Jason Hatley here, Pastor of Worship Arts @ The Journey Church, and today I want to talk to both Pastors and Worship Leaders. You see… the most important relationship inside the church is the relationship between the Pastor and Worship Leader.
There’s good reason for this . . . the pastor and worship leader have the most influence on the worship service, you are the two most visible leaders in the church, and you both provide leadership to key people in the church.So the health of the Pastor / Worship Leader relationship really speaks to the health of the worship service (and the church) itself.
That’s why, as a Worship Leader, it’s important to diligently work on the relationship between you and your pastor. Beyond just “getting along” to “working together as a great team”.
In over a decade of ministry at The Journey Church, I’ve discovered that there are specific things that my pastor (Nelson) needs from me every week. And the same is true for every worship leader!
Provide them, and your relationship will grow stronger. Miss them, and well… I suggest you don’t miss them – ha!
Here are the Top 3 Things that YOUR Pastor Needs from You:
#1 – SUPPORT YOUR PASTOR’S VISION
The #1 thing your pastor needs from you as a worship pastor is support of his vision for leading the church. God gave your pastor the responsibility of the overall leadership of your church. And it’s a big one!
Our role as worship pastors is to carry the flag for our pastors. To pray for them, to speak well of them, to publicly support them. You may have disagreements behind closed doors (that’s natural), but when the door opens you should 100% support the leadership, vision and decisions of your Pastor.
This is an area where some worship pastors struggle. They feel their pastor isn’t clear in his vision. They feel stuck because they can’t get ahead in their current structure.Let me lay out a challenge: Things may not be perfect (they never will), but remember… there are two people in the Pastor / Worship Leader relationship. Do everything that you can to succeed in your role, and go to work on the relationship.
#2 – EXCEL IN YOUR AREA
The best gift you can give your pastor is the peace of mind that you are leading your area well. When things are going well in your area, you free him up to keep his eyes on other important leadership matters in the church. The Pastor should never take his eyes off your area because it is so important to the health of your services, but when you are leading with excellence he won’t have to give undue energy to fixing things that aren’t quite working.
#3 – EVALUATE AND IMPROVE CONSTANTLY
The #1 way to make your services better week-to-week AND make yourself completely irreplaceable is to develop the skill of evaluating and constantly improving yourself, your team, and your services.On Sunday keep a list of things that are working and things that aren’t working. Make evaluation part of your weekly worship planning meeting. Assign responsibility to fix whatever is wrong and try to do it as quickly as possible.By simply “reviewing the game tape” of Sunday, you can improve your service 1%-2% this week. Over the course of the next 6-12 months, you will have increased your service effectiveness by 100%!So how are you doing? Rate yourself, and then take some time this week to discuss with your pastor what you can do to provide what he needs.Your partner in ministry,
PS: These are just 3 of the 10 Responsibilities that Every Worship Pastor has to the Pastor. I teach all 10 of these (PLUS MUCH MORE) in the Worship Pastor Tele-Coaching Network.
And I want to invite YOUR WORSHIP LEADER to be a part of my brand new Coaching Network that begins in in just 2 weeks on Friday, October 11. PLUS – Apply today and IMMEDIATELY receive over $813.00 in FREE ministry and personal growth resources! Go to www.worshipleaderinsights.com/coaching to learn more and apply today!
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