We were observing a Sunday morning rehearsal.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" said the flustered senior pastor to the worship leader. A couple of times.

We thought they might come to blows, and the worship leader was visibly livid.

Maybe we feel disoriented because God is trying to reorient us.

As churches, we’ve been forced to rethink virtually everything about our weekly gathering rhythms.

I just learned the other day that one of the team members at one of my former churches took a break from the team and never came back. She’s at another church now.

What am I taking to heart?

Maybe you’re a worship leader who is caught in the unrelenting cycle of leading weekly worship gatherings while managing songs, arrangements, schedules, teams, relationships, and life.

You feel the need for... 

• A deep walk with God (Intimate, Consecrated, Scripture-soaked)

• A deep love for people (Shepherd, Launcher, Encourager, Leader)

• A deep understanding of music (Listener, Craftsman, Fluent)

The best way to play better music, get along with your teammates, serve the congregation well, and enjoy it all is...what? How would you answer that?

The other night, I was tucking my son into bed and noticed some trash on his bunk bed shelf. It was the remains of an old, burned-up plastic Coke bottle.

As we approach the end of the year, I encourage you to take a moment between sips of 'nog (stay tuned for a killer recipe) to reflect on the state of your team's relationships.

Every leader disciple needs to learn how to work with people.

It took me quite a while to figure that out.

Today, I’m giving you an outline rather than paragraphs. That’s obvious.

But what’s not obvious is how much what you do impacts congregational engagement. I want to challenge us, as leaders, to grow in BEING:

How modest is modest enough? The most common internal answer is “the same as me or more modest than me.”

Have you ever wished your teams, pastors, and congregation were great at giving each other feedback?

“So let me see by a show of hands,” I once asked when leading worship, “how many of you have never raised your hands in worship before?”

(now that wasn’t so bad, was it?)

Leading can be one of the loneliest roles. Doesn't have to be. Who's got your back? Join the [no lone rangers] movement!