Welcome to this month’s installment of ‘The Art Of Worship’.

This month I will continue on with the subject of transitioning over to a new church fellowship as the new worship leader. 

Here’s a picture of how my first week and month have gone so far.  I had the opportunity to meet with the pastor first, where he shared with me his heart for worship ministry at the church, as well as some of his expectations, thoughts and concerns.  I found that we are in agreement regarding the need for fresh, new and consistent leadership for both the worship team and the church.

I also had the opportunity to meet with the team members who have decided to remain part of the team.  In this case, the previous leader is feeling somewhat hurt that she is no longer going to be the leader, which was decided upon by the pastor, who had asked her to step down as leader. 

It is important that I remember to be understanding and sensitive to her feelings, especially if she is interested in remaining part of the team.  At the same time however, I have been given the role and job as the new worship leader and I need to focus on my new job responsibilities and be willing to step up to provide leadership to the team, even if my approach to leadership is different than what the team is accustomed to. 

One of the things the pastor has asked of me is to provide strong, consistent, leadership to the team.  I am already faced with several challenges, not knowing exactly what the future holds, especially the people aspect and how they will respond to my leadership approach, both individually and collectively.  For now though, I need to play things by ear, in a sense, as I get to know people better and learn more about them and how they work together. 

This will certainly be challenging in many ways, but I am looking forward to embracing this work and I am actually looking forward to growing through the changes and challenges that come.

After a recent meeting with the team, I was given the opportunity to share my heart for worship ministry, to give a brief testimony of my salvation experience, and share some of the experiences of my worship ministry over the years.

Taking the time to share some of these things with the team helped to give them a bit of an idea about my background, where I come from. It also helped them begin to feel comfortable with me as the new leader.  I welcomed the opportunity for them to ask questions and share some of their concerns with me regarding the changes that are taking place. 

It is important to bear in  mind that changes like these are never easy most of the time, especially when you are coming in as the new person and expected to take over the role that someone else has been filling for a significant period of time. It is doubly so when an outsider, as I am, comes in to take the reins of leadership.

As worship leaders, we all have approaches and styles that are different and unique.  And since most of us are creatures of habit, to a degree, and do not necessarily like change, we must be ready to roll with the punches as they come and deal with them to the best of our abilities.  The good news is that according to God’s word, “I can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me” (Phil'p:4:13).

So let us all remember to keep our eyes focused on the One who is the Master and Finisher of our faith, that is Jesus Christ, and to continue to place our trust in him.  Until next time, let’s continue to worship the King!

JB