Worship Boss vs Worship Leader

Imagine you’re working excitedly on a new goal. You know it’s from God and that it will have a major impact on the worship life of your church. You want to jump in head on and go after it, but you have to stop right there. The way you do it will have long term consequences on the health of your team that reach way down the road. The difference between being a leader and being the boss is rooted entirely in your heart, and your heart is what dictates your leadership style.  Your leadership style impacts everything around you, and there is a right and a wrong way to lead, especially in the church. Your choice is between two leadership styles:

The Boss

Sets goals, gives orders, expects the employees to do their jobs by the deadlines, and gives consequences if they’re not met. The Boss dictates, forces people to do tasks, gives no ownership, and demands without investing in others. They do not love. Their leadership style results in a disgruntled and disenfranchised team that will not be there for them when they need it the most.

The Servant Leader

Sets goals, casts vision, is solid but gentle, sacrifices for the team, excites people to serve based on their SHAPE (Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experiences*), gives them autonomy while touching base to find out if they have frustrations and/or needs, leads by example, inspires others, serves them by getting their own hands dirty, forgives mistakes, and gives plenty of encouragement, rewarding success. The Servant Leader leads first with love, second with goals, and reaps a harvest of excitement, loyalty, vision and growth that creates a culture of success in their team.

THERE IS A RIGHT WAY TO LEAD

Let’s put this to rest from the get-go. There should be no bosses in the church, only servants leading others by their own example, equipping them to shine for God’s Kingdom. Jesus Himself commanded it in Matt. 20:25-28 (NLT):  “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  The way you pursue your goals is more important than what you’re doing, because it’s all about the people. If your pursuit harms the people you lead, it becomes worthless. As a Servant Leader, you are called to sow to please the Spirit of God:  “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” -Gal. 6:7-8 (NIV)  Will you be challenged? Absolutely. Those you lead will stretch you like you wouldn’t believe and give you gray hairs ahead of time, but God uses it to make you more like His Son. You must resist the temptation to start bossing your team around and consciously choose to love them instead. Check out how the scripture continues with a great promise for you:  “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” -Gal. 6:9-10 (NIV)

When you stay the course, the sacrificial love of Jesus that you show as a Servant Leader will build your team up more than any achieved goal ever would. The diamonds in the rough that God has entrusted to you will start shining bright, and the model of leadership you show them will continue in their work when it comes their time to lead.

A great mentor and friend of mine said that we’re called to pour into others to the point of making ourselves unnecessary. That’s the ultimate sign of humility, faith and trust that should define every Servant Leader in God’s Kingdom. If you are a worship leader, are you keeping your eyes open for team members that have the signs of leadership in them? God wants to use you to love, encourage and mentor them to release them into leadership. Does your team structure allow for this, or is it stiff in order to keep everybody in check and in their original positions through thick and thin? A healthy leader allows for upward movement and gets excited when people grow and are launched into their own trajectories for God’s glory.

You have vision from God. The only way to get people to sign on the dotted line is to inspire them and show them that the vision is possible with their help. You must communicate a lot more than you think. Even better, make sure they understand you’re talking about God’s vision and try to remove yourself from the driver’s seat. Serve better, harder and more sacrificially than anyone else, and you will see people catch the fire and serve as you have served. The fact that the vision is God’s already makes it clear that we are all in it together, and you as the leader must lead through serving, not bossing around.

We’re all part of a bigger picture, His story unfolding through history. We fit together just like the Bible says in 1. Corinthians 12:12-27, and a true leader is a humble servant like Jesus Himself was. If the Highest One of all washed His disciples’ feet, how much more are we called to serve others? Lead humbly, take responsibility, be quick to apologize genuinely when you’ve done anything wrong, and show by your example what it means to serve God. Be a Servant Leader.

*From The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren