What Worship Leaders Wish Pastors Knew

Worship leaders often feel like life would be much different if only the pastor understood how they felt. Many worship leaders tend to be people pleasers. They don’t want to “rock the boat” by pointing out what they truly need. In some situations, the pastors are so busy and overwhelmed that have no clue about what challenges a worship leader is facing.

Both the worship pastor/leader and the pastor lead the congregation in worshipping the Lord. So how do we improve the crucial link between pastors and worship leaders? Here are a few ideas you might not have considered.

What worship leaders wish pastors knew:

We Have Different Perspectives.

Just like in a marriage, or with a teenager, you each see things from different perspectives. Worship leaders and pastors have different ideas of how to carry out the purpose and vision of the church (for help with vision clarity, strategic direction, or leader development, contact my friends at the Malphurs Group). The way worship leaders understand success and the way they are wired are often very different than the lead pastors.

Please don’t try to make the worship leader fit your mold. Celebrate their differences and utilize their skills and abilities. I’ve experienced too many worship leaders who thought: I wish the pastor knew that I think differently.

We Have Different Goals.

These are the factors that make a great service for worship leaders:

• The music was good.
• The transitions were fluid.
• The projectors worked.
• The congregation participated actively during the songs.

They might not be aware of who is preaching or about the difficult issues the other staff members are currently facing. This doesn’t mean they are less spiritual or that they don’t care about the Church. They just have different goals for their portion of the worship service than the preacher.

As the pastor of the church, your role is to communicate and clarify the vision for the church and the staff. That’s your job! Share your vision with your worship leaders. Let them catch the vision.

As the pastor of the church, your role is to communicate and clarify the vision. Click To Tweet

We are on the same team.

Many churches struggle with the fact that the staff is not always on the same page. The stories are endless.

Worship leaders often say they are limited in what they can do, because of the pastor’s perspective. Pastors tend to say worship leaders have a constant desire to push them outside their comfort zone. That is part of their nature! They are creative, innovative, and some even hate routine. God uses both extremes to bless the congregation.

Keep this in mind when you feel you and the worship leader are approaching things differently. You aren’t working against each other, but together in different ways. Collaborate so your differing goals mesh and provide an excellent worship experience for the church.

What other things would you say worship leaders wish pastors knew?

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Augusto Aniano is a musician, worship leader, pastor, and missionary to Mexico from Uruguay. He is married to Vale, and they have two kids Zeke and Matt. || @AugustoAniano || http://augustoandvale.com ||