“Give me a Break!”

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

Week after week we plug in, warm up, rehearse, and play. For many, like myself, it has become so much of a routine that when it comes to Sunday we do it automatically. I’m not saying that our worship is not sincere or entirely automatic, but the process of getting to that point is. Weekly we serve alongside faithful team members who consistently use their God-given talents in service to the congregation and it’s Sunday worship. Sometimes it becomes all too easy for us to get caught up in “Sunday routines,” our musical abilities, and the never-ending quest for musical and Godly excellence and we forget to take care of and cherish our most valuable gift… the people around us.

Are we working our volunteer teams to death?

Below, I will give several reasons why I prefer “Team Rotations” when it comes to volunteer activities and services. Keep in mind that full rotations are not always an option in every church and within every service or ministry opportunity. But… when rotations are or become an option I would encourage you to take these points into consideration before making a decision one way or another. So… in what ways does a volunteer team rotation help?

  • Provides opportunity for new membership and mentorship.

If you are like myself or most churches you are always in dire need of more volunteers. We constantly advertise the need and ask around, but never show our congregations the availability of joining new opportunities. When we do worship team rotations (or even media/ tech teams for that case) we are consistently showing our congregations that we have a desire to include new people into our ministries and help them grow into a new position. Not only do we show an inclusive mentality or spirit by providing an opportunity for people to serve, but we also provide an opportunity for ourselves or other “seasoned” members of the ministries they are joining to mentor them and to help them grow. In doing that we are extending the reach of our ministry beyond just a few people and reaching out through new people and new avenues. If we are seeking quality and longevity doing a rotation is the best option by my opinion because we get to mentor, grow each other, and bring in newer members of all ages to serve.

  • Provides opportunity for Worship Team members to get to worship in other ways.

As a worship pastor I can tell you that many times I have felt totally out of place in a worship service where I was not on the stage or had noting to do with the music, planning, production, etc. That shouldn’t be the case. I have heard and even said many times, “I worship through my music.” That is true, but that shouldn’t be my only avenue or method of worship. Instead we should be always worshipping through whatever means is available to us. By rotating on and off the stage we are providing our members the ability to worship through avenues other than leading the worship, and the opportunity to worship alongside their brothers and sisters in Christ instead of having to always lead. It is good to have a break… we may feel uncomfortable with it at first but I guarantee you that in the end it will be beneficial. This method not only provides a break from the routine; but it also gives members time to worship with their physical and spiritual families.

  • Prevents burnout.

Every person is susceptible to burnout… even if they think they aren’t. While using our abilities each and every week we are constantly giving and giving and pouring out all that we are before our congregations while leading them in worship and sometimes we just don’t “take in” enough in return. I have found that I have lost my joy in leading worship before without even knowing it! By allowing breaks for rotation we are allowing and providing periods of refreshment where our team members can be poured into consistently with nothing to be expected of them in return. We aren’t a never ending well of resources and neither are our team members… we can’t expect anyone to give and give without a time of refreshment and refilling.

Hopefully this provides some food for thought and together we can build up our volunteers and increase the longevity of their ministries and the ministries of our churches collectively. In the end, we must take care of our people… they are our most valuable and least replaceable resources.

Want to be a better Worship Leader? Well… who doesn’t

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

The title says it all… I’m not sure if I have ever met someone who didn’t want to be better at whatever they did. But complacency is a dangerous thing and it creeps in when we least expect it and can steal our joy and our determination and commitment to excellence and improvement. The Bible calls us to be excellent and to do everything as if for the Lord. Below I have explored just a few ways or attitudes that can help us become better worship leaders. This list isn’t exhaustive and isn’t a “quick fix” or a step-by-step method to improvement. But… if we commit ourselves to doing these few things I would struggle to say that you, and those around you, won’t notice a difference!

Love Worship!

This may seem obvious but worship shouldn’t just be a job or part of our jobs… it should be a lifestyle that we love and enjoy. Our worship shouldn’t be dependent on our circumstances, work-load, preferences, congregation size or involvement. We should be worshippers on and off the stage and all our worship should be sincere. What we do from the stage on Sunday mornings should just be a normal outflow of what we do all week… each and every day. Our personal lives should echo and resemble what we do on the stage. If we want to be better worship leaders we should stop playing games with our personal worship, because it is exactly as important as it sounds.

Never Stop Learning.

This particular point comes natural for some and is a distant thought for others. We shouldn’t stop pursuing excellence or the betterment of ourselves as worship leaders when we find a position or job. Outstanding worship leaders value training and love learning. Feel like you’re in a “rut” or afraid that you might be developing one? My response to you would be: Don’t get complacent or content where you are… continue moving forward, learning, and becoming a better worshipper and lead worshipper. This point doesn’t mean the same thing for every person in every situation, you don’t have to go to seminary to learn… there are a variety of blogs, podcasts, books, seminars, and resources out there that you can dig into for free! Let’s not become complacent, let’s not shy away from feedback, and let’s never claim to know-it-all.

Be a Team Player and Create Space for Others to Serve.

We can’t do it all on our own… well maybe you can but I’d personally like to choose not to. Within our ministries we should work hard to create a team mentality and we should model servanthood through all that we do. If we want to get better at our craft we must surround ourselves with others who are willing and able to serve. The role of a worship leader isn’t just to lead corporately, we should minister individually as well. We should be open to including others and look for opportunities to encourage and to empower. If our desire is to improve ourselves and our ministries then we must be secure enough about our own calling, position and place, to “give up” a little when it comes to leading.

Be Happy Where You Are.

Sometimes it’s easier to say that, “God has us where he wants us” than it is to believe it. But I assure you… all things occur according to His will. Never stop pursuing Him. Excellent worship leaders are grateful and excited to serve wherever they are. Our happiness and contentment should not be determined by the size of our congregation, the appearance of our building/sanctuary/ stage, the number of Facebook likes or followers we receive on our Twitter accounts or blogs. Our joy should come from Christ alone and our ability to serve Him. Let’s serve faithfully and be joyful servants where we are.

Don’t Depend on Yourself!

Often times we can depend on ourselves and our talent more than the Spirit… I’ve done it. Our worship shouldn’t be talent or performance based, it should instead be authentic and pure. If we want to be better worship leaders then we must stop banking on our own talent and experience and start relying on God and His Spirit. Remain vigilant and obedient and allow God to work through you and your team on a weekly basis. The church doesn’t need another rockstar… it needs some faithful servants.

Give me some feedback and maybe some other points that you can think of below! Thanks all! Stay safe and warm.

What are we Communicating?

Posted on by Tanner Royalty

Picture a teacher standing before a classroom full of students who are all on the edge of their seats, captivated and mulling on every word that is spoken. What a great responsibility that teacher holds! The words the say and the things they do can shape a child’s education permanently. Now picture what we as worship leaders and teams do each and every week before our congregations. We are much like that teacher we just described, we hold a massive responsibility each and every week to demonstrate, model, and educate our congregations in true “God-pleasing” worship.

Below I have listed some thoughts on how we can better communicate and model the attitude of a Biblical worshipper from the stage weekly. Be sure to note that this blog post isn’t about what our song selections communicate… that is a whole separate topic that can be expected within the next few weeks. Anyways… let’s get going! 

Is it apparent that worship brings us joy? 

I don’t know how many times I have watched back footage of myself on stage leading worship and noticed that I do not look happy at all, or had my lovely Grandma look me dead in the eye and say, “try smiling more… at least look happy to have the opportunity to lead worship.” How encouraging does an unhappy or emotionally dead worship leader or team member look to a newcomer to our worship services? Psalm 84 makes it clear in the first two verses that naturally our worship should be filled with joy.

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes,  faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.” -Psalm 84:1-2

We shouldn’t fake joy… our worship should naturally be filled with joy if we truly understand and believe what we are singing and who we are singing to. Do you believe the words you sing? Seek the Lord and pray diligently that you enter into worship joyfully and express that joy in a natural, authentic, and contagious way. Your congregations attitude towards worship starts with you… model it for them.

Inclusion… Worship isn’t a spectator sport.

There are several ways to make people feel included and there are just as many things that have the opposite affect. Everyone has a friend who sings loudly in the car to every song that comes on the radio… even if they don’t know the majority of the words. Don’t turn your congregations into that friend. It’s typically a good idea to not introduce too many new songs too quickly. Not every person in our congregations is “up-to-speed” by our opinion on modern worship and really the only time they may hear “church music” is when they are at church. We as worship leaders should acknowledge that and allow our congregations time to learn the songs that we sing.

Another way to connect our congregations to the songs that we sing is to choose keys that they CAN sing! Being a natural tenor I’m guilty of messing this concept up more than any other person I know… but we must remember to choose easily singable keys. I’m definitely not saying not to make your congregations put forth an effort. I personally prefer to pick songs and keys that don’t strain people, but also songs that don’t allow them to just mumble along without putting forth any effort to sing and worship at all. Most of us probably don’t lead worship for a church full of professional singers so we shouldn’t hold them to those expectations.

Are we demonstrating excellence?

We also must be aware of how we are representing ourselves and the God in which we worship from stage. It becomes apparently clear when a group of musicians, whether it’s a church band or a local group, is prepared or not prepared for a “set” or group of songs they are going to play in front of people. Do we take our corporate worship time seriously? If we do then we must pursue excellence in that area. The better our worship sounds isn’t necessarily going to please God any more or less… but it models something for our congregations. We as believers should pursue excellence in every area of our lives because we are doing all things for the glory of our God.

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” -Colossians 3:23

So… what are we communicating?

Be prepared to lead worship. Worship joyfully. Bring others alongside you in worship to our God.