It’s Jason Hatley, Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey Church with a quick question for you?
When is the last time you read the story of Samuel anointing David as the future King of Israel (see 1 Samuel 16)? It’s one of the great stories of the Old Testament, and as I was reading it this week it took on a whole new meaning for me as a pastor and a worship leader.
Let me explain . . .
In the Old Testament when a person was pronounced king, they underwent the tradition of being anointed with oil. The oil was poured on the soon-to-be king’s head. From there it ran down the hair, through the beard and all over the body.
This symbolized two important things . . . God’s spirit being poured out on the new King (1 Samuel 16:13), and the belief that as goes the King (oil running down the head), so goes the Kingdom (running over the rest of the body).
As goes the King, so goes the Kingdom.
What an incredible illustration of the power of Godly leadership . . . both then and now!
To make this even more personal think of it this way . . .
“As goes the pastor, so goes the church.”
OR
“As goes the worship leader so, so goes the worship team.”
Humbling isn’t it?
You and I carry the responsibility not only of our own health and growth, but also for our churches and our teams.
When we are growing, our churches will as well. But when we’re stagnant . . . well you know how this sentence ends.
This principle is true across all areas of our ministry:
- Your team will be ready for rehearsal to the extent that you are ready for rehearsal.
- Your team will pray for and prepare for Sunday to the extent that you do.
- Your team will model Christ-likeness and generosity to the extent that you do.
- Your team will . . . you get the picture!
So, as leaders of churches and worship ministries we must have a constant focus on our own personal growth — spiritual, leadership, artistic, etc — because you can bet our teams have a constant eye us!
Over the next few weeks I want to share with you THREE WAYS that you can invest in your personal growth (and as a result the growth of your team) this year.
Let’s cover the first one today . . .
#1 – CREATE A WRITTEN PLAN FOR YOUR GROWTH
You will grow only to the point that you plan to grow.
If you approach personal growth (in any area of your life) with little thought, goals or plans, don’t be surprised when you find yourself in virtually the same ruts a year from now that you’re in right now.
Personal growth requires planning.
In my coaching networks I walk worship leaders just like you through a process of how to create a one-year personal growth plan. This growth plan has one simple purpose – to assure that you are growing in your faith, your family life, your ministry and other key areas over the next 12 months.
It is a powerful process that provides a written game-plan for the year ahead and markers to help you stay on track.
Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision and make it plain…”
God’s instruction to Habakkuk can also apply to you and I.
Write down a clear vision / plan for what you want to see God do in and through you this year, and you will likely see it come to be!
Next week we’ll talk about Step #2, but for now here are some thoughts to help you get started on your written growth plan:
- Set aside one-hour this week to write down your plan for growth in the following areas:* Faith – your spiritual growth plan* Family – goals you have for your family / marriage / relationships* Reading – books and topics you want to read
* Ministry – milestones you want to celebrate and challenges you need to overcome
- Pray and ask God to help you accomplish your goals / plans for these areas.
- Post your plan in a place you can see it everyday to help you stay on track.
Your partner in ministry,
PS – Are you ready to GROW YOURSELF AND YOUR MINISTRY this year?
I want to invite you to be a part of my NEW Tele-Coaching network for Worship Leaders beginning on March 16. And when you apply by February 15 and are accepted into the network, you will receive over $733.00 in savings and bonuses.
I have personally coached 200 Worship Leaders in the last 6 years through these networks and for many of those:
- The worship team volunteers DOUBLED
- Worship services become MORE CREATIVE and LESS STRESSFUL
- The relationship with the Pastor DEEPENED
- The Worship Leader got MORE done, FASTER, so they could work on the MOST important things (and make it home for dinner each night 🙂
For me – the joy of coaching is in the fruit it brings to your life and your church’s. So YES… I’m passionate, and YES, I would like for you to seriously PRAY about joining this network.
Just go to www.worshipleaderinsights.com/coaching to learn more and apply online!
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