A worship leader told me once that the summer was the worst time of year for him and his team to grow. He went on to explain that because of this, he took it easy during the summer, didn’t challenge his team (or himself) to grow and just coasted through until fall arrived.
What I told him next was hard for him to swallow, but absolutely true. Read more
What do Sunday services and peach orchards have in common?
I’ll explain in a moment, but first would you agree that a prerequisite for every worship leader must is a full-out love of Sunday?
I know, I know . . . sounds simple. But before you answer . . .
When I say “Love Sunday” I don’t just mean the “20 minutes of glory” that happens when you and I are leading music, the band is rockin’, the Spirit is moving, and we’re on top of the world.
Loving Sunday also means loving the work of preparation for Sunday. And let’s face it, that’s not always easy to love!
The administrative, the menial, the scheduling, emailing, printing charts, preparing for planning meetings, repairing gear… if we’re honest most of us don’t love those things nearly as much as the “20 minutes of glory”.
Yet, they are just as much a part of a life-transforming Sunday worship service as standing onstage and leading worship. In fact without them, Sunday would never happen!
So let me ask again . . . do you love Sunday?
Some worship leaders (by my definition) don’t.
They only want what I call “the goody”?
That is, they only want to be onstage leading, and could really do without the hassle of the administrative prep work that goes into making Sunday great.
They want the fruit without the work. But it just doesn’t work that way.
I grew up on a farm, and one of my favorite things in life are homegrown peaches.
My grandfather owned a peach orchard with hundreds of trees in it, and during the summer that’s where I worked. It was grueling, hot, sweaty work. The job came complete with wasps and sunburns (and that was just before lunch).
It was hard work. But you know . . . I think one of the reasons I love peaches so much is because I had to work for them. I sweat over them. I had some skin in the game long before I took the first bite.
The same is true for us and our love of Sunday. Long before we are able to enjoy the fruit of Sunday, we have to learn to do the work of Sunday.
It reminds me of a quote I read recently by Jim Rohn:
He writes: “Somebody said you have to love what you do, but that’s not necessarily true. What is true is that you have to love the opportunity. The opportunity to build life, future, health, success …. Knocking on someone’s door or making that extra call may not be something you love to do, but you love the opportunity of what might be behind that door or call.”
I may not be crazy about all of the tasks I do each week, but I absolutely LOVE the opportunity that completing those tasks brings. And the truth is that leading with excellence on Sunday begins with pursuing excellence in everything I put my hands to during the week.
That’s what it means to love Sunday. And that’s what it means (in my book) to be called as a worship leader in the church.
So . . . “Do you love Sunday?” I hope so!
PS – Leading music each week is only 10% (at best) of what you contribute to your church. It’s the other 90% that defines the course of your ministry career!
As a worship leader God has given you a unique calling, and loving Sunday is just part of it. In The Call of Worship Leader resource, you will discover the four key areas to your calling, and how they determine you overall effectiveness in ministry.
Whether you are a new worship leader, considering a call to worship leading, or have been leading worship for years, this resource will help you discover:
And if you aren’t absolutely satisfied with this resource (or any of my resources for that matter) simply return your product within 365 days for a prompt and courteous refund.
Download your copy here
Jason Hatley
Pastor of Worship Arts
The Journey Church
www.worshipleaderinsights.com
www.jasonhatley.wordpress.com
TUESDAY MORNING INSIGHTS is Jason Hatley’s free weekly training resource specifically designed to provide you as a worship leader with proven principles, tips and practices to help you lead a healthy and thriving Worship Arts Team.
CAUTION! Uttering these five words is certain to bring disaster to your services and your team. It will create unnecessary stress, and without a doubt lead to confusion and missed opportunities.
It may even be bad for the environment and make puppies sick.
OK – so maybe those last two are a stretch (ha!), but I believe the other side-effects will definitely happen if you say these five dangerous words.
What are they? I hesitate to put them in writing, but for your sake, let me share them. They are: Read more
