Archive for category: Auditions

With the passing of Hurricane Irene the last few days it seems that everywhere I turn I hear people saying, “You need to have a plan.”

I agree . . . after 10 years of living in NYC and now living in South Florida, my family and I are big believers in having an emergency plan. 🙂

And that started me thinking . . . The best way to ride out the storms of life (and ministry) is to have a plan for how to deal with them BEFORE they come.

Chances are you are in a storm right now. I dare say that many worship leaders are in the midst of a hurricane of their own.

You may feel stuck, overwhelmed, under-equipped, outpaced, uninspired, or just plain dead on your feet.

• If you’re in a season of starting something new chances are your passion is higher than your ability right now as you are learning how to build a healthy team and healthy systems.
• If you’re in a season of growth you may be riding the wave as you watch God do great things in your church while at the same time trying not to drown beneath it all.
• If you’re in a season of stagnation you may be wondering how to regain some of the passion you once had for ministry and kick-start your team once again.
• If you’re in a season of decline you are probably asking “How did we get here and how can we turn it around . . . and fast?”

Wherever you are in the ministry cycle the key to thriving in the midst of the storm is to develop your plan.
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What are your Pressure Points?

“Pressure Points” is a phrase I use in my Worship Pastor Tele-Coaching Networks to describe any area of your ministry that is putting extra pressure on you right now.

It could be the pressure of adding a new service, dealing with a difficult team member, needing to add new volunteers to your team, implementing a new system in your team, or a rift in your relationship with your pastor.

(If you have all five of the above I would say you have more than a Pressure Point . . . you have a Pressure Cooker in the works).

Pressure Points can be new initiatives, current challenges, or old problems that won’t go away.

We will always have Pressure Points in ministry. And some are better than others. Let me explain.

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Last week we started this discussion on what we can and can’t do to help our team members grow. After all, there are things we can (and MUST) do as the pastors and leaders in this area, but there are also some things that simply CANNOT do for our team members. . . things they have to do for themselves in order to grow spiritually and in their ministry roles.

Today I want to focus on one of the things WE MUST do. Something I consider to be the primary growth factor of your worship team . . . YOU! That’s right – the growth and health of your team and my team is largely dependent on how you and I are growing as leaders.

John Maxwell called this the Law of the Lid saying, “Leadership ability is the lid that determines a person’s level of effectiveness. The lower an individual’s ability to lead, the lower the lid of his or her potential. The higher the leadership, the greater the effectiveness.”

We are effective in leading and growing our teams to the extent that we are leading and growing ourselves. I’ve seen this law applied to everyone of the 150+ worship leaders I’ve coached over the last 5 years . . . and to myself too!

As a young worship leader 10 years ago, I didn’t have the skills that I needed to build teams, plan worship services, even manage a task list. There were a lot of books I needed to read, seminars I needed to attend, worship leaders I need to meet and get coached by.

It was work, but it was worth it! I bet you have a similar experience.

I call this the Personal Challenge. The Personal Challenge is the first and most important challenge that you face in ministry. It is the challenge of becoming the leader that God has called you to be.
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“When is the last time you had a physical?” I asked myself that question as I was setting my goals for 2011 and I didn’t like the answer. So I decided to get a physical earlier this year. And not just the basics . . . the works!

Among a litany of tests I received, by far the most important was the EKG. As you know an EKG measures the health of your heart.

An EKG is important because regardless of how well you do on all of your other physical exams, if your heart fails . . . well, the rest of your body will, too.

That principle is true in life . . . and ministry!

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