Jason Hatley, Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey Church in NYC with Nelson Searcy is our guest blogger this week:

So, how did your homework go from yesterday?  Hopefully you have some clarity on the important relationship between the Pastor and Worship Pastor.

Since you did so well on yesterday’s homework, today I have a quiz for you.  Of the four choices below, what set of words best describes your  current Pastor/Worship Pastor relationship when it comes to worship planning?

1.    You do your thing and I’ll do mine.  I’ll see you on Sunday morning.

2.    We’re not against planning life-transforming worship services together, we just don’t have the structure, system, time and/or resources to do it.

3.    We are working together to implement some creative elements, but it’s not always consistent.

4.    We are working together in a structured way to plan in advance, and create relevant, creative, God-honoring, life-transforming worship services every week.

Ok – so what number did you choose?  Like it or not, getting honest on the answer to that question is the starting point for maximizing the Pastor/Worship Pastor relationship.

As you might imagine, #4 is the goal, and what I refer to as a Actively Engaged Pastor/Worship Pastor relationship.  In this relationship the pastor and worship pastor are hands on in creating the worship service from start to finish (not just their respective parts).  They are both giving and receiving ideas and feedback on the service.  There is a true synergy to the worship planning process.

So, if the Actively Engaged Relationship is the goal, how do you get there.  That is the question I will answer in the next two posts.

For now, answer these two questions:

1. Which of those four scenarios represents my outlook on planning worship services?

2. Which of those four scenarios represents my pastors/worship pastors outlook on planning services?

The key is getting on the same page. Tomorrow, we’ll figure out what page that is!

Jason

PS:  Check out the Free Webinar I am doing for Worship Leaders on Thursday, October 30.  Learn how to overcome the Top 3 challenges that every worship leader faces in this 2-hour event.  Visit  www.WorshipLeaderInsights.com/events for more info.

While you are there, be sure to sign-up for my free monthly newsletter!

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About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.