It doesn’t matter how many seats are in the auditorium, how talented the musicians, how awesome the gear, or how beautiful the song: at some point or another, we all have to deal with the cancerous disease of complacency. And I’ve noticed that how we deal with it in our circles of influence is not only like a window into our own true motives, but also a core sample of our effectiveness as leaders, and sometimes more importantly, as friends.
In my current stage of life, I’ve held every position in a worship band except choir director. Everything from part-time volunteer to creative director, and in one terrible, regretful case, drummer.
But a portion of the undercurrent of all my experiences (except the drumming one) has been a passion to be effective at whatever I, or the band I’m in, am/is doing. It’s something I believe musicians are called to, and it’s something about which I have a tendency to be outspoken, occasionally rather loudly.
Regardless of my personal convictions, I think there are three things worship leaders and support staff can do to create a culture that hates complacency and loves excellence. And that culture, as long as it’s focused on the advancement of God’s name and leading people in His worship, must exist.
First of all, this discussion is much bigger than music stands, so if that’s what you think of when you think “complacency,” then stop now. Well, don’t stop now. Keep reading, and then stop. I’ll agree that a music stand is a crutch, but I’m not sure it’s as big a deal as we sometimes make it out to be.
The first real step in combating complacency is cultivating relationships. That seems to be the first step in combatting a lot of negative things, go fig. What I mean is, if you have no rapport with your team, they won’t be receptive to your efforts to push them toward excellence. (Side note: Don’t assume that just because you’re behind the microphone or have a title, you know what excellence looks like. Yikes.)
Good rapport consists of three things: mutual attention, mutual positivity, and coordination. Thanks, Wikipedia. But that makes sense, right? I can’t effectively express my passion for excellence to you if there’s no pretense between us. I’ll look or sound like a witch, a spook, a goof, or a jerk, and none of those things make you want to do what I suggest. But if there’s a relationship between us, you know what drives me, and I know what drives you, we can communicate in a way that fosters legitimate growth, and that should be what we’re both after.
The second is proper planning. Get Planning Center. It will be one of the best tools you’ve ever used. If you’ve already got it, use it. In addition to allowing you to make detailed, info-rich plans for your team members, utilizing the tools in Planning Center will provide a few indirect results that will help you combat complacency.
You send me, the bassist (it’s always the silly bassist), a Planning Center schedule on Tuesday for the following Sunday. Assuming there is a weekly rehearsal that isn’t within 24 hours of the plan being sent, that’s a more than reasonable amount of time to practice on my own. But I show up completely unprepared, with no legitimate excuse. It’s time for a powwow.
Using the tools Planning Center has to offer not only allows you to better equip your team, but it also allows you to quickly identify potential problems with complacency and devotion.
But this only works if you’ve got the first step under your belt. “Who cares that you’re disappointed if we’re not friends? Why should I put in the practice time if we don’t have the same goals? Big deal, I didn’t practice. That’s what rehearsal is for. Etc.”
The third is effective rehearsal time. Few things show respect for your team like respecting their time. And if you’ve fostered good relationships and provided proper planning, this is really the icing on the Complacency Combat Cake.
Have specified beginning and end times for rehearsals. If you don’t get to everything on the set list, it gets cut. Over time, you’ll get the hang of the time constraint, and you’ll get to everything.
Cutting what you don’t rehearse does two things: it shows your team that you’re serious about getting them out of rehearsal and back to their families/lives on time, and it shows them that you’re serious about excellence. A “que sera sera” attitude really should have no place in rehearsal. Leading God’s people in worship is a big responsibility, and to take it so lightly is no good. Saying, “We didn’t get to that last song, but we’ve played it 1000 times,” communicates “I’m ok with the possibility of a train wreck. I hope you all remember the break before the second chorus.”
If a band member is late, start without them. If the guitar players patch cables don’t work, cut the pedal board and go straight from guitar to amp. I’m serious.
If the first two steps are done, giving these extra authoritative pushes to your team will be easier and will foster growth, mutual respect, and most importantly, a desire for continued excellence. It won’t happen overnight, and requires effort and time, but if we want our teams to share our devotions, visions, and desires for excellence, these steps are a necessity.
Feel free to share steps you’ve taken to kick complacency in the face and teeth.
Worship Planning // Offertory (The Great Interruption)
Oh man, this is a good topic. I love what you said about fostering relationships. Sure, there are some folks on every team who are motivated and strive for excellence–but there are also those who tend toward complacency. Unless you have a good relationship with those complacent folks, you won’t move them away from that.
This has been on my mind a lot in the last few months, actually–we’re an all-volunteer team (including me as a leader) but I’m working on meeting individually with each team member to build that relationship (because just hanging out during rehearsal ain’t gonna cut it).
Here’s another thought–we need to make sure we don’t confuse complacency with a lack of skill. It’s easy to do, since both can sound the same. 🙂 But if it’s just a matter of a lack of skill in someone who has a heart to improve–we need help them grow. That’s another article entirely, I suppose.
Great thought, Eric. I’m glad you enjoyed the post! I definitely think it’s a great idea to make 1-on-1 time a priority for all your volunteers in an appropriate setting.
What a great topic! This has been saved in my Pocket reader for weeks and I’m so glad I kept it there. I fear that my team has grown complacent and I’ve been a big part in that. I think my problem may be that I’m too afraid of damaging relationships by being open with people and challenging them. Thank you for this inspiring post.
Going back through the blog this morning and really love this post Chris. It’s super easy to not challenge our team. Thanks again for sharing.
I have quite a different problem because I am not ready to become a worship leader and I see big issue with my current leader. I am that kind of dedicated and charged up for God musician who is new to Worship playing and I have an issue with the Worship leader who does not want practices during the week but he wants to go directly from pre-service (90 mins) into the actual worship session.
He is super busy and he seems to just want to get by with his acoustic guitarist while the rest of the band (e guitar, bass, drums and keys) are simply not synchronized in song arrangement nor melodic balancing. It is more like a campfire guitar strumming session (he sings great) but the other instruments are badly coordinated and the soundman simply mutes them down.
When I tried to suggest band practices he turns me down, saying not everyone has time. When I asked to arrange music song, he said everyone should know because he supplied the youtubes. WHen the rehearsal begins, the song sounds nothing like the YouTube versions, but return to a free strumming style he is used to. His first email to me stated how he had done more than 15 years worship etc.
I feel frustrated because I heard God telling me to join this music ministry to strengthen it. I may not be the best technical musician but I can hear how badly the intros and the endings actually distracts the worship session. It is often embarrassing,but no one says anything because they seem to think the worship leader is already doing his best and that’s how worship should be anyway,
A heart to heart discussion with an experienced bass player gave me an insight and a slap.i said I want excellence for God and play the best music possible for the congregation. He said I was wrong to think this way. He said excellent music are for shows while we are “only doing worship”.
I suddenly realized my level of service to our Lord is limited by these good hearted worship leaders who just want to “get by”. I often feel they are tired and they want to rush over the songs and get it over with.
I am sad and confused . I cannot do much more because I m not a great guitar player but I have a great ear for songs and I believe my prayers to level up the team will be answered.
Church politics and ranking hierarchy can be such waste of time actually. Doing something for so many years equate one with “I know it all” and “don’t change what’s not broken”?
Pray for me and guide me please. I do understand I need to submit to this leader while praying for more improvements in overall band.
Mr. T (and everyone else in a similar situation)
I have been there before. Playing under a leader with very limited skill and musical understanding can be extremely trying. There have been times when I would stop playing because the tempo was all over the map with no coherent direction. Some worship leaders, have decades of experience under their belt but never progress beyond novice capabilities. It holds the team back and can be felt in congregation. Experience does not equal quality (or ability) and in some cases can even make people less teach-able.
Sometimes in small “start up” churches a person becomes the worship leader because they are the only one who can play and it doesn’t matter to everyone else because, “bad music is better than no music.” After all everyone is worshiping anyway. But then the church grows, and team fills in around the worship leader who has been there from the beginning. This leader ‘may’ feel that what was good enough for the early days is still good enough now.
Years ago I went to a great conference with good worship, but the worship leader (whom also put together the conference) was terrible. The team behind him was great in spite of the musically short comings of their leader, however I’m also left a lasting memory of a terrible worship leader.
Perfection is not required for worship team leaders or members, but an honest true heart is required. Whether your singing back up, or playing bass, everyone should be focused on the Lord and worshiping in spirit and truth. If there is something the leader is doing that is impeding your ability to worship with a tender heart toward the Lord, than a conversation is in order.
Thanks for this! I don’t struggle with the relational part, but I do struggle with time constraints. The lines are blurry sometimes between taking that extra minute to joke around and foster relationships… and goofing around for 5 minutes during practice and not respecting everyone’s time. But here’s my question… how do you as a leader respectfully pull everyone back in if the chatter has gotten out of hand? How do I politely interrupt and ask them to move one without sounding like a jerk or seeming mean?
Hey, mrsoberger,
I think a big part of the solution to that (extremely common) problem is maintaining a rapport with your team. Staying involved and interested in their lives, not from the aspect of a “buddy,” but from the position of a leader. The more your team sees you as a leader, the more they will respect your authority to reign them in, and the easier it will be to do so. That’s why the relational aspect of this whole equation is so important. The team must view you as their leader and not just the band member who happens to be singing loudest.
That said, it can be awkward to break up the chatter when it’s time for business. Remember that as the leader, you have the authority and responsibility to do that. A great way to head off any problems like these is to have a pre-rehearsal pow-wow. Sit everyone down and explain that the current status quo isn’t working and that a change is needed. Hope this helps!