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
I admit it. I have not always had a love of reading. But it didn’t take long as a young Worship Leader at The Journey for me to recognize my need to read in order to survive in ministry, much less lead a thriving worship team.
I first started in ministry at age 23. I was fresh out of college. I had been a worship leader, but I had never been a Worship Pastor in the church before. I could stand onstage and lead worship, but I couldn’t write a task list, build teams, lead people . . . you get the picture.
It was at that point – aware of my personal and ministry shortcomings, and certain that I needed to make a change – that I developed a love for reading. Read more
Today we wrap up the 3-part series on Leading a Growing Worship Team, and I think today’s topic is one of the most important leadership principles for doing just that.
Two weeks ago we talked about how Personal Growth ALWAYS Precedes Ministry Growth.
Last week I talked to you about the importance of Raising New Leaders to help you carry the load of a growing team.
And here’s #3 . . . Read more
Do you remember the story of Michael that I shared with you last week? He is a fellow worship leader (and a member of my coaching network) who, after leading a round of auditions, recently found himself at the helm of a fast growing worship ministry.
Like many of us would be . . . a new level of leadership is a bit overwhelming, but he’s growing through it and doing a great job.
Have you ever found yourself there . . . under the mounting stress of leading a worship team (regardless of the size) that just felt like it was more than you could handle at the time? I have!
Wherever you are in ministry — whether you lead 20 or 200 people on your worship team — there are leadership principles that can help remove the stress and maximize the gifts and opportunities that a growing worship ministry holds.
We kicked off this 3-part series by talking about how our personal growth ALWAYS precedes our ministry growth last week.
And now here’s leadership principle #2 . . . Read more
Every week I receive emails from worship leaders, but I was blown away by this one. Take a look:
“We just had our 2nd round of auditions this past Sunday. Trembling with excitement and fear in response to what’s happening here… Through our most recent auditions process “Journey style”… we have added about 40 new team members. I have been feeling the extra work load of the growth we experienced. Now, I am close to feeling like a deer in the headlights… This boy needs a new set of skills!!! (not to mention, a vacation 🙂 So looking forward to seeing what God is going to do next!”
Have you ever been there before? Overwhelmed by God’s blessing on your ministry and not quite sure of what to do next? Read more
They say “The Devil is in the Details” and nowhere is that more true than in preparing for your Easter service.
He (the devil) would like nothing better than to minimize the impact of your church this Easter, and one of the simplest ways he does it is through overlooked opportunities and missed details.
As you’ve no doubt heard me say before . . . when it comes to our worship services, the details matter!
Harvey Mackay says, “The little things don’t mean a lot. They mean everything!” And Charles Swindoll says, “The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.”
As worship leaders, part of our role in preparing for Easter (or any worship service for that matter) is to pay attention to the details and don’t allow little things to become big things.
So today, I want to share with you a very personal 7 point check-list. You’ve heard me talk about the power of a check-list in the past. I love check-lists because they help you account for all the details and not miss even the smallest things when it comes to your worship services. Read more
I’m not talking about your Top 5 80’s love songs (though I do love power ballads). No – I have something a little more important in mind.
Here’s what I mean: If I were to ask you to write down on a sheet of paper the TOP 5 MOST CRUCIAL activities that you do as a leader in your church, could you name them?
This is a question we asked in a Journey staff meeting years ago and one that I oftentimes ask to the Worship Leaders in my coaching networks.
The question is simple on the surface, but powerfully clarifying when you take time to answer.
The truth is many pastors and worship leaders are more likely to be busy than effective. There’s a distinct difference. As Peter Drucker says, “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”
And not because they don’t want to make the biggest impact for the kingdom possible, but because in ministry it is so easy to be distracted by the urgent and allow the important slide by.
So back to this powerful little question – “What are your TOP 5 PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES that make the biggest impact in your church?”
Here are 3 reasons why answering this question (along with your pastor – VERY IMPORTANT) are worth your time and effort, and after this I’ll share a few of mine.
I admit it. I have not always had a love of reading. But it didn’t take long as a young Worship Pastor at The Journey for me to recognize my need to read in order to survive in ministry, much less lead a thriving worship team.
I first started in ministry at age 23. I was fresh out of college. I had been a worship leader, but I had never been a Worship Pastor in the church before. I could stand onstage and lead worship, but I couldn’t write a task list, build teams, lead people . . . you get the picture.
It was at that point – aware of my personal and ministry shortcomings, and certain that I needed to make a change – that I developed a love for reading.
