A worship team functions best when they work together in an atmosphere of fun, cooperation, common vision, trust, and most importantly of all, love for one another.
We need to take our role as worship leaders seriously because our work is vital in the kingdom of God. However, that doesn't mean that we can't have fun doing it! Musicians love playing their instruments and singing, and being a member of a worship band can be a blast. When we enjoy what we do, and enjoy doing it with the group of people we are working with, that spirit of joyful fun communicates to the congregation, and they feel invited to share that joy. Before you know it, everybody is having the time of their life worshiping God together, and what could be better than that?
To get to that place of enjoyment, we need to use some of those skills we learned in kindergarten, including cooperation. Our rehearsal time is when we start learning to listen to one another, to share questions and ideas, and be open to new approaches. It might mean doing something in a way you never thought of, and it might feel a little uncomfortable sometimes, but working together cooperatively goes a long way towards smoothing out any rough edges.
It also helps immensely to remember the common vision that we share - to show the world our love for Jesus, to make Him famous, and to lead others into His presence. Sometimes differences of opinion about how something should be done bring challenging moments in our relationships with our fellow teammates, but if we can all keep in mind that common vision that we share, it makes it a lot easier to get past those sticky moments. It's really not about us, and our shared vision can help us to remember that.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to work with someone you just didn't trust? That is a truly miserable place to be. We need to be trustworthy to our fellow team members. If we trust one another, in our personal lives and also on stage, we are free to flow in our gifts. That means keeping confidences and never gossiping about each other. It means being real friends to one another - people who would help you move, or babysit your kids so you can have a night out with your spouse. It also means not suddenly taking the verse that another singer was supposed to lead on, or conversely, it might mean stepping up and singing a lead for your teammate who isn't feeling well or for whatever reason, just isn't up to it at that moment. It's having each other's back.
All of these elements - having fun together as you lead worship, operating from a common vision, trusting and being trustworthy - these things flow from the foundation of our love for one another. Jesus said in John 13:35, "This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples - when they see the love you have for each other." Jesus-style love is so radically different to any other version of love that it captures people's attention, and shows them a picture of what they're missing without Him. As worship teams, we have the unique opportunity and privilege to model that love as we work together to bring others with us directly into the presence of our Savior.
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