BAND STUFF: how do you lead?
I've been asked this question a lot over the last few years. When you are the worship leader in charge of a band, how do you actually lead - what is your role? So, here are a few thoughts that might be helpful...
Your first role is to lead worship through the way you live your life. There really is nothing more important than this!
Secondly, if you are leading worship in church, your role is to remember that you are part of something bigger. Nothing in church happens by accident, there is a whole vision being worked out - and as worship leaders, we play an integral part in that. Make sure you hook up with your pastor (or the person who is your point of contact) to talk about whether what you are doing is connecting with the vision and with the congregation. Ask questions about your song choice, the way you lead, the time frame you are using, and all of that sort of stuff, just to make sure that you are on track. We are servants first - sometimes with the whole music thing, we can be tempted to think it's about music and not ministry :)
Thirdly, we are there to lead our band. In the band, everyone has a level playing field - everyone can make suggestions on arrangements, everyone gets to bring their creativity - but, as the leader, your job is to take the lead - or in other words, to have the final say. It's a little like a captain in a football team - they are the boss on the pitch, whilst under the authority of the coach, the boss overseeing the game (or the pastor in our case).
That's it in a nutshell, but if you have some more questions on this, or you are facing a particular situation that you're not sure about please feel free to ask, and I'll write some more about it...
Your first role is to lead worship through the way you live your life. There really is nothing more important than this!
Secondly, if you are leading worship in church, your role is to remember that you are part of something bigger. Nothing in church happens by accident, there is a whole vision being worked out - and as worship leaders, we play an integral part in that. Make sure you hook up with your pastor (or the person who is your point of contact) to talk about whether what you are doing is connecting with the vision and with the congregation. Ask questions about your song choice, the way you lead, the time frame you are using, and all of that sort of stuff, just to make sure that you are on track. We are servants first - sometimes with the whole music thing, we can be tempted to think it's about music and not ministry :)
Thirdly, we are there to lead our band. In the band, everyone has a level playing field - everyone can make suggestions on arrangements, everyone gets to bring their creativity - but, as the leader, your job is to take the lead - or in other words, to have the final say. It's a little like a captain in a football team - they are the boss on the pitch, whilst under the authority of the coach, the boss overseeing the game (or the pastor in our case).
That's it in a nutshell, but if you have some more questions on this, or you are facing a particular situation that you're not sure about please feel free to ask, and I'll write some more about it...
posted by Kathryn Scott at 7:11 am
3 Comments:
Hi Kathryn,
Been thinking a lot about leading, and how much we should be allowing our team to sway our decisions in a sense...without looking like an awful leader who just can't make a decision! I love the suggestions my team makes...most times far better than my ideas;-)...but sometimes i feel overwhelmed by the pressure of keeping everyone happy...and how little time we have to try newly suggested arrangements and harmonies etc!
I definitely don't want to be a dictator...but i do want to be a strong leader...for both my sake and my teams! Any suggestions on doing this with a team of very stong leaders in their own right?!
xoxoxox
Hi Charis,
this is where the business of servanthood kicks in with your guys. If they've really caught the heart of what you are trying to do - they know that the band is there to help people connect with God, and they know that you are the leader, and as such they are under your authority - then you shouldn't have any trouble with people trying to lead when they're not meant to. If this is something you are having to deal with, it could be because the team don't really see you as the leader (in which case you're probably going to have to talk to the main players about it until you get that sorted out), or it could be a confidence thing on your part, and you're not leading as strongly as you need to. Don't be afraid to lead. By doing so, you're not trying to say that you have better ideas, or that you know better than the others, you are simply steering the bus - it'll crash if you take your hands off the wheel. I hope that helps... please feel free to ask some more if that has raised more questions than it has answered :)
Thanks Kath,
Really appreciate your imput...hope you are doing well...
Love Charis x
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