You know the old saying “Familiarity breeds contempt?” Well, I wouldn’t go that far when we’re talking about worship teams, but I think that there is a lot to be said for variety.
Rick Warren nailed it when he said “We need fresh faces, new talent, surprise and unpredictability.” I know our worship leaders are awesome [and can do the job better than volunteers]. However, too much of any one thing – no matter how good – doesn’t work well. I love steak and mashed potatoes, but not for every meal…
Besides variety, there are other reasons to switch things up. Putting all your eggs in one musical basket makes it really difficult when that individual leaves, and worship pastor stays are sadly very short on average. In addition, having some songs led by males and others by females allows each to have at least some of the songs in their natural range [we’ll discuss the “tenor issue” in a later post]. But topping the list is the fact that we, as pastors, have the duty to unleash the giftings of the people of the church.
P.S. If you are a multi-site church, try switching leaders [or whole teams] between campuses.
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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