It is possible he is concerned about the messianic community having too many teachers, or maybe that some unqualified people were aspiring to be teachers. In other words, we should pray for God to send leaders, but, And in order to invest in other leaders, you have to first invest in yourself as a leader. So no one is "off the hook," but teachers will be held to a higher standard (James 3:1). 9. Maybe one of our problems is that weve just scared pastors witless about being what they ought to be. He argued it is biblically inconceivable that such a shepherd could be living above the standard of Moses, and above the standard of ordinary Christians, and above the reproach of the world, and yet be living in sexual sin. READ MORE. "Elder," or episkopos (from which we get our word episcopal) refers to the oversight of the believers, and it involves teaching, preaching, caring, and exercising authority where needed. (Heb. Then to one of the worsted services where the worship minister the senior pastor, the professional musicians, the sound crew, the lighting crew, and audio visual crew were all doing their own thing as if no one had practiced. 11. Time really does fly when youre having fun. Loud music is bad for our ears, and an affront to the temple of the Holy spirit. (Eph. Our scriptures are the word of God. Ive never seen commitment, character, conduct, comprehension, capacity, compassion and calling develop in a vacuum. Your primary role is to enable the word of Christ to dwell in us as we sing, not to preach. What I mean, is if you can view yourself as a cup, you are at your best or can give your all when your cup is full. 10. To be a teacher of the Word of God, even it if is in . He is a tremendous musician Ive been a fan for a while. The Bible gives us some guidance here, but it has to be "parsed" carefully. Apart from the church's general obligation to respond willingly to the elders' leadership, there is a particular responsibility to provide materially for those who labor in the ministry of the Word (1Tim. As worship leaders we should simply be mindful of our role and what were actually trying to accomplish. 7 High Standards of Biblical Leadership: (These seven standards will be in my next book available this Fall, When Your Leadership Isn't Enough: 40 Devotions Strengthen Your Soul .) Model what theologically informed, engaged, Christ-exalting prayer looks like. I do take offense in his term volunteer worship leader it appears that the thinking there is that a pastor gets a degree to be a pastor and worship leader gets a degree in music , but he (the pastor) is the only one that paid for his degree and therefore he is the only one that has bills to pay . My only suggestion from experience is in the area of relationship building that you mentioned between pastor and worship leader. Learning 4 songs a month isnt. Thanks for the encouraging words and God bless! Thats definitely helpful. And churches in many countries around the world, including some here, have tent-maker lead pastors/elders. Amen. Ive read a lot of articles recently that I have come to label as Blame the Band articles. Getting to know non-musicians in the church can provide perspective and encouragement. If were singing F#s theyll probably drop an octave or faint. . Perhaps I misunderstand, but it seems point #11 challenges point #1. (Heb. Thanks! My two cents. Bob, very thought-provoking article. We have access to more songs more immediately than any time in history. Often times the words do not contain scripture so I will provide biblical context and encouragement. Not all Christ-followers are qualified to lead. Because the Pastor of our church believed he was the only person who should speak from the pulpit, he had me removed by a 3rd person without an explanation. Bob, Im guessing you have Hebrews 13:17 in mind; those who watch over our souls will give account to God. Blessings! The worst case of it is when the worship leader (or someone else) prays to draw attention away from transitions, e.g., so the choir can leave, so the drama team can set up stage. Our team at The Unstuck Group was on the ground working with church leaders from 38 different churches this past month. You dont have totell us to sing louder or sing it like you mean it or exhortus with Cmon! Give us doctrinal fuel and for our emotional fire and trust the Spirit will do the rest. Tune in and let us know what are your thoughts.Call in 605-313-5375 code 268328 But the thing to remember is that, Ive never seen commitment, character, conduct, comprehension, capacity, compassion and calling develop in a vacuum. It was not written in the United States of America on Main Street, or at University US with super cute, friendly, polite, well washed and well dressed kids. I do know that without music , every church that I went to was dying or already dead . Manufacturing, Marketing, and Minimizing Gods Presence, A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland Troy Senik, God Crucified: Monotheism and Christology in the New Testament Richard Bauckham, Nuclear Folly: A History of the Cuban Missile Crisis Serhii Plokhy, The Heart in Pilgrimage: A Treasury of Classic Devotionals on the Christian Life Leland Ryken, The Works of John Owen, Vol. I believed that if the Lord wanted me to lead worship, He would reinstate me in His time. Amplified Bible Thanks for stopping by! , it may take time for appropriate repentance and restoration. Thanks! Praying persistently for the lost, praying for loved ones, reading your bible, talking out your problems with a trustworthy friend. If theres anything in your life that might hinder or disqualify you from serving in your role, please let me know. They are examples to the guys. Leading in any other way would make me a song leader. Fonte:What Pastors Wish Their Worship Leaders Knew. Then talk about what could be better. This morning I went into my files to find the following document because our team at Granger Community Church was asking this very questionmore than 15 years ago. If the situation continues for a long time, I begin asking whether or not Im supposed to lead the music at a church where the pastor doesnt think the music should be the kind that enables the word of Christ to dwell in us richly. That WL has not been taught well and the church should be more wise about who they hire/fire. Clarity in communication will hopefully be some fruit of that. Letting the spirit work within your team. James 3:1 in all English translations. I would encourage both worship leaders and pastors to move towards each other looking for opportunities to build trust and link arms, not come out with their gloves up. Your email address will not be published. It works as an indicator that God has truly blessed me with great trustworthy mentors. Father, thank you for dying for us, would be an example of the first. The actual context of Hebrews is plural not singular. In other words, I think worship should be about HIM, not us. Halee, in addition to being a dear friend and someone who lives . Jeff, thanks for your comment. Several of your comments sound to me like pet peeves, not thoughtful and pastoral advice. Exclusively applying this to the pastor and only the pastor or in this case it seems to be only those who get paid for leading does not seem to be faithful to the context of Hebrews 13:17. If your bassist plays a 4 string and you drop from E to E flat you lose a considerable amount of low end that was designed into the song. . It would be much better to take them out and start by telling them all the things theyre doing well. For the sake of this post, Im using the term worship leader to describea non-elder who leads the music during the gatherings of thechurch. (This is where the blend of industry and congregational singing has always been a rocky one for me Ive never liked the tendency to simply copy whats on an album but thats another issue altogether. And they should NOT hire someone because they are cheapwhich is too often what churches want, and not hire them because they are cool (read = young, pretty, and all too often lacking in wisdom, delicacy, and thus, musical intuition let alone Holy Spirit hearing ears). 2:3-4) Capitalizing the Word of God is a common practice, although certainly not universal. Is it Gods will? Please just sing what we are supposed to sing. However, if the main role of the music leaders is to support congregational singing, might it be possible that a guitar lick is a bad foundation on which to build a song for worship? 13:17) Not gospel like black gospel, but gospel like Jesus bore our sins on the cross to purchase our forgiveness gospel. A great leader listens to suggestions from others and tries new ideas. This list, though not comprehensive, gives us a picture of what God has in mind for Biblical leadership. Does the individual consider this to be an appointment from God or from men? Lead us to sing the Word, hear the Word, see the Word, and pray the Word. 66:2; Ps. Learn how your comment data is processed. Thanks for the comment! So if a worship pastor fulfills all the Biblical requirements for that role and has been commissioned by the congregation as one who has spiritual authority and cares for peoples souls by preaching, presiding over sacraments, visiting, leading, etc., then this would apply to that person. 13:17, but no doubt they had significant influence in the founding of the church. Sounds like a topic for another post. I pray you continue to grow in your relationship with your pastor that others may see Gods grace evident in both of you! Thanks for your ministry. Occasionally try changing the arrangement, tempo, or feel of a song so the congregation can hear the lyrics in a fresh way. The ministry is fivefold, and your ecclesiology is therefore not Biblical. There also has to be some wisdom from both pastors and worship leaders to realize the differences between personal preference and best practice for leading congregational worship. I try to remember that what I dont know usually surpasses what I do know. Should a congregation judge them harsher than they do each other? Having elders or leaders in the church to hold pastors and teachers accountable is important. In point #1 Im thinking of a volunteer worship leader, not a pastor. Thank God for that!! A church being led by pastors doesnt negate the use of gifts in the church body. If a person takes on one of these leadership roles within the body of Christ, then the standard is in many ways higher for that person. We will never solve this completely, this is merely food for thought. Use your prayers to speak for the congregation, not just yourself. Its something I was told early on and Ive found it to be a common practice. Thats why we developed our. Keep writing excellent posts like this and keep writing great books on worship like youve done. Everything after that is on a sliding scale with Gods Word on one side and personal preference on the other. Another way to ask it is, 'What will be the ramifications for the Christian teacher who accidentally preaches some falsehood?'" Music cantopen the eyes of our hearts, illumine our minds, our change our lives. (I also currently have the title of Pastor of Worship, which has carried with it a greater weight of responsibility and accountability.) I am not sure how this qualifies or disqualifies one as a leader. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 8. Your email address will not be published. The common belief is stated somewhat in this waythe Bible clearly tells us that there is someone within the church who has the rule over othersthis means that there are some Christians who have authority over othersand that there are some Christians who are meant to rulewhich of course means that they have the, God-given right to make decisions within the churchthe, God given right to make the rules within a church and the. Excellent post Bob and as a pastor myself, I definitely agree with everything on your list. There is something special and fearful about being a vocational servant of Jesus Christ. If you understood Ephesians 4 as you should, you wouldnt be able to claim that there are pastors and then there are worship leaders as separate ministerially categories. Do you really believe that us volunteers are off the hook? Michael, thanks for your encouraging words. Jesus is actually the modern day Levite, in that sense. Hi Bob, this was very well thought and potentially life saving for a dying church. Goodness. 2023 Worship Matters. Dont pray simply because you feel awkward or dont know what else to do. But Im not sure that whether that leader draws a salary for his services makes much of a difference in the level of his accountability to God; the tradition of volunteer church leaders goes all the way back to Paul, at least. 6) Leaders faithfully study God's Word. If it is, the church is largely at fault for hiring them. Look at the Book. I just skimmed over the first few, and find this attitude extremely controlling. Teach us the ones that we will feed our souls for more than a few weeks. Totally agree. Please dont capitalise the Word when youre talking about scripture. I agree that someone who is a solid musical leader wouldnt need to hear much of what Ive written here. People have to actually sing. I believe the heart must be right. Thanks for any thoughts you can share! Chris, thanks for asking. Thanks for your comments! When you come to conflict, there should be enough trust within your relationships to have the conversations to reconcile the problem. Dont mix up the members of the Trinity, and dont pray as though God has forgotten his name. For better or worse, our churches will remember more words from our songs they sing than from the sermons they hear. Often times we see the Priest of the Roman Catholic Church, is the Pastor of the Protestant Church. In other words, the pastor is the one held responsible for reflecting Christ to the community, therefore the pastor/elder must be held to a higher standard. Jim, that is a great question! I always appreciate your wisdom and leadership in matters of congregational worship, Bob. We also dont need the worship leaders own constant responses, like Thank-you Lord very much. Its difficult to make a case that singing in our meetings should be as short as possible. But the time allotted should never impede on the the time allotted for teaching Gods Word. In that vein, I like the addition of a passage from the Bible to contextualize a worship set and perhaps a brief [brief!] Is the individual a fully-devoted follower of Christ? started this conference, now in its second year, specifically to influence African American pastors to preach expositionally. If anyone in the body, including the musical worship director, receive any accolades from the congregation, the senior pastor has a vision from God and that individual is reprimanded for speaking beyond their Authority or, they are removed. Also, while having backup or other vocalists come in and out of the mix is very good and enjoyable, please dont come in and out vocally too much yourself it makes us lost as to where we are and we have a harder time following you. Heather, thanks for your encouragement. The congregation doesnt need so many frequent interjections into the singing, like those encouraging us to lets praise the Lord, or lift up your voices in the middle of every song. Great article. , it may take time for Kingdom perspective to expand. Just because a leader of any ministry is not paid a full-time wage, I dont see their calling as any less or with any less authority (under the auspices of the church leadership hierarchy of course). Be grateful that you now belong to Christ. Whatever you can do to fill that cup with the spirit so much that it overflows when you lead worship. Combine that with 13:17 where it says theyre ones who care for your souls, and then combine that with the rest of the NT understanding of people in that role, and its clear that its referring to pastors, not anyone who leads someone else. The aspect of this question that make it hard for me to say "Yes, they should be held to a higher standard" is What aut. End Zone Team Preview: Winning standard set for Beaufort. According to the verses used to found the reasoning, the WL has the same role if they take their up front, visible position seriously. I absolutely agree we must be wise in choosing songs that are in line with Gods Word, but our identity runs much deeper. Attempts at dialogue failed, and we ended up leaving the church. It was actually Jesus who first said, The harvest is great, but the workers are few. Leaders Are Held to a Higher Standard. 4. We are all now a kingdom of priests, no one having more access to God than anyone else, because we all come through Christs finished atoning work. Rachel, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. The pastor/elder/shepherd/teacher is one role in the NT. Youre not the Holy Spirit, but you candepend on Him. Original:What Pastors Wish Their Worship Leaders Knew [], [] Bob Kauflin. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions." (Deuteronomy 29:29, NLT) "When someone has . God loves us first, and as a result, we love Him back, which enables us to love others. But I dont see any Scriptural point for the idea that teaching pastors wont be held to a higher standard and will be held more accountable than others for the condition of those under their care (James 3:1; Heb. Yes, I plan to post from the other perspective on Monday. Realize that those giftings are on par with yours, and that those leaders will also give an account for the way they use their gifts to equip the saints. But I don't see any Scriptural point for the idea that teaching pastors won't be held to a higher standard and will be held more accountable than others for the condition of those under their care . Keeping on going. And the issues isnt paid or non-paid as much as an elder or non-elder. 5: Faith and Its Evidences, Bavinck: A Critical Biography James Eglington, Christ Our Salvation: Expositions & Proclamations John Webster, Confessing God: Essays in Christian Dogmatics II John Webster, Confronted by Grace: Meditations of a Theologian John Webster, George Washington's Final Battle: The Epic Struggle to Build a Capital City and a Nation Robert P. Watson, God Dwells Among Us G.K. Beale and Mitchell Kim, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now James K.A. I pray youll find some helpful resources here and in the recommended books section. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. I say this because, as you know, we who teach will be judged more strictly than others. was on the ground working with church leaders from 38 different churches this past month. It helps for worship leaders to be well-versed in theology. As youll notice, there are seven of them and they all begin with C, so it must be Biblical. The Greek term used here is stenazontes, referring to grief, groaning, or sighing. Thanks for stopping by. If the issues still persists, I lead the songs the pastor requests in a way that makes it sound like I wanted to lead them; i.e., I introduce them with Scripture, read Scripture in the middle, add theologically informed phrases in the middle of the song, etc. 2023 The Unstuck Group | Privacy Policy. 10:19-22) May as well sing James Browns I got you!. Excellent article. James 3:1-2 "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.". I whole-heartedly agree and hope that many worship leaders read this and take it to heart. 12. 13:17 specifically says that leaders (and I assume recognized elders/pastors) will have to give an account for those God called them to shepherd. As you can see, leaders are held to a higher standard. Copyright 2014 Worship Matters. As Bob said, theres no Biblical category of worship pastor or any other specific type of pastor. This is . We love good music that worships God and expresses worship in a wide range of styles, just make sure that it enhances the singing and that we dont walk away being more impressed with the music than the words we sing. Regarding point #5, you nailed it. Working together as a team where the laziness of some needs to be compensated by the hard work of others is incredibly frustrating, especially when you look like arrogant for pointing it out in order to improve things. They are only accountable for that particular ministry. Many original keys on worship albums are chosen not for the congregation but for the main vocalist (more than a few come to mind where we regularly have to lower keys at least 3 or 4 semi-tones from whats on an album because the main vocalist is a high tenor). Learn how your comment data is processed. God is not impressed by our decibels or the damage they do to our congregations hearing. I feel that theres a definitely a sense in which we shouldnt think too highly of ourselves or our role, but there also seems to be a sense in which we shouldnt take it too lightly either. Thanks Bob for the many ways youve brought Gods wisdom, grace and passion to my life over many years. I think this discussion could be broadened to involve the historic position of the church regarding the singing of Psalms. Pastors shouldknow in advance what songs will be sung, and should play a part in choosing them. We dont come primarily to listen to you sing, but to lift up our own voices. Of course, Peter says elders are not to be domineering, but examples (1 Pet. I believe it is import to Biblically define positions of church leadership because of the frequent abuse in the Protestant church today under the misguided definition of Pastoral Authority. Somehow music has become synonymous with worship to the exclusion of other facets (prayer, preaching, sacraments, tithes, etc.) We all know that no one is perfect but certain positions require certain expectations but as we all can see crazy things are happening in the Homes, Church, Schools, Work Place and etc. Keep in mind, I'm not asking whether or not pastors/ministers should be held to high standards, but rather I'm asking should they be held to higher standards just based on their position than all other Christians within the body of Christ.This is the question I will be addressing. Phil, thanks for your thoughts and encouragement. Thats why we developed our Unstuck Leadership Coaching. Are they gentle, hospitable, upright, holy, and disciplined? Oct 2, 2018. This is where we have a problem. Tim, thanks for your thoughts! Does the individual have a good knowledge of Gods Word to defend the Christian faith and encourage people to take steps in spiritual maturity? After all, the verse does say for us to obey them that have the rule over yousubmit yourselves The common logicthe common way of interpreting this verse is to then relate the concept of rule with authority. Not great exposition. Ideally, I think this should be an intentional relationship of musical and biblical training. I just imagined how this article might be received in a forward from me Pretty sure it would discourage rather than encourage. But unfortunately, many churches and pastors find themselves in the position of either inheriting a musical leader, or using whoever is available. I have been on both sides of the table here. Great point regarding discipling others. Like Moses ( Ex. FWIW- my lead pastor sent me the link and I was not discouraged at all with the content or the tone. Hebrews chapter 7 does away with the Levitical Priesthood and the New Covenant gives a Priesthood to every believer (ACTS 1:65:10, 1PETER 2:5,9). When it happens every song, this can tend to distract the congregation and make us notice the worship leader too much, making worship about him/her and not the One being worshipped. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."Mark 10:42-45. There are no contextual scriptures identifying or describing singular or Senior Pastor type positions in the church. Its true. Gods Word is as clear on the the office of an elder as it is on the priesthood of all believers (1 Thess. It annoying that to stir more emotions into the singing, the leader repeats the bridge, chorus, or ending almost endlessly. Read full chapter. OUR modern, western culture, churches DID NOT exist!!!! I have personally experienced such an occurrence. As you can see, leaders are held to a higher standard. Prayers are corporate conversations with God, not filler. Now more than ever, its difficult to lead. Thank you for your thoughts here, and also for your book, Worship Matters. Ive served on the staff of several churches and can assure you that many preaching pastors are more than willing to give direction (thats what they call it when they blast you in staff meeting) and are quite unwilling to receive it. If you constantly sing harmony, some of us will havea hard timeknowing what the melody is. Matt, I added your comment about singing the melody to the original post. Read James (GNT) Read James 3:1 (GNT) in Parallel. This Scripture could apply to anyone who disciples another person. May He do the same thing in me when someone thinks I am unhelpful or counter productive. I agree, Fernando is one gifted guy. 19:7-11) Music and lyrics are only a part of the gift and calling God has placed on my life. 4:2). (In James 3:1, 1Tim, Acts, 1Peter are where we find many of the concepts of teachers/pastors/leaders and what their jobs are etc). Its so important. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." What does the Bible say about management and leadership? Pastor John explains why God reserves Sunday-morning preaching for men. Reading through the comments and your replies was very interesting and a little troubling, because there are so many who believe the worship leader fits into the five-fold ministry. Today Id like to finish by suggesting a few [], [] wrote a post on What Pastors Wished Their Worship Leaders Knew. In fact, in Titus 1:5,7, Paul uses both terms to refer to the same man. Paul tells Timothy he is to reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching those in his church (2 Tim. Talk about liturgical whiplash! Those Who Protect must be Strong. I mean, folks expect not only that pastors would be diligent and above reproach in their moral lives, but that it would be inconceivable for them to fail, slip up . For the most part, the rest of the congregation is only to partake in bake sales and tithing. And not all potential leaders are qualified to lead. Totally agree about good communication, and the necessity of trust. So the first step for increasing the number of leaders in any church should certainly be to pray. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. (Matthew 9:37-38, NLT). A simple guitar/keys player, maybe with some grey in his/her hair, or not, who respects the authority first and foremost of God, Son, Holy Spirit, his/her senior pastor and church, and has intuition and some deep wisdom on how to run a Musical Worship portion of a service goes a long, long way to alleviating almost everything in the article. Also I want to add that when you practice, practice worshiping. Dont assume your instrumentalists have to play constantly. Is there a clear sense that this is Gods calling? The fact that Jesus rules over his church doesnt mean he hasnt established order in the church. Soli Deo Gloria, , it may take time for spiritual formation to occur. We (musicians) apparently cant do much of anything right. In a recentepisodeof his Ask Pastor John podcast, Piper, founder of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, weighed in on the question: Is faultless chastity too high a standard for pastors?, Piper first acknowledged that it takes very special grace to withstand sexual temptation yet this grace is is available in Christ to all Christians. The standard for church elders and pastors are higher than for ordinary Christian church members, he added, because of the special gifting required for elders and pastors called teaching and governing.. Are they recent converts or have they had time to prove their faith is true? I think that he was just saying that ultimately, it is the Pastor, who is the 1 true Shepherd, and it is his leading, teaching, and preaching, that holds the highest responsibility to the flock (congregation). Great site to tackle issues that many churches avoid. Teachers should follow the counsel of Galatians 5:13, which says, "Through love serve one another." Faithful teachers willingly give up personal rights in the "gray areas" in order to set themselves apart from anything questionable. Ultimately, Christ is our worship leader, not me or you. [] Bob Kauflin shares twelve things that every pastor wants their worship leader to know, and there is a lot of good stuff here. Obviously, this isnt true for every pastor/worship leader situation. So dont let pride, irresponsibility, or any of those other sins fill your cup. I have a quick question for you. And this very word is still alive and teaching-able and universal! I appreciate your article and it is mostly helpful. Note that 1 Timothy 5:17 suggests that not all elders are preachers and teachers. Books 13:17). 13 and of the NT in general. Where did all that time go? When you spend time in prayer asking God to empower what you do,youll lead more often with a humble confidence that iseasy to follow.
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