Training Up Leaders

I’ve been reading a book about worship leadership – Worship Matters, by Bob Kauflin. In the chapter I read tonight Bob was talking about the team of people which he has surrounded himself with over the years at his church. Apparently he is the leader of the worship ministry at his church, but not necessarily the worship leader at every gathering. He spoke of one gathering where he was asked to fill in at the last minute as the leader. His point was that he had nothing to do with the majority of the planning for that particular gathering. And he spoke of how everyone else involved in the worship ministry had fulfilled their roles so completely that all he had to do was show up and sing. And then he ended the paragraph with a statement which resonated with me.

“One day I won’t be needed at all.”

This is not a negative. It would be ideal for us all to disciple people and train up people in our particular areas of ministry who could step in and lead in our absence. The goal should be, for each of us, to reproduce ourselves. And do so effectively so that our ministries are not hanging on what Kauflin calls the “solo model of leadership.” Sometimes we might find ourselves in places and situations where we are the sole person who has been gifted and called to lead and serve. You will do yourself and the people you serve a disservice if one of your long-term goals fails to be training your replacement. Whether you are a pastor, a worship leader, a teacher, no matter the role, we should always be looking to duplicate ourselves. Paul had Timothy. We all need our Timothy.

I recognize a vacuum in this area of my life. I have been remiss to train up people as worship leaders. Yes we have a worship team, but I believe that I have failed them in this area. I don’t think I’ve been leading and training them so much as I have been rehearsing them. I am committed to changing this.

Where Have I Been?

I’ve let most of this summer slip away from me without hardly any blogging. My bad! It’s not that I’ve had nothing to say. I just haven’t sat down to say anything. One of the things that I enjoy most about sitting down and posting to this blog is that it gives me a chance to share with you the things that are on my heart, the challenges that are before me, the victories that are given to me, and the defeats I endure. All in hopes that you may be encouraged in your walk with Christ. Sorry that I’ve been somewhat A.W.O.L. over the last month and a half. I promise to do better.

When Sean, Trevor and myself went to the Together for the Gospel conference back in April, we brought home about 13 or 14 free books. Not bargain bin books, but really good books. I thought to myself that I’d finish all of these books about in time for the 2010 T4G conference, which would be perfect. Anyway, one of the books is a book called Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin. Bob is the Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries and I had the privilege to briefly meet him at the conference. A very tall man. The tallest worship leader I’ve ever met. But most of all, a humble servant and gracious individual. I gleaned all of that in about 3-4 minutes. Some people exude those characteristics and you sense it immediately. He’s one of them. His book is an excellent book. I’m only midway through it and already I want to start again from the beginning. It is a worship leader’s book, but there has been much content that, I believe, any believer would find helpfully challenging. I suggest that everyone who considers themselves a worshiper read it. (What other kind of Christian is there?)

He asks a question in the book and it is what I will leave you with to ponder. There is a chapter in the book dedicated entirely to shedding light on the role of the Holy Spirit in worship. One question from that chapter is this: “If the Holy Spirit stopped empowering the worship in your church this Sunday, would anyone notice?” A question worth pondering I think. Maybe some fitting follow up questions would be, “What is Holy Spirit empowered worship and how do I know I am participating in it?”

Together For the Gospel Eve

It’s the night before the conference, and we made it safely to Louisville, KY. I’m looking forward to hearing John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, and Al Mohler speak, among others. I’m looking forward to the worship as well, being led by Bob Kauflin. If you want to know more about the conference, go to the website.

What I’m hoping to gain from this is simply new insight and deeper understanding of the power of the Gospel. I’ve been looking forward to this conference because it’s an inter-denominational effort, not just Southern Baptists, but also, Sovereign Grace churches, conservative Presbyterians, and other evangelical denominations. The diversity in the crowd will make the event unique. I will keep you posted as the week goes on. Pray for us (myself, Pastor Sean, and Pastor Trevor) as we attend that God would inspire us and do something cool in our hearts.