I spoke with yet another pastor who is looking for a worship leader. This one was lost to burnout.

We often misunderstand equality, authority, and equity in the conversation about women in church leadership.

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.

In Costa Rica, I am pleasantly surprised at how kind drivers are. They let each other into traffic. They honk, wave, or flash their lights to give you the right of way.

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.

I got off the airplane when we first entered Costa Rica, and the customs official asked me, “¿A que te dedicas?” “Músico,” I’d answer.

If you’ve ever said (or heard) any of these phrases, I have something to tell you about.

• One drummer hits too hard, one too soft.

• Our drums sound terrible, dead, too loud, or like they are not part of the mix.

• Our sound people don’t know what to do with the drums.

What am I taking to heart?

You can't make music if you are focusing only on your instrument. You have to listen and respond to the rest of the band for it to be music.

More and more worship teams are beginning to play with a click.

I took stock. I noticed. I paid attention. I realized that I’ve been leading three to four Sundays a month over the past twelve months. That was okay then.

But it was time to change.

Do the worship leaders at your church meet together regularly? Oh, they see each other at church. They may occasionally play on each other’s teams. They might even be a part of the same small group.

But do they actually journey together as worship leaders?Do the worship leaders at your church meet together regularly? Oh, they see each other at church. They may occasionally play on each other’s teams. They might even be a part of the same small group.

But do they actually journey together as worship leaders?

I received this question from a pastor:

"How do you describe the minimum level of vocal ability that a person needs to possess before they will perform on a Sunday morning? As you might guess, this is prompted by a church member who very much wants to sing with the team, but frankly probably falls below the standard of what we would like to have on stage...."

Have you ever tried to actually measure how loud the congregation sings?

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 measure of a worship leader’s success is not better services, but building worshippers.” 

We ended the song with the entire room singing loudly. It was a reflection of what was happening in their hearts – they were “all in!”

I was leading Sunday morning worship at this church. I greeted the assembled worshipers and… got back a very wimpy response. I felt like I was looking at a room of corpses.

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.