Influence

 the shape of leadership

Vital Staff Relationships

The lead pastor and the worship pastor

Chris Railey on October 20, 2017

chrisrailey

I want to talk about some vital staff relationships on your team. This is Part 1 of a multipart series, and I hope to cover quite a few questions you may have.

When it comes to a staff, there are a lot of different relationships between positions. I’m not saying that one staff member is more important than another. However, there are some key relationships that a lead pastor has with particular people that can be vital to the health and growth of the church.

One of those relationships is with the worship pastor. For a long time, the worship pastor or worship leader was seen as simply the “music director.” He or she got a set list together, coordinated with the musicians, led the songs and then sat down. Today, church members expect a higher level of excellence when it comes to music.

Worship is more than just music, however. I’m afraid we have separated out the different elements on Sunday instead of seeing them as interrelated parts working toward one common goal — to worship our Lord. I recently read this quote from Thom Rainer about this problem: “What happens on Sunday isn’t two things, music and preaching, it’s one thing, worship.”

The goal of every Sunday service should be theologically sound, emotionally healthy worship. The style of music, the beat or tempo, and even the order of service doesn’t matter as much as the ability of a pastor to bring people into a sense of awe and wonder for a God who loves to show up in the praises of His people.

Working Together

To accomplish that, we can no longer sustain lone wolves on the Sunday morning team. The lead pastor and worship pastor must be in tune with each other. When you’re on the same page and working at the same tempo, great things can happen.

As the lead pastor, you need to lay out exactly what’s required week in and week out of your worship pastor and his or her team. For instance, how often and when will practice be held? (And don’t let practice be optional. Excellence is not just having talent, but it’s being consistent and working hard at what God has given you to do.)

Take the lead, and let your worship pastor know the type of service you envision each week. That means overseeing the tone and flavor of the music set. Of course, your worship pastor will have his or her own input and preferences, but reserve the right to make the final call.

Also, work together to determine how long or short each music set should be. The last thing you want to do on a Sunday is be short on time because the worship pastor didn’t know when to stop, or have to fill time because worship ended too soon. Getting together about these things will help you avoid lulls in the service.

When a lead pastor and worship pastor are in tempo with each other, great things happen.

Finally, planning and evaluating the service together will get you on the same page each week. Go over your sermon with your worship pastor to be clear about the theme of your message. If you’re preaching on “joy,” the set list should reflect that by leading with upbeat songs. Use the worship time to lead into the sermon by letting them dovetail together.

Empower your worship pastor to pick songs that have the same message and reinforce your point. And worship is not over when the musicians take a seat. Discuss with your team how you plan on ending the sermon. You may want the worship pastor back on stage to lead a song as part of the response.

Finally, give each other permission to critique the service. Let the worship team know when the music fell flat, and offer constructive criticism for next time. And invite them to give you feedback about how your sermon went. It’s always good to have trained eyes and ears that can offer guidance.

What’s My Job?

If the vital relationship between a lead pastor and worship pastor is a two-way street, what’s your job? As a lead pastor, I always felt the responsibility to be the first worshiper. That meant I showed up on time, I found a seat on the front row, and I engaged in worship.

I wasn’t walking in halfway through the worship set. I wasn’t flipping through my Bible trying to make last-minute notes about my sermon. All of those things communicate that the worship set is not as important as what I’m about to say.

As the lead pastor, you should view your role as a worship leader too. This is not a job you can fully delegate to another person. Since you’ll be seen front and center during service, you must be ready to worship and lead others.

This isn’t about making a spectacle of yourself or showing off. This is about understanding your own visibility. People are watching you and taking cues from your response. When a lead pastor engages in worship, it makes a huge impact.

Leading involves worshiping. King David was not part of the regular temple worship, but he was a worship leader. Even while he had responsibilities for leading the nation, he took time to write nearly half the Book of Psalms. And when the ark returned to Israel, he led the way among the worshipers (2 Samuel 6).

You also must recognize that you are the pastor to your worship pastor. It’s your job to help him or her grow spiritually, provide counsel in hard times, and celebrate good times. Shepherd your worship pastor in shaping his or her gifts and avoiding the pitfalls that come with it.

One of the greatest traps worship leaders can fall into is the notion that they are performing instead of worshiping. By providing an example of humility, you can prepare the worship pastor to be a vital part of your staff.

When a lead pastor and worship pastor are in tempo with each other, great things happen. Remember, the key is to lead others to worship God. With that as a mutual goal, your relationship should only grow stronger.

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