Fractional Priority
One of our Denver coaches (Orin) was telling me about the latest rage: part-timers are now being called “Fractional Employees.”
On one hand, I can see how this paints a picture of how much they are available - it’s not the whole pie, it’s just a fraction. I would’ve used “slice employee,” but hey, I’m not making the rules.
Most worship leaders and worship team members are “fractional.” And we often hear leaders saying things like:
“They’re only volunteers; we can’t ask more of them.”
“I had to schedule my car’s oil change during that meeting - it was the only time I had all week.”
“They are weekend warriors!”
“It’s impossible to plan a training event with everyone’s schedules being so full.”
“I know they have day jobs, but how hard is it to click the green ACCEPT button?”
The implication is that anyone who isn’t a full-time employee doesn’t give their all, or can’t be called to any standard. In fact, though there isn’t a universally accepted counterpart to “fractional” for full-time employees, the closest term used is “dedicated employee.”
Did you catch that?
Even there, the implication is that if you’re not full-time, you’re not dedicated.
Of course, we can’t expect our teams to invest 40 hours in preparing for Sunday’s service, but what CAN we call them to?
I lead a team of worship coaches with Ad Lib who are largely “fractional.” And while the realities demand that we prioritize certain commitments over others, how can we call our teams to be “dedicated” in their approach, while “fractional” in their availability?
As I spoke with one of our coaches in Lancaster (Brett), he opened the scriptures and made some insightful observations about priorities from Colossians 1.
This section contains some superlative descriptions of Jesus the Son. Verse 18 states: “And he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent, have first place in everything, have the supremacy, occupy the foremost place, holding first place in everything, towering far above everything and everyone.” (I love how multiple translations bring a broader understanding.)
Many of us mistakenly put God at the top of our priority list. For example:
God
Self
Spouse
Family
Work
Ministry
Now, don’t get distracted by the order. Notice that God is a priority, not the priority over everything. Not preeminent.
Here’s the point: If we don’t live our lives like this:
Jesus is preeminent in Self
Jesus is preeminent in Spouse
Jesus is preeminent in Family
Jesus is preeminent in Work
Jesus is preeminent in Ministry
it’ll be easy to start to slack once we get down the list to the “fractional” stuff. We can’t just say, “Jesus is first, and then I get on with my stuff.” Jesus has to be first IN my stuff. And if Jesus is first IN my stuff, that changes everything about how I do my stuff because He’s directly the Boss of me there.
In your “fractional life,” what changes would you make if you lived more aware and surrendered to Jesus’ role in each part?
Ps. Read this closing benediction for you slowly, taking it personally: “Since we first heard about you, we’ve kept you always in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding. We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness! And we pray that you would be energized with all his explosive power from the realm of his magnificent glory, filling you with great hope. Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light.” (Colossians 1:9-12)
-Dave Helmuth
Author of the Five Faders and Founder of Ad Lib Music
Fractional Priority (Nº 480)
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