More than ever, I believe in the power of songs.

Music narrates our lives. As we’re walking through fire, songs are there to lift us. As we’re celebrating at an altar, music is there to commemorate the moment. As we walk through the pain of loss, songs give us context.

And well it’s quite possible to worship songs themselves and get caught up in the emotional lift of a melody, a great song is a great service to our journeys.

So I’ve really been working hard to improve as a songwriter. Like all skills in life, mastery is never something you arrive at or finish. Everybody can improve.

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Is your team on a pursuit? Is that how you would describe the culture of your team?

The Apostle Paul was all about it:

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

Press on.

Forgetting what lies behind.

Straining forward.

The upward call of God.

Let’s explore two aspects of what makes for a healthy worship culture.

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On a scale of 1-10, how engaged is your church?

Do you look forward to worshiping on Sunday or are you worried that everyone in the room hates you?

It’s frustrating, isn’t it? To put so much time and effort into preparing for Sunday…to be met only by staring (sometimes glaring) faces. Why don’t people engage?

While you’d like to blame it on their lack of spiritual depth, it’s most likely something you can work on. Of course, that’s a general statement. There are other factors at work. But this is something I’ve observed in my own leadership for 18 years as well as coaching many other worship leaders and teams.

How should we approach engagement? Should be obsess over it, counting the number of hands that are raised? Is that worship leader success?

Or should we forget about it and just pursue Jesus? I’ve seen both. The right answer is somewhere in the middle. We can’t ignore engagement, because we’re called to lead the church. It’s our responsibility to help them discover their voice in this midst of their victory and trial.

But we also can’t obsess over it because that’s just an adventure in missing the point.

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We all love momentum. It just feels right. Things are happening, the team is growing, productivity is flowing. But what do you do when it’s not there? When you’re stuck in a rut?

Let’s first of all talk about the purpose of momentum. Momentum is movement. Motion. The science of picking up speed.

I remember when I had some momentum on my skateboard as a child, sliding down the largest hill in my neighborhood. I had incredible momentum, but it was stupid. Because I fell. And rolled. And rolled some more. And cried. And it hurt. I made a decision that day to avoid such momentum for the rest of my life.

Of course, you don’t want that kind of momentum in your team. Momentum that hurts, damages, hinders the purposes of God.

Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you have momentum. Busyness does not equal progress.

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Worship ministry is mostly about getting out of our own way. If we can minimize distraction, be more authentic, build trust, and love Jesus, we’ll create an environment where people participate rather than spectate. 

A skill set so desperately needed is leading spontaneous moments.

But let’s set the record straight. By spontaneous I don’t mean unplanned, unprepared, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants worship. For spontaneity to work well, you need a plan for it.

I remember the first time I tried to sing a spontaneous song in a service. I’m fairly certain that angels fled at the sound. Even Jesus turned to Gabriel and was like, “What was that?!?” I spent a grand total of zero minutes preparing for that moment. And it was obvious.

Effective spontaneous leadership isn’t actually spontaneous at all. It’s the result of hard work, practice, and planning.

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