I heard not too long ago that the average worship leader lasts two years in the job. While I'm sure that worship leaders and their staff are a significant part of the problem, pastors can fail to offer the kind of support that contributes to a long-term, fruitful relationship. What can you do to serve your staff? Here are five ideas:
- Engage them. God never intended pastors to check out when it comes to planning the musical portions of a meeting. Even if you can't sing a note, you're responsible to make sure that people are being pastored and taught through the songs they sing. Use whatever format works best for you – emails, phone calls, meetings. Just make sure that you're regularly communicating with your worship staff about what they're doing and what challenges they're facing.
- Equip them. Among other things, your worship staffs needs to be trained theologically, practically, and spiritually. One pastor had me read Engaging with God by David Peterson when I first arrived at his church. It rocked my world and changed the way I lead worship. Include money in your budget for books, videos, and even an occasional conference to help your staff grow. It not only develops their skills, but says volumes about your care.
- Encourage them. If you never encourage your worship staff, they can be tempted toward discouragement. But encouragement is more than telling them, "Great job!" Look for and express specific ways they excelled. "That song you chose was the perfect way to respond to my message." "The new arrangement of Amazing Grace really highlights the words." "Thanks for consistently modeling joy when you lead." I've heard that an ample budget for music and sound equipment can be encouraging, too.
- Evaluate them. You're not serving your worship staff by holding back critique. They need it, as long as it's rooted in objective evaluation and not your personal pet peeves. And when it comes to pointing out ways they could serve the church more effectively, brief and specific is better than long and vague.
- Be an example. One of the most disheartening sights for a worship leader is to look out at the congregation and see the pastor distracted, working on his sermon notes, or completely uninvolved. You want to support your worship staff? Sing God's praise with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. That will not only encourage your worship leader; you'll be giving God the glory he rightly deserves.
