When speaking with lead pastors, the conversation often drifts to frustrations they have with their creative staffs. I’ve heard from many leaders who can’t figure out how to motivate their worship pastor to recruit new musicians. I even read about a church staff who struggled to get the video guy on board with leadership development.

After working several years in corporate America, I realized just how creative the Church really is. There is an element of chaos that allows it to grow and flex, constantly reinventing itself while incorporating visual and auditory creativity in a way other institutions never engage.

Compared to the buttoned-up corporate types, even many lead pastors look quite creative. However, that doesn’t mean everyone in the Church speaks the same language when it comes to creative pursuits.

Within the context of a church, the term “creative” can encompass music, video, live production, social outlets, stage sets, décor and other media. As a musician myself, I believe there is a breakdown in communication between two schools of thought — the pastoral and the creative — that we can learn to bridge.

I don’t think it’s just apples to oranges; it’s more like apples to potatoes. Each has a completely different path of development and function, but both bring health and life to the body of Christ.

For me, bridging gaps is a lifelong pursuit. After all, I’m a band geek who married a sports fanatic. That was on purpose, because I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, and I wanted my children to have at least an average ability to throw a ball.

Little did I know how much marrying a non-musician would impact my life and ministry. Without a doubt, I have accomplished 10 times more than I would have without my husband pushing me to greater purpose through 17 years of marriage.

I recently had a conversation about this with Mark Alan, the lead worship pastor at Emmanuel Christian Center (Assemblies of God) in Minneapolis. We talked about the joys and challenges of bringing together leadership-oriented pastors and creative-oriented worship staff members. He suggested four ways to get everyone on the same page and speaking the same language.

Communicate About Sundays

When a worship leader asks the pastor what he or she is preaching on Sunday, the pastor may launch into a 15-minute abbreviated sermon, complete with Scriptures and illustrations. What the worship leader really wants is the big idea — where it starts and where it will land.

“Give us the main point so we know we’re headed in the same direction,” Mark said.

Similarly, when the pastor asks the worship leader what he or she is singing on Sunday, the pastor probably doesn’t want to know how many bridges, repeats and guitar solos to expect. The pastor is asking what the worship leader senses God wants to do. It’s important to know whether every part of the service is moving in the same direction.

Be the leader God created you to be, and learn to communicate with those from a different school of thought.

Enter the Other Person’s World

Worship leaders could make a digital playlist or burn a CD for the pastor, featuring songs that are speaking to them — music they would like to incorporate into the service over the next few weeks and months. The pastor could do the same. That way, the worship leader could hear what speaks to the pastor’s heart — without the pressure of needing to work it in by Sunday.

Create space where you can dialogue together on a regular basis. Sit down once a month and answer questions like these:

• Where are the people spiritually?
• What’s working in the service?
• What do you consider a win?

Most creatives spend half their time trying to hit a mark the pastor thinks is clear, even though the pastor has not clearly articulated it.

Pastors may also want to give each creative staff member a copy of a good, short book that captures his or her leadership philosophy. However, don’t overload them with too much reading.

My husband, Wayne, who serves as lead pastor at our church, assigns the staff about 12 books a year. I have to be honest: As a member of the staff, I have struggled to get through them and have skipped many a chapter.

Two years ago, I read Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, by Eric Metaxas, and I absolutely loved it. I told Wayne, “I’m assigning you this book, and you can’t assign me any more reading until you finish it.” That was a year and a half ago, and he’s still reading it.

We realized through that exchange Wayne and I connect with different types of books. History, biographies and culture speak to me.

Wayne can read and absorb the main idea of a leadership book in a way that is impressive to me. I just need him to give me the summary. As a creative, I know I’m not alone. Having said that, I have gained so much insight through concise leadership books, and we’ve worked together to find common ground on reading. 

Recognize Each Other’s Differences

I am an advocate of personality profiles, spiritual giftings tests, and anything that sheds light on what makes people I work with who are different from myself tick.

Most creatives are non-linear.

“You have to set some boundaries, and then give them choices and freedom to make decisions,” Mark told me. “You can win the heart of the creative by caring about their art and giving them room to let their creative expression find their way.”

Tap in to Each Other’s Strengths

It comes down to relationship and conversation.

This was my favorite thing Mark said: “We need both types in the Church. If we have a bunch of creatives, it will be beautiful and go nowhere. If we only have leadership types, it will be stale, but we’ll get there fast.”

The truth is, it takes so much pressure off the leader when others are able to function in their giftings and shoulder their God-given part of the load. It’s how God designed the New Testament Church to work.

Be the leader God created you to be, and learn to communicate with those who are from a different school of thought. “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17).