Author: Meggan Jacobus

About Meggan Jacobus

Co-Founder & Staffing Manager at Froot Group Recruiter | Consultant | Connector | Wife | Mom | Friend @frootgroup @ministryjobs

Roll Out The Red Carpet This Christmas

For some people, Christmas is the only time they go to church. That is why it is critical for churches to have a strategic plan for welcoming guests, especially during holiday services. If you haven’t started, now is the time to begin planning your events to reach the first time guest who will come to your church this time of year. There’s just too much at stake! Here are some practical things you can do during your service to make an eternal difference in the lives of your guests:

Pay attention to your website and social media

Give extra attention to your website and social media leading up to your Christmas services. Is it clear and easy to find the times and locations of your Christmas services? Are all of your campuses open, or will you have one large gathering at the main campus? Will childcare be provided? Make sure every detail is covered online.

Train your holiday greeters

This seems obvious, but if you don’t usually have greeters at the entrances of the church, be sure they are present at your Christmas services. If you already have them, add more for your Christmas services, and make sure they are your most hospitable and helpful greeters. Place friendly faces at all of your entrances to the church and main worship areas so that that each guest gets a “Hello and Merry Christmas!” Encourage your greeters to offer more than a smiling face. At the very least, challenge them to remember people—because nobody likes to feel forgotten. Make a special effort to greet people you do not already know.

Greeting begins in the parking lot

The first few minutes of a guest’s experience are critical to the overall visit. Their experience starts when they pull into your church parking lot. Why not add a few extra volunteers this year to help direct and greet visitors as they find parking. Seeing a friendly face before you’re even in the door can make a big impact.

Add additional helpers

Think through the highest trafficked hallways or confusing areas of your church. These would be great spots to add additional greeters to help guide visitors to the right spot. Make it obvious who your volunteers are, using name tags, signs, or shirts so that guests know who to go to for help.

Have an overflow seating plan

Your Christmas Eve or Christmas services are usually the biggest one of the year, so have a solid plan in place for overflow seating. This includes volunteers assigned to grab more seating or direct people to a different area to watch the service. It also includes the tech team or extra tech volunteers to broadcast the service in the overflow room and attend to any potential sound issues.

Get Visitor Contact Information

Get your guests to share their contact information by offering something in return. My church gives $5 to the local food bank for each connect card that’s completely filled out and put into the offering bucket. Find what works for you and your church and do what you can to collect your guest’s information.

Engage in Meaningful Follow-Up

Follow-up on Christmas Eve immediately following the worship service. Yes, we realize that there are other things to do Christmas Eve! It’s inconvenient and everyone’s tired and wants to go home. We get that! Churches that are growing have leaders who are willing to work their tail off to get and maintain momentum to build the Kingdom

Make Your Christmas Eve Service Remarkable

Take your creativity to such a level that the service and your guests experience is talked about for weeks to come. We want your guests to be telling their friends and family about their experience so that their friends and family will want to come and experience your services for themselves.

Give Visitors a Reason to Return

Several times during the Christmas Eve service, make a big deal about your new sermon series that starts the following week or the first week of January. Use popular movies and community concerns to develop impactful sermon series. Whatever you do, be sure that you invite your guests back!

Poor hospitality is the #1 reason first-time visitors don’t return. Express this to your staff and volunteers. You have an opportunity this Christmas to share the message of Christ and draw people into your church. It’s time for all hands on deck!

What special things do you do at your church to retain your Christmas guests?

Written by Meggan Jacobus. Meggan is the staffing manager at Froot Group, a worship staffing and consulting company.

Why Women Don’t Like Women’s Ministry

Have you ever stood knee-deep in a bad situation, yet believed good could prevail?

Have you ever seen a company losing customers, yet saw the intrinsic value that the company possessed in the community? Have you ever seen an ugly duckling that you believed would morph into a swan?

I have.

Maybe it’s my optimistic nature or my naivety or my unwavering hope in humanity, but I could look at a situation and see the value, potential, and redeeming qualities when people are proverbially adding fuel to the burning building.

Lately I’ve been involved with several conversations regarding the future of the Church and the future of women’s ministry. I’ve read the blogs and heard the gripes from both men and women, but I can’t help but see the future. A future filled with passionate, smart, educated women helping advance the gospel through more than just Bunko nights, tea parties, and Creative Memories scrapping gatherings.

This comes on the heels of a conversation I had with my dear friend, Lindsey, after she attended a women’s ministry event with me. We’ve had numerous conversations about this topic, so her view isn’t new. She posted a comment on Twitter and garnished a number of legitimate responses.

Though pink table cloths and flower centerpieces still exists in older paradigm models of women’s ministry, does that take away from the power of this demographic within the church? If statistics are correct, the American Evangelical church is comprised of 61% female who are more likely to serve in ministry and more likely to tithe when compared to their male counterparts. So why all the hate?

Because something is missing.

The model for women’s ministry is very much based off the social circle founded in the conservative south. The growth of traditional women’s ministry advanced circa 1950 when young women were getting married and starting families before the age of 23. The ladies luncheons and bridge circles found in sororities and women’s clubs matriculated into the church as an alternative for those seeking community within the church.

The advance of women’s rights, liberation, and burning bras created a new woman with the choice to pursue education and a degree or pursue the option of homemaking [or both]. The social climate was changing, but the church remained stagnant, doing what they have always done to reach the same people in their homogenous culture.

Fast forward to today. Thankfully, most women aren’t burning their bras and most women shave their underarms. But the evolved woman within the city-center based church, no longer feels connected or in need of social circles or bridge games. The desire to partake in evangelism, leadership, and mobilization has grown to include seasoned women in their 60s, business professionals in their 50s, engaged mobilizers with resources in their 40s, passionate women in their 30s, relentless youth in their 20s, and even younger.

I’ve seen the power of women coming together for the common good and it’s beautiful. To love the broken. To feed the hungry. To believe in faith. To heal the hurting. To encourage the saints. Though the model may be slightly inept in the American church, do we throw the baby out with the bathwater? Do we continue to separate ourselves from the place where we can find healing and wholeness and community?

I believe women’s ministry is an invaluable contribution to the American church if we move in the direction of:

  • Recognizing different life stages. Not all women are married with preschoolers. Not all women are going through menopause. Not all women are in college. If we fail to adapt in meeting general rather than specific needs, we will continue to ostracize those outside of the 35-50, married with kids demographic.
  • Recognizing different availabilities and needs. Not all women can make a Tuesday morning bible study. Not all women like to pray. Not all women like to sew. Not every calendar and need can be met, but if you are leading a women’s group in a metropolis area with a vibrant night-life, don’t be surprised if women don’t come out to the Pink Hearts and Flowers Tea Party. What are some specific needs within the women in your community? Find what the need is and pursue it with a wide-end funnel to bring in those on the outside who don’t know how to engage on the inside.
  • Recognizing the church’s values and vision. Women’s ministry is sometimes like the rogue renegade who does what it wants in the guise of mobilization. Many pastor’s I’ve spoken to complain that “meeting the need of women” is more important that the meeting the vision of the church. That’s not building the church, that’s bifurcating the church. Get in line with the mission, vision, and values of where you are serving.

Lastly, if you are at a church where you are throwing stones at whoever is leading, I would chide you to put down the stones and get your hands dirty. Mahatma Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see.”  If ministry doesn’t look like you want or isn’t targeting a large need you see in the church, do something about it.

*I haven’t been to a knitting circle, Bunko group, or Creative Memories women’s event, but if the urban legend really exists, I’m sorry if you’ve ever had to attend something like that. 

 

Written by: Biana Juarez Olthoff

Bianca Juarez Olthoff is a lover of words and stories. Passionate about creating beautiful things, she spends her week working as Chief Storyteller for The A21 Campaign and Creative Director for Propel Women.

Whether discussing topics about justice or pop culture, Bianca has spent over 15 years dedicated to mobilizing God’s people to action inside and outside of the Church. Dedicated to expounding on God’s word, she also peaches around the globe and blogs about life, love, and the pursuit of Jesus.

Bianca lives in Southern California and loves spending time with her husband Matt, cooking for friends, and hanging out with her two stepchildren.

10 Leadership Tips from the Millennial Generation

As a generation known for lack of long-term commitments, Millennials are poor poster children for proven work and leadership.

However, the tide is turning in churches and culture, with more young adults stepping into the forefront of businesses, arts, ministries, and more.

Those of us identified as Millennials, between the ages of 20 and 35, should just admit the stereotypes are true for good reason. We like doing what we want, avoiding responsibility and hard work, and saving money by living with our parents long after we attain a college degree (the fine art of “mooching”). In other words, we are fellow humans who’ve experienced the same difficult economic recession the same as all the rest. We’ve just embraced the new trend called “delayed adolescence,” while the rest of the world tumbles onward.

We may have prevalent flaws, but that means we need all the more help overcoming them. Mentors and leaders are the cheerleaders and gatekeepers of our lives, simultaneously pushing us forward and keeping us back from doing meaningful work. To really accomplish something as our life’s work, we’re going to need assistance as well as responsibility. Just because we’re younger doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be respected or listened to. We may not have much proven worth career-wise at this point in our lives, but it doesn’t grant older generations a free pass to ignore us.

10 Suggestions for Leaders from Millennials

  • Cast vision. Millennials don’t want to be given tasks to accomplish. We want to be part of a story bigger than ourselves. Paint the big picture and remind us where we fit into it.

 

  • Be accessible. You’re an industry professional we can learn much from. But for us to learn from you, we’ve got to be around you and interact with you.

 

  • Be interested. One rightly emphasized aspect of the postmodern perspective is relationship over rules. We can easily get lost in the minutiae of tasks, so even a brief, friendly conversation with a boss can lift spirits among the cubicles.

 

  • Be patient with us. We desperately need work experience and we’re hoping your company is one that can grow us and prepare us for a better future, even if it’s not with you.

 

  • Lead with passion. No one is drawn to dry, robotic rigidity. We want to see what gets other people motivated to do great work.

 

  • Develop talent. It’s convenient for a leader to use interns or newbies in the office to fill gaps in the company positions, or frantically meet the demand of each day with an unplanned reordering. But take the time to learn who we are and what skills we can best use to benefit the company. It’s better for everybody long term.

 

  • Be honest. We don’t need you to sugarcoat the truth. If we suck at something, tell us why and shift us into a role that works off our strengths for the good of the whole team.

 

  • Respect our commitments. We’ve all got more going on in life outside of our work. Sure, we should put in our full hours and be willing to go the extra mile at times. But don’t abuse our schedules or take our time for granted.

 

  • Invite us into the decision-making process. You can tell us something, or you can include us in creative problem solving and allow us to craft part of the organization. These kinds of opportunities will help us really buy into the vision of the company.

 

  • Believe in us. We’ll work ten times harder if we know our leaders have our best interest in mind, not just the company’s profits margin.

 

A time will come when the current generation has had its final day.Transition will be necessary. A leader can’t keep his position forever. By valuing the Millennials in your organization, you ensure the next generation of leaders will take the helm the best equipped they could ever be. They will be better for it, and your organization will be better for it. Good leadership is about leaving a good legacy, and a legacy worth leaving is rooted in what benefits people.

Give Millennials a chance. It will be our turn eventually, so we’re better prepared if you lead us well in the meantime. We are leaders in the making. Don’t underestimate us. Besides, we might even surprise you.

 

Written by: John Weirick

John Weirick is a writer, editor, and author of The Variable Life: Finding Clarity and Confidence in a World of Choices. Visit johnweirick.com for thoughts on change, culture, and personal growth.

Go on Vacation Already! Lead More by Being Less Busy

Cultural Busyness

There is an epidemic of unused vacation time in America. More than half of American workers left some vacation time on the table this past year. A record-setting total of 658 million days. $223 billion in economic impact. America also lags far behind other developed nations in the number of official holidays. So we have less time off to begin with and use less of our available time.

Lack of vacation also contributes to being too busy in the form of maternity leave. The United States is one of only two countries in the world (the other is Papua New Guinea) without any kind of mandatory paid maternity leave. Without this opportunity, many women are forced to continue working non-stop because they must support their family. They simply can’t afford to take time off, even to nurture their newborn child.

Though certainly not facing the same severity or disadvantages, men also often find it difficult to take time to be with their new children. While this and vacation may technically be allowed, there is an unspoken pressure that you would be looked down on for actually using the time.

The reasons for our cultural inability to take a break are many and worth exploring. My concern is that this busyness epidemic has infected the church. It is considered normal to skip vacation in the name of serving God. We wear it as a badge of honor to be constantly rushing and occupied.

If being too busy has tainted the church, it is because people learned it from their leaders. And if we want to reverse the trend, it has to start with seeing leaders take time off. Remember paternity leave? A recent NPR piece found that one key factor determined whether or not men took paternity – the article is called, “How To Get Dads To Take Parental Leave? Seeing Other Dads Do It.”

Busyness in the Church

People learn from what leaders do, not what they say. The old, “Do as I say and not as I do,” doesn’t work.

It’s easy to talk a big game about trusting Jesus with our work or ministry. But do your actions show it? Or are you guilty of being a preacher only and not also a doer of the word? You can’t say you trust Jesus with your ministry yet act like you are the one running the show by never taking a break.

If you feel like you can’t take a vacation, talk to your leaders, staff, and colleagues. It takes planning and teamwork to cover the practical duties of someone who is taking time off. Begin talking about having a culture of regular rest for everyone. Brainstorm how you can support each other in taking more time off. Encourage one another that nothing will fall apart if one of you is not there for a while.

Lead in a counter-cultural way by being less busy and taking more time off.

Stopping Busyness

Here are a few concrete suggestions:

1) Use all your vacation time.

Of any profession, church leaders should be using all their vacation time. Be an example to those you lead. Demonstrate your trust in Jesus by stepping back from your work. This acknowledges that God is in control and we are all just under-shepherds of the Chief Shepherd. Start small by taking one day to be entirely cut off from your work. You might be amazed how the world does not stop spinning when you stop laboring.

2) Talk about doing less and taking vacations.

People follow what you do, but it’s also important to clearly explain what you’re doing. Tell them about the importance of rest in the Bible. Tell them one way to give control of our lives over to God is by stopping what we’re doing. It’s faith, not laziness, that takes time to put away our work and rest.

3) Give your employees vacation.

The way your ministry operates should facilitate people’s ability to trust Jesus. As we have seen, inadequate vacation and busyness are contrary to this purpose. So make sure everyone has sufficient time to rejuvenate. You can even go beyond normal vacation and encourage extra time off, including maternity and paternity leave. What if Christians led the way in taking time off instead of caving to cultural busyness?

4) Schedule a Sabbatical.

It’s Biblical to stop what you’re doing! Sabbath, which means, “to cease,” is a weekly, yearly, and 7-years ritual. God commands it for our good and we neglect it to our harm. Sunday is our weekly rest and vacation our yearly rest, but church leaders should also make space for an extended break from work. It takes planning, but the refreshment is invaluable.

People learn by example. So go ahead and lead more by being less busy. Trust Jesus by taking that vacation you’ve been putting off.

Written by: Jacob Zoller

Jacob is a college pastor in Mobile, AL, who writes about productivity and rest at www.jacobzoller.com.

St. Patrick: An Ancient Model for Modern Leaders

As the Chicago River turns green, people pinch each other, and corned beef gets big exposure in grocery stores, I wonder what St. Patrick would think. After all, “his day” gets a lot of noise and attention. But is the attention and noise in the right place and for the right reason?

I believe St. Patrick is one of the best models we have for ministry in the 21st century. Ireland in the 4th and 5th centuries was barbaric, unrefined and far different from the culture of the church in that day. In fact, it was this cultural divide which had prohibited any success by the Roman Catholic Church in evangelizing Ireland.

The True Story of St. Patrick

That is until Patrick. At age 16, Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and taken back to Ireland as a slave. He remained there for six years before he heard a voice say “behold thy ship is ready.” He found that ship two hundred miles away and returned to Britain, where he found his family as a twenty-something.

Like his father, Patrick got involved in his church, ultimately ordained as a priest. In 432 AD, Patrick responded to a vision, which led him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Though no outside religion has penetrated Ireland for a thousand years, Patrick experienced incredible success. Reports vary, but it seems Patrick planted several hundred churches and baptized thousands, possibly over 100,000 people. His influence continued after his death, with the end of the slave trade and a decrease in violent crimes.

To this day, Patrick is credited as evangelizing Ireland. So, we celebrate him…by drinking green beer and scouring our closets for something green.

Patrick’s Model for Leadership and Influence

Patrick modeled 3 practices which are essential for Christian leaders today.

1. He actually loved the people he wanted to reach.

In his Confessio, Patrick wrote about his vision in 432 AD. “And I read the beginning of the letter containing ‘The voice of the Irish.’ And while I was reading aloud the beginning of the letters, I myself thought indeed in my mind that I heard the voice of those who were near the wood of Foclut, which is close by the Western Sea. And they cried out thus as if with one voice, ‘We entreat thee, holy youth, that thou come, and henceforth walk among us.’ And I was deeply moved in my heart, and could read no further; and so I woke.”

In words that mirror Paul’s vision of a Macedonian man inviting him to come and share the gospel, recorded in Acts 16:9, Patrick’s vision was not of fame, fortune, comfort or safety. The voices of those who enslaved him summoned and he went to Ireland in response. His Confessio describes how that love began even as a slave, when he began to desire the salvation and transformation of the raiders who stole him away from his home in Britain.

2. He saw the best in others and sought to draw it out.

Patrick knew he could not build trust with nor influence those he did not love. In his terrific book on Patrick entitled The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George S. Hunter shares a Chinese poem which he feels embodies the attitude of Patrick.

“Go to the people.

Live among them.

Learn from them.

Love them.

Start with what they know.

Build on what they have.”

Patrick was committed to looking for the best in the Irish and seeking for Christ to redeem that. He wanted to build an Irish church, a Celtic church, not a Roman church in Ireland.

In his seminal book, How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill wrote, “Patrick found a way of swimming down to the depths of the Irish psyche and warming and transforming Irish imagination – making it more humane and more noble while keeping it Irish.”

The kind of attitude Cahill attributes to Patrick could only originate from love and respect. We live in a world which dehumanizes and attacks those who disagree with us, especially on social media. How different would things look if we took Patrick’s approach, in particular with those we do not agree?

3. He chose to offend insiders in order to engage outsiders.

Unlike other missionaries, Patrick refused to wear his priestly robes. Instead, Patric wore native Celtic clothing. This led to no small amount of consternation among his superiors back in Britain.

Patrick broke norms by inviting outsiders into gatherings of Celtic Christians. Believing that outsiders could belong before they believed, Patrick suspected outsiders would begin practicing habits a follower of Jesus would before they ultimately realizing they were believers. Long before modern churches spoke of “you can belong here before you believe,” Patrick lived this posture in 5th-century Ireland.

Ultimately, Patrick was brought to trial in Britain. While the details of this trial are spotty at best, it seems that his methods were questioned to the end. Unlike modern churches which debate what is appropriate and inappropriate in terms of outreach, Patrick decided which group’s opinion of him mattered most, and he allowed the other to be offended to their heart’s content.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

Legend attributes a long prayer known as St. Patrick’s Breastplate to the missionary who evangelized Ireland. While we cannot be entirely sure he wrote it, this prayer reflects the holistic view Patrick embodied in his faith, leadership, and ministry.

One particular section is most well-known. This section confesses a Christ-centered worldview which should guide all leaders. This prayer calls each of us to depend on Christ, lead from our relationship in Christ, engage our world like Christ and look for Christ in each person we engage – whether online or in-person.

Christ, be with me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me, Christ in me,

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit,

Christ where I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

St. Patrick is one of my heroes. I hope this profile in some small way redeems this day from drunken revelry and towards intentional reflection.

May we all love the people in our cities the way Patrick loved the Celts in Ireland.

 

Written for Catalyst by: Scott Savage

Scott is a pastor and a writer from Prescott, Arizona. You can read more of his writing at scottsavagelive.com.

Desire -VS- Calling

Desire is not the same thing as a calling.

We’ve all come across people who think they’re really talented at something when in reality, it’s quite the opposite. It makes me think of the all too familiar TV show, American Idol. In the early stages of the season, some people try out who really have no business singing in the shower much less in public. On more than one occurrence, I’m sure it went thru my head, “Why hasn’t someone told them that they can’t sing?”

Being a part of a worship staffing company called Froot Group, I regularly see videos that worship leaders have submitted for their profiles. Some are talented and some I’m left with asking that question – Why hasn’t someone told them that they can’t sing? In all of my conversations that I have with candidates, I always ask how they got into music ministry. It always starts out with the “I was called” story.

Called.

What does that even mean? Being “called” primarily means being obedient to the ongoing direction of the Lord’s leading in your life.

Someone might ask though, “What happens when you’re not so great at your calling?”

Today’s church has grown to have many distinctive differences from the church we read about in the Bible. One of the most prevalent is having unqualified church staff. Many pastors never develop leadership skills before being assigned a position within the church, so much of pastoring becomes on-the-job training. We find that these leaders have not been spiritually vetted and therefore are not fit for leadership in the church. You always run the risk of causing a disaster when putting someone in a position who has not been proven and ready for it.

We’ve heard of so many young Christians who say that they’ve been called to ministry. They know how to say moving prayers and know scripture yet maybe they just don’t have a love for people. Maybe they love people but just don’t have the talent for music or teaching like how they believe they do. It’s easy to confuse skill with talent. Skill is something that you’ve worked to acquire. It is developing the talent God has given you. You can be very talented but not have any skill. If we are going to be effective in serving the church, a lot depends on skill.

When Moses had to find men to oversee the construction of the tabernacle, he chose men whom God had gifted with “skill and intelligence” (Exodus 36:1).  When David looked for a Levite to lead the singing it says he picked Kenaniah “because he was skillful at it” (1 Chronicles 15:22).  Excellence has a purpose in church. It’s to focus people’s attention on God, on His attributes, on His promises, on the things that He has done for us. We want people to be completely focused on God.

So the question still stands, what happens when excellence is untainable with the people that have been hired for those positions? For starters, the church should be understanding and supportive of opportunities for the pastor to learn from others. The church needs to also find ways to share information more readily with the pastor, without arguing and complaining — because that’s not biblical.

In regards to the pastor, they need to be humble enough to admit the need for further training. This requires great humility on the part of the pastor to allow input into their leadership. The pastor needs to learn the art and humility of asking questions to see what areas they’re struggling. The pastor also needs to build an accountability structure of people who have been given the authority to speak into their life. You may also want to take some next steps in training and affirmation, including mentoring and discipling from seasoned pastors at your church or in your community.

So how do you handle a conversation like this? What is the best way to speak the truth without breaking someone’s heart? Just remember that you will never avoid offending people but your kindness and honesty will create the best possible situation. They might feel you’re being unfair, critical, and harsh, but that doesn’t mean you are. You just need to tell them. But “how” you do that makes all the difference. If the pastor is bad, you owe it to the church to be honest. Getting back to those American Idol contestants – no one was honest with them. Some of them faced national humiliation as an audience of millions watched, astonished by their lack of talent, and clarity. Any time I’ve had to tell someone they shouldn’t be on the team, I’ve tried to help them see that serving on the team keeps them from using the gifts God has given them. In my opinion, it’s best to mentor those who can be mentored, and be honest to those who will negatively affect your team. True leadership is about taking everyone forward not keeping everyone happy. Someone has said that the “secret for success I do not know, but the secret for failure is trying to keep everyone happy”. I know confrontation is difficult but It must be done prayerfully, respectfully and intentionally.

So what are your thoughts? Take a moment in the comment section share what you think –  agree, disagree, add your two cents, or ask questions.

Written by Meggan Jacobus. Meggan is the staffing manager at Froot Group, a worship staffing and consulting company.

You Can’t Tell Me What to Wear!

You Can't Tell Me What to Wear!

You Can’t Tell Me What to Wear!

I think it’s time for some worship leaders to grow up.  I know the artsy types are free thinkers, like to push the boundaries around them, and don’t like to be told what to do.  It’s part of their creative make-up and helps make them who they are:  explorers.  However, I believe that these reasons are sometimes just excuses to circumvent the expected, and many times in the process hurt and offend others.

I recently attended a wedding.  The setting was a small Catholic church, complete with hardwood pews, kneeling benches, and stained glass windows.  This traditional setting had a modest sound system and had added a retractable screen for a projector, but otherwise every effort had been made to keep the aesthetics true to its history.  This wedding was a formal event, most people in suits or dresses.  

After I was seated, I was admiring the skill of the worship leader who was playing, singing, and just providing a nice ambiance before the ceremony.  It was then I was horrified.  The worship leader was also in a suit and tie, but decided to express his uniqueness by wearing teal Converse.  This man was being paid by the bride and groom, and obviously expectations were set by them, the pastor, and the sacredness of the event; yet I felt like they were totally disrespected.  I felt embarrassed for them by this rude gesture.

Each Sunday, anyone on the platform represents the church and pastor.  In many cases, the pastor has set a climate or culture that they want established.  There are guidelines set, whether written or verbal.  This can vary from a suit and tie, to jeans and a t-shirt.  Whatever the expectation, those who are allowed the privilege of serving on the platform should follow the dress code.

And this is where many worship leaders say, “You can’t tell me what to wear!”  Think about other jobs:  McDonalds tells their employees what to wear; nurses are told what to wear; and offices set a dress code.  Truth is, most of us are told what is acceptable and what is not.  

So I’d like to encourage every worship leader to put their pride aside and be sure they are following the rules given to them.  There is great freedom within the boundaries set, as long as we are obedient within those parameters.  Show respect to the people or event you are participating in, whether it is a church service, wedding, VBS, or funeral.  Meet the expectations, and represent the authorities above well.

Written By: Dave Feltman. Dave is a Search Coach for Froot Group, a worship staffing and consulting company.

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Career Advice Children's Ministry Pastors Worship 2 Comments

With a few years under my belt running a church staffing company, I can tell you that one of the more brow raising cases is how often church staff hop between churches. I wanted to take some time to do some research and provide some insight from my own personal experiences as a staff member at a church. These positions are often solely focused around building relationships with not just coworkers, but the congregation and often times when a staff change happens…it hurts!

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A Bigger Picture Of Worship

I’m going to jump right into things this week.  I’m discussing worship…a topic that’s near to my heart.  But before we get started, I have a few questions:

What drives you to worship?  Not just on Sunday, but throughout the rest of the week?  

What keeps you in a frame of mind that is set upon worship?

What is worship, anyway?

If I am honest with myself, I struggle with answering these questions.  I’ve found there’s no easy answer even with many years of practice.  For some backstory, I’ve been involved with some level of “worship” (the part you see and hear on stage) since I was in my high school and college years.  I remember leading a youth group praise band with my electric guitar; my Epiphone Les Paul (oh yeah!).  And then in college, I led worship at my school’s Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship chapter.  I helped lead while attending North Dakota State and our worship team actually included the gal who is now my wife.  (Just fair-warning:  your future spouse might be someone who’s on your team!)

With all that experience and many more years under my belt in ministry, you’d think I’d start to have a grasp of what worship is.  That maybe I’m at some expert or mastery level.  But in reality, I know I have as much to learn now as I did all those years ago.  Worship is so much deeper than what I think it is.

I think those initial questions are hard to define because we speak of worship in somewhat ambiguous terms.  We talk about worship as a church service.  It can also be a song itself.  Or maybe even a style of music.  Worship as a music style has grown so much over the past 20 years that it has gained its own genre and subgenre within Christian music.  

But is worship solely limited to those things?  Just a song or style of music?  Or just the 20 minutes of time that lasts between the announcements and the sermon?  I surely hope not.  

Through my own study of this topic through books and the Bible, through hearing sermons, and by just being around other Christians, I’ve come to this conclusion:  worship is SO MUCH BIGGER than the box we put it in.  In fact, it’s really not about music at all.  It’s an attitude of the heart.  Music is one way to express our worship to God and it’s a great way to do it.  But I’ve come to embrace the fact that worship is all-encompassing.  Therefore, everything I do becomes an act of worship to God.

That means how I serve my wife and kids is worship.  

How I spend my time and money is worship. 

How I treat my coworkers is worship.

What words I allow to come out of my mouth is worship.  

Who I am when no one else is around is worship.

In each of these things, I am allowing myself to ascribe worth and value to something:  hopefully in each case, to the Lord.  

I think if we come before the Lord each day seeking Him and pursuing a lifestyle of worship, it becomes that much easier to enter into worship and praise on Sunday.  When we’ve been living it in the trenches Monday-Saturday, we realize Sunday is just the capstone; the culmination of all we’ve already been doing throughout the week.  Through that, we praise and we thank God.  It’s as important to worship corporately (i.e. on Sunday) as it is individually (outside of church).  

This summer, I’m urging you to find space and margins in your day and week to reevaluate what worship looks like for you.  I find it especially important with the busyness of fall soon approaching.  Consider this a gentle reminder that we need to constantly and consistently pursue Christ and set aside time to seek Him and His will for our lives.  It just won’t happen by accident.  If you are struggling to find rest, to unplug and listen to the Lord, here’s a blog I wrote earlier this year that might give some guidance:  Learning To Rest .  

If I point a finger at anyone in all of this, it’s at myself to ask “How well am I worshipping today?  Am I giving God my best?”  He deserves our best but until we understand a bigger picture of worship, we run the risk of giving Him less than He deserves.  I don’t want to give God my leftovers.  I want Him to have the first fruits.  Worship is how we do that and it’s happening all the time…24/7.

God bless you!  Much love to you and please know I’m praying for you!

I can be reached at info@derekcharlesjohnson.com 

God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.  John 4:24

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. Psalm 29:2

Written By: Derek Charles Johnson. Derek is a friend of the Froot Group family and is a church worship leader residing in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Check out Derek’s website to find out more about who he is, listen to his songs or read more of his blogs. We think he’s a swell guy and you will too!

Give Yourself a Break

Typically, for worship leaders specifically, summer is a “slower” time of the year.  Once September arrives, you are already planning Christmas, doing a quick hit on Veteran’s Day, then before you know it into Easter, Memorial Day, and Fourth of July.  Not taking into account all the other special days your church might have coming up:  baby dedications, sermon series, Mission’s Convention, community outreach, and the list goes on.  There seems to always be something pressing you.

 

That’s why when you have a natural break, you need to take it!  You might say, “Well now that there’s a break, I can catch up on another project.”  I tried that.  For all of May and June, I worked longer hours, to the point that everything else was on hold.  For me, I notice it in my backyard.  The weeds were bountiful, there was no new mulch, the flower pots were empty, the grill was covered, and the pool was green.  It really hit me the first week of July that I was overworked, tired, and burnt out.  And it was my own fault.

 

The past few weeks I have remedied the problem.  I have limited work hours, and made an effort to take time:  for me, to be with people, and to catch up the yard.  Today is a milestone…I went in the pool.  It is crystal clear, the yard is mowed, the weeds gone, the plants and flowers planted.  I am seizing the time I have, because I can see the next project coming.

 

How about you?  Have you been able to give yourself a break?  If you haven’t it’s not too late.  Take advantage of any lull you have and get away from work.  Spend time on your hobby, meet with friends, get your chores done around the house.  You will feel better, and it will recharge your battery so when the rush of work comes again, you will be ready.  When you take care of yourself, you are then able to give to others.

Written by Dave Feltman. Dave is a search coach for Froot Group, a worship staffing company.