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Church work is very rewarding, but as with any job, there are moments when either a staff member or volunteer that works with you makes a personal or professional mistake. Confrontation and re-adjustment of behavior has to happen. This was one of those days. Never fun. Always plenty of decisions to learn from. As I sat there and thought about those decisions and the day's events, a thought came to my mind. Am I leading my team well? Am I filling those shoes with dignity and grace?
As I sat and watched the clock tick past midnight, I came up with four things you'll see in your team if you're leading them well:
No. 1: Healthy priorities.
God first, family second, and work third.
No. 2: Trust.
Your team trusts your character and believes the organization and you are reliable, honest, and effective.
No. 3: Willingness.
There is a willingness to minister and display God's love in a way that makes others want to be a part of the vision.
No. 4: Heart.
They have a heart for what the church is doing. The team members show up on time and are on board with the vision.
I looked at my list and thought, “That's easy to say, but how do we make this happen?” One person I have read a lot about and continue to learn from is Steve Jobs. He once said, "The most important thing is a person.” His passion on this statement created some of the strongest products and product following we have ever seen.
How does focusing on people show that you are leading your team well? It shows that you realize that gear does not make your services great—attendees worshipping does. And that's what you and your team are there to support. Everything you do or buy should have that as the focus.
Leading techs to personal growth
Typically, technical team members are behind-the-scenes people. They naturally want to fade into the background and just push faders or turn knobs. Often techs are not as social and would rather be in an online world talking about the next best phone or computer. You must break this trend and bring techs together. Scripture says:
"I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19-20 (NIV).
Create opportunities for techs to interact with the worship team, other tech team members, and the pastors. This interaction might include vision, scripture reading, and prayer.
Create opportunities for techs to interact with the worship team, other tech team members, and the pastors.
Another way to help techs grow is to have a hand in changing the mentality of how they view their roles in the church. Techs are not just behind the scenes. They are the scene. Like a worship leader on the platform playing the keyboard, techs are playing an instrument that mixes everything together to create the environment that ultimately sets the environment of worship, and hopefully leads people to Christ. Without techs, the spoken word would not reach satellite venues, recordings, or the masses. Techs are the definition of fulfilling the Great Commission. If your techs grasp this mentality, it will change the way they act and interact with each other.
Techs are the definition of fulfilling the Great Commission. If your techs grasp this mentality, it will change the way they act and interact with each other.
As I drifted off to sleep, I wrote down one last item. We have to hold ourselves accountable to be the best that we can be, ever realizing that our teams are made up of people. We can't expect perfection, but we can expect excellence—from them and from ourselves. In the words of Max De Pree, our first obligation as leaders is to define reality, the last is to say thank you, and in between, to be a servant. Live that and you are leading your team well.
