“Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well”
Last month, I wrote about how leaders need to implement rhythms and systems in their lives to be healthy. If you missed it, take some time to check it out after this post. This month's blog is part two of that discussion: Growing a Healthy Worship Team.
As a refresher, when I use the phrase healthy system, I'm referring to strategies that help create productivity and efficiency, all while keeping the humanity and relationship of each individual intact. In other words, a system works for us, not the other way around! Too many systems drive fecundity at the cost of team and personal burn-out, sadly even within the church. There is, indeed, a way for systems to be productive while keeping our souls intact. These systems are what I term healthy systems. When I use the term healthy rhythm, I speak about the personal inward and outward movements to keep and guard a holistically healthy soul. Or, in this example, a healthy worship team.
Growing
vs
Creating
I tried to be careful with using the adjective "Growing" instead of "Creating" a healthy worship team. For me, the mental picture of creating typically revolves around artistic endeavors (such as hand sculpting a vase, composing a new piece of music, or painting on a blank canvas). These examples revolve around my creating art out of seemingly unrelated ideas; Creativity is the offspring of the creative. However, developing a healthy worship team is more so like caring for and nurturing a plant. Think horticulture over artisan expression. Curating a healthy worship team is more like planting a seed, nourishing it until it breaks through the ground, then caring for it as it develops and eventually produces fruit. Your involvement in the worship team's growth often involves being pastoral, not necessarily creative. To be involved with something "Growing" means life is developing, even maturing. What I have learned is that healthy teams grow.
Since I first communicated about Rhythms in last month's post,
let's begin with Healthy Systems.
2 Healthy Systems
OF A WORSHIP TEAM
The Healthy System of Intentional Communication
Consistent communication flowing to your team is often overlooked the more time you spend in any organization. It's easy to take for granted that people unquestioningly trust your objectives without needing information or the 'what' and 'why' to accomplish the mission. The lack of communication becomes disastrous when you add new team members and expect people to know what's happening. I've been experimenting with recording and posting a simple monthly update video to my entire worship department so everyone gets the latest news about events, training, and new team members. It's a simple way for a team of over 20 people to feel informed without turning it into another meeting. The system of intentional communication will help keep your team together.
The Healthy System of Evaluation
One of the hardest parts of my job is navigating difficult conversations and decisions within the team. These conversations range from character and competency issues all the way to attitude and downright sin. Then, there is the aftermath of these discussions: What is the best decision for the individual and ministry? Should they step down for a season or altogether? I don't particularly like having difficult conversations, but they come with the territory of being a leader.
One way I've been able to lessen these problematic discussions within the team is by preemptively having a system of regular and annual feedback. I give regular feedback to team members who want to grow in leadership and welcome it. They are people of peace who can take praise and criticism for their growth's sake. Of course, I give regular feedback to anyone when needed. Still, the most productive people to apply this feedback are your "All-In" team members.
As for the rest of the team, I strategically set up one-on-ones with them to pastor and give feedback annually about being on the team. These meetings are low-pressure but allow me to speak about what I'm seeing and not seeing. I have discovered that most people want to know how they are doing on the team—even the cranky, curmudgeon type. As humans, our hearts can't help but long to have feedback and to know if we are hitting the mark. We owe it to our team members not to dismiss difficult discussions and decisions but to address them pastorally and provide timely feedback on their involvement through evaluation.
NOW, LET'S MOVE ON TO HEALTHY RHYTHMS FIT FOR A HEALTHY TEAM.
3 Healthy Rhythms
OF A WORSHIP TEAM
The Healthy Rhythm of Sabbath Seasons
Knowing when your busy church seasons are upon you and your team can help you plan ahead AND also steer your team towards intentional sabbaths - places where the grind of the worship team slows down. These are metaphorically less sugar and caffeine moments in exchange for the gift of a meaningful meal. The leader would do well to lead their team into Sabbath to guard a holistic soul. One way to practice this healthy rhythm is by having a particular month out of the year to strip back your worship team on the stage, focus on the heart of worship, and intentionally schedule a small group so your worship department can have more of a break. This also could be a great space to teach the congregation more about what true biblical worship is and isn't. It will take some practice and discipline to get there, but remember, the author of Hebrews calls us to "...strive to enter that rest." (Hebrews 4:11; ESV).
The Healthy Rhythm of Authentic Community
A worship team that only plays together and does not pray or even do life together is just a cover band—and probably not even a fun one. The first church was known as a people who devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and each other. "All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts." (Acts 2:44-46; NIV). Acts 2 was an authentic community that worshipped together and lived in commonality. I believe a healthy worship team can establish a rhythm of community within the community. This may not always be easy, but it is worth cultivating.
The Healthy Rhythm of Team Development
Whether you have a team of 4 or 40, all worship teams need to have some ongoing development if they are going to remain healthy. In my experience, most worship ministries lean heavily on the discipleship front (the spiritual arm of worship) and, in turn, neglect the musical growth of the team (the tactical side of worship). A healthy worship team will be one that can develop both spiritual formation of the soul and artistic finesse within.
Team development could look like having a gathering once a quarter and reviewing new material or inviting a professional musician to teach their team how to prepare and play music like a professional. It could also look like establishing a healthy rhythm of team devotionals throughout the month that your worship team walks through. In whatever form you choose, remember that a healthy rhythm of team development means your team is growing.