Outlast
It’s happening all over America. Worship leaders with twenty and thirty years of experience are “aging-out” of leading worship.
No, they’re not, but that’s what they call it.
More than ever, worship leaders in their 20s, 30s, and 40s need the counsel, wisdom, encouragement, and perspective of those who have led before them.
But many of them have become Realtors, Care Pastors, Discipleship Pastors, or left the church altogether. They are no longer in worship ministry at all.
It’s a stinking tragedy. And we can avoid it.
I think worship pastors should last until at least 70 or 75 years old. But how?
Here are five practices to help you complete the course laid out for you.
Keep Learning
Nothing screams “I’m old!” more than when you stop learning and adapting. Age has never been a number. It’s an attitude. Hey, I’m 53, but I’m still learning new songs, new technologies, new approaches.
It was about 2015. Multitracks were all the rage. My first reaction was, “I can’t wait until this stupid fad goes out of style!” Followed up with, “but what if it doesn’t? I’d better learn it.” I asked a leader I was coaching, and he graciously taught me the basics of the software and hardware. I gradually started incorporating them into appropriate moments. For a while, I used them all the time. Then I started realizing the downsides to them. I stopped asking God anything while I was leading. The Karen just told me what to do next. Now I love to use clicks, but I only use cues and tracks sparingly. But I know how to.
Raise Others
There are two approaches to leadership. Raise leaders or have people who are willing and able to fill in for you when you’re away. Those are not the same! If you only have leaders who fill in for you, you’re not raising leaders. It takes a Kingdom perspective to prioritize raising leaders because doing so is discipleship in your ministry context.
And it’s never the perfect time to start mentoring leaders. Well, maybe five years ago was a better time! But what if you decide to mentor two new worship leaders in the next twelve months? Go through a book together, join an online small group, take a video course, or just start planning worship sets together. But start. The Lone Ranger is a leader who will soon be too old to ride on his own.
Question Your Go-tos
What got you to where you are won’t get you to where you’re going. Our go-tos are like habits that have helped us become efficient and confident. But they will be our undoing as we begin to mentor the next generation of leaders.
We must do the arduous work of untangling what is principle and what is preference. There are leadership principles, biblical principles, relationship principles, musical principles, and technical principles that will stand the test of time. But it’s easy to assume that every way that we have always done things is a principle. What if it’s a preference? What if it worked for me, but doesn’t work for them?
Hold your hands open and let them have preferences that trump yours, without violating the principles. And boy, don’t we need the Holy Spirit to help us with this one!
Take Their Advice
I asked some young, real-world worship leaders what they like and don’t like about older leaders mentoring them. These are their words. Take their advice.
Don’t:
Censor my music, just because you don’t prefer it
Talk down to me
Give last-minute changes to things I’ve already planned
Give responsibility without also giving authority
Do:
Give clear parameters for what you expect
Be flexible and wise
Act like a friend, not just someone who is trying to help
Care about me, not just the outcome
Let me make mistakes
Apply Sunscreen
When I look at the top of my hands, I cringe at the wrinkles. Where did those old dude hands come from? It’s not age. It’s unprotected sun exposure.
Serving the Lord in worship ministry for decades comes with its scars, sunburns, and limps. I was given a prophetic word in 2003 that said, “I’m seeing all this suntan lotion, and I really felt that there’s an oil in your life for people that when you speak over people, that when you watch over people, when your words come over people, it keeps people from getting burned by the heat of the world.”
This protection is what my coaches and I are dedicated to. We’re always honored to walk alongside you in this process!
-Dave Helmuth
Author of the Five Faders and Founder of Ad Lib Music
Outlast (Nº 454)
