We’re going to sing this morning about the way that God has and continues to pursue His people. We are going to begin with a song that we have sung a few times here, but can be a bit tricky, so we’ll sing the chorus, and the bridge before we get into the song:

• JESUS!

• NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD

  Sermon: 1 Peter 3:18-19

“Because Jesus has descended into hell there is no reality in which Christ has not declared victory. There is no realm over which Christ does not have authority. There is no moment in which Christ does not offer hope.” Let’s celebrate and rehearse that victory, authority, and hope by confessing what we believe about our faith through the words of the Apostles’ Creed. Would you stand:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

• GOODNESS OF GOD

• DEATH WAS ARRESTED

  Benediction

Growing Theologically

The primary work of leading worship is not musical, it is pastoral. Even the regular rhythms of our week, choosing songs, building set lists, leading rehearsals, communicating with team members, working with a pastor, and leading during services, are primarily about shepherding people. If the primary work of leading worship is pastoral more than musical, our preparation and development should represent a desire to be shaped theologically and pastorally. It is easy to be tempted toward musical ability at the expense of theological depth. I do not believe these realities need to be mutually exclusive. But it will require an investment of time and intentionality. If you would like to grow theologically but are unsure where to begin, here are a few things to consider:

Relationships. Who are the people within your community, church, and relational sphere who are deep, wise, Godly people? Pursuing those people with intentional questions about their knowledge and understanding of who God is and what He has done, as well as resources they would recommend is a great place to start.

Free Resources. Many of my favorite writers, publishing companies, seminaries, and parachurch organizations offer material for free online. Reformed Theological Seminary posts all of its courses for free here. Sovereign Grace Music also offers a Worship Matters Video Intensive for free here. Glean from the edges and margin of your life with a few of these free resources.

Give regular time. Ultimately we give time to the things we value. Even 20 minutes of reading, one online class, or a single coffee meeting can help stretch, grow and develop our theological muscles.

Let the secret place be wider and deeper than the public platform. Jesus was often going away to a quiet, desolate place to pray and be with His Father. With such visible and public roles, we need to make sure that we are spending time cultivating our own relationship with God outside of what we do for God.

September 27: Tuesday Refocus

“God is always relaxed.” - A.W. Tozer

The One who spoke the universe into existence sustains it by the word of His power (Psalm 33:9, Hebrews 1:3). He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). He is not served by human hands, as though He needed anything since it is God who gives to all mankind life, breath, and everything (Acts 17:25). If He were hungry, he would not tell us for the world and all its fullness belong to Him (Psalm 50:12). He declares the end from the beginning, and His counsel shall stand, and He will accomplish His purpose (Isaiah 46:10). By His Word, he discerns the thoughts and intentions of the human heart (Hebrews 4:12).

There is nothing out of His control.

Nothing that surprises Him.

And there is no wrong that He will not set right (Revelation 21:5).

He is not worried or frantic.

He is not fearful or dismayed.

He invites us to take His easy yoke, and light burden (Matthew 11:30).

Lord, may we rest in You. The One who is always relaxed. Amen.

Resting,

AB

25 September: Liturgy + Set List

• GRACE ALONE

  Call to Worship: Psalm 143:8

  Could there be a better way to begin the morning than with the reality that the love of God is steadfast? His mercy is new this morning, His grace is sufficient, let’s lift our souls to Him as we set our trust in God.

• WAYMAKER

• SON OF SUFFERING

  Sermon: John 18:28-19:42

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, 

Maker of heaven and earth; 

and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, 

suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried. 

He descended into hell. 

The third day he rose again from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; 

from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Spirit, 

the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, 

the forgiveness of sins, 

the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Jesus died the death we deserved, so that we can enjoy the life that Christ deserves. Let’s sing and celebrate:

• GLORIOUS DAY

• Benediction

Theology Matters

Theology is the study of the nature of God. The word theology comes from two Greek words: Theos - meaning God, and Logia - meaning to study.

I have heard worship leaders, both staff and volunteer, both musician and vocalist, and both sound and technology describe themselves as musicians, artists, and creatives. Rarely have I heard anyone describe themselves as a theologian. Because the truth is many of us see our role as primarily musical, not pastoral, and therefore do not value theology in the same way we value excellence in our musical pursuits. But as C.S. Lewis reminds us:

"If you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean you have no ideas about God. It will mean you have a lot of wrong ones."

Theology should matter to worship leaders for the same reason it should matter to every follower of Christ: our understanding of God shapes everything about who we are. As A.W. Tozer famously said,

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

Theology should matter to us as worship leaders because:

Worship is formative. We are putting words in people’s mouths to understand who God is, what He has done, and who we are as His people, and express their hearts to God.

Because we need to be wise. We need to know the songs that we are choosing are saying something true about God. Because our words and our songs are teaching people about God.

Because it realigns our priorities. When knowing, loving, and walking with God is in its rightful place, everything else falls into place.

Because God looks at the heart. Talent is obvious, and visible, and honestly, easy to come by. But it is God who sees and judges our hearts.

Because you are first a follower. Before a role, or title or responsibilities as a worship leader, you are a disciple of Jesus. And every disciple of Jesus will become more and more like Him.

Theology matters. Let it matter to you as a follower of Jesus. And let it matter to you as a worship leader.

September 20: Tuesday Refocus

“May I seek after an increase of divine love to thee, after unreserved resignation to thy will.” - Puritan Prayer

Love and surrender walk hand-in-hand. Because sacrifice is an indication of the depth of love: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

If we truly understood the depths of God’s mercy, we would have no hesitation in offering ourselves as a spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1). If we saw how deeply Christ had served us, we would wholeheartedly serve others (Matthew 20:28). If we knew that God first loved us, how constant we would love in response (1 John 4:19).

“Take my will and make it Thine; 

it shall be no longer mine. 

Take my heart, it is Thine own; 

it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour

At Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be

Ever, only all for Thee.”

Frances R. Havergal (1836-1879)

May it be so, Lord. Surrender and love are the obvious outward of Your generous love towards us as Your people. In Christ’s name, amen.

Ever, only, all for Thee,

AB

Revelation and Response

Worship is more than a song, more than a period of time on a Sunday morning, more than the exclusive act of musicians. Worship is a rhythm of revelation and response. And we see this rhythm all throughout Scripture – people going about their normal lives, then God breaks in reveals Himself and everything changes:

Noah – a man who found favor.


Abraham – a pagan called out to be a blessing


Joseph – a not so self-aware little brother who God used for the provision and protection of many – setting the stage for a rescue and redemption for God’s people after 400 years of captivity.


Moses – a runaway called by God back to His people to lead them out of captivity and toward the promised land.


Rahab – a prostitute turned believer, and protector for God’s people.

Hannah – a mother who gladly gives back to God the child her heart desperately desires.


David – a boy called from the sheep field to shepherd and lead God’s people
Isaiah – a prophet who sees God, and is joyfully sent to proclaim

John the Baptist – set apart from before birth to make straight the path to Christ


Mary – a teenage girl who’s response was ‘let it be done to me as you have said.’

Joseph – a man whose plan for a quiet life was interrupted to become the adopted earthly Father of Jesus
Zacheus – a tax collector and crook, in repentance became generous

A woman at a well – completely seen, completely known, completely accepted, completely loved

The sick, the lame, the demon-posed, the blind, the cast-offs, the least of these, the little children, the poor, the sinners – all finding their wholeness when God meets them.


Saul turned Paul – a murderer of Christians, and the instrument of God to take the Gospel to the gentiles.

Let’s plan and prepare. Let’s give our people words and songs that reveal the heart and character of God. Let’s be expectant that God will move and reveal Himself, and that everything will change.