By Marc Brown
As worship pastors, we spend ourselves working and asking God to build a team (a choir, an orchestra, a band) that will help our congregations hear, know and respond to God. As our ministry grows, usually the personnel needed to fulfill our calling increases. The expectation for musical and spiritual excellence also becomes great. If your church happens to be located in an area with high turnover, the need for more personnel and necessity of excellence makes ministry even more challenging.
Regardless of these challenges, everything can be clicking right along, when one day, God breaks in and calls a significant group of people from your congregation to begin a new work. The new work could be a new multisite location, a house church network or other significant ministry initiative, but as far as fulfilling the ministry to which God has called you, it doesn’t really matter. All you know is you are left with fewer people to accomplish the same amount and quality of work. Even if considerable effort has been spent raising up and training leaders, the sudden exodus of so many can leave you scrambling to fill vacancies.
This problem isn’t unique to worship ministries or even churches; it can happen to anyone in any volunteer organization or business. However, when this happens in a church, there can be one aggravating component. Those who are departing may dominate the focus of the church to the point that you are tempted to feel as if your role, and the role of those who remain with you, has suddenly become insignificant. We should never be surprised or bothered when people depart because they see better opportunities to reach the lost, but we also need our struggles to be acknowledged. We need encouragement in the crucial ministry God has called us to continue.
Unfortunately, it can seem there is no way to express these feelings without seeming petty or unspiritual. The necessary role of new works to grow God’s kingdom is beyond question. But, for those of us left to maintain vitality and quality of worship in the mother church, it can be discouraging, especially when it feels sinful to even voice your feelings or point out the challenges you face. What can we do in circumstances like this?
1. Pray for and support the new work and those leaving to be a part of it. I have read several compelling studies that seem to indicate new church starts are significantly more effective in reaching unchurched people than established churches of the same size. These brothers and sisters in Christ deserve our love, our prayers and our unconditional support, not our criticism and resentment. In addition to prayer support, we should also demonstrate a posture of open hands with regard to sharing equipment and other resources.
2. Look to see how God is already filling your needs. I got an email from a volunteer ministry leader informing me of her intention to join the new work just four weeks before the start of the new school year and our annual kick-off for fall ministries. I assumed this unfortunately timed decision was the death knell for the ministry she led. I was wrong. In just a few days, God provided a new leader who was just as capable and even more passionate for the ministry. While all open ministry positions have not yet been filled, several have. Don’t assume that the start of something new means the end of something old. God’s plans involve you, too.
3. Rally your people. If you are feeling this way about your church’s new work, chances are others in your ministry are also. Those who remain with you need to know that there is still important Kingdom work to be done where they are. Prayerfully lay plans for your ministry and cast that vision to your people. Get them excited about what God has in store for their ministry.
4. Talk to other worship pastors who have successfully lived through similar situations. You are not the first worship pastor to live through significant changes in their ministry. I guarantee that you know, or can find someone, who has successfully followed God through this type of challenge. Talk to them. Don’t just air your grievances. Find out how they problem-solved their issues. Ask them about their spiritual journey in addition to the nuts and bolts. You will gain information, perspective and encouragement.
5. See what Scripture has to say. What? Scripture? If other types of tough times are a spark to your relationship with God, then this should not be any different. See what God reveals to you in your personal prayer time and study of scripture. Some of the best (and worst) examples of leadership during tough times can be found in scripture. What wisdom has God already given in his word? Any advice or solutions you take for this issue must involve God’s instruction and encouragement through Scripture.
6. Give your senior pastor your support — both publicly and privately. As worship pastors, we should always support our pastors. My pastor has said he sometimes fears he might be “dismantling” the church by following this path. Worship pastors may be responsible for a lot, but bearing the responsibility for the entire congregation is not something with which we are familiar. Pray for your pastor. Make sure he knows he can count on you.
7. Pray Luke 10:02 for your ministry and yourself. “He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” I thought praying this scripture was a unique practice for my church, but I have encountered several others that cling to the truth of this challenge. While praying this scripture is not a magic incantation that conjures up all the personnel you need to fulfill your ministry needs, it is an act of worship that commits to God’s ownership of his church and our submission to God.
8. Trust God. Rick Muchow has a great song using this simple phrase as its title. The chorus says, “Trust God, from the bottom of your heart. Don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Trust God for where your life is going. God is in control.” The sentiment could be considered insultingly simple, but it is true.
When I take time to consider the big picture, including ways God is using me and providing for me, my complaints give way to worship. It seems like a worship pastor should be pretty good at that. When I reflect on the Psalms, I realize how often David also went through this cycle: 1) crying or complaining to God, 2) concerns melting away as we see God for who he is, 3) realizing how God richly provides for us, then 4) we are invited to join him in his work.
When we are consumed with our own issues, we will always face discouragement. But if we will look up, instead of down, we will know we are not alone. That is comforting, isn’t it?