SEALs or Sheep: A Word about Grace in Worship
For years, I've read and heard and received training regarding the importance of excellence in worship. It is one of the most prevalent and foundational lessons I've learned over the past two decades that I've been involved in worship ministry, and it's a lesson that many worship ministries have yet to take to heart. It's no exaggeration to say that God deserves our very best, and hardly anyone would argue that there are limits to how much excellence and creativity we ought to give to our most worthy Lord.
To stop striving for a higher degree of spiritual, musical, and logistical excellence than the one we've already achieved seems, somehow, arbitrary and complacent, as though we're on a high-flying journey to the heavens and our angelic tour guide suddenly stops and says, “I think this is far enough. Let’s just stop here.” In other words, no matter how excellent we become, we can always get better; there is always room for improvement.
Having this heart for excellence is an admirable characteristic, one that is shared by the best experts and professionals, those who are at the top of their fields. However, there's a sense in which the drive for excellence can go too far, and that is the sense in which excellence becomes an idol unto itself, a burden on the backs of worshipers rather than a pleasing offering that worshipers bring to God.
Is Excellence the Only Thing that Matters?
When I train worship teams, I often compare them to Navy SEALs. I tell them that they, as the lead worshipers of the church, are some of the most visible leaders of all, and therefore bear great responsibility. Like the Levites of old, they are called to lead the army of the Lord into battle, carrying God’s Presence upon their shoulders. Like Navy SEALs, they are to be the best of the best, always going first, leading by example, setting the highest standards, showing one and all what real Christians, real worshipers, and ideal church members should be like. It’s a high calling, one that should not be taken lightly. It demands a great deal of sacrifice and perseverance, but it also promises great rewards, blessings, and growth.
“Excellence is only half the equation. The other half, just as crucial to the health and vitality of a worship ministry, is grace.”
Lofty though it may be, I do not think this standard is too high or unrealistic. I've been blessed and honored to have been part of teams and worked with people that understood and believed in this ethic. However, in recent years I've come to learn another important lesson, and that is that excellence is only half the equation. The other half, just as crucial to the health and vitality of a worship ministry, is grace.
It’s amazing to me how often we sing about grace and yet fail to understand it or to practice it. And worshipers and church leaders are often the most guilty of this malpractice. The irony of singing about grace while sacrificing grace on the altar of excellence should not be lost on anyone. It ought to sear one’s soul if one apprehends it rightly. I know that this is the effect it had on my own heart, when God first opened my eyes to the problem.
“In ministry, it's people that matter, not product.”
I realized that I was guilty of promoting excellence at the expense of grace. I realized that this attitude, this disposition of the heart, is just as detestable to God as sacrifices to an idol, for that is what it is: idolatry. And so many worship leaders and pastors that I had worked with over the years were guilty of it as well to varying degrees. Because our only concern was to produce an excellent product, we neglected to care for the people under our care and leadership. In ministry, it's people that matter, not product.
The Danger of Over-valuing Excellence
Let's not deceive ourselves. Too often Christian leaders use excellence as a rationalization and excuse for ungracious and, quite frankly, un-Christian behavior. In their minds, it's acceptable to give blunt, harsh feedback to a team member, to criticize someone in public for an honest mistake as a warning to others, to foster an atmosphere of fear to keep people on their toes, to berate team members for being late or forgetting a lyric or playing a wrong note, all because it ensures that they try their best and give their best effort to God. They tell themselves, “My job is to please God. What, then, do I care about pleasing man?” In this way, such ungracious leaders deceive themselves into believing that their motives and actions are pleasing to God, when nothing could be farther from the truth.
The attitude described here is no different from the attitude of the ancient Pharaohs, who whipped the backs of slaves in order to build impressive edifices to their gods in the hopes of pleasing them. With each crack of the whip, they proclaim, “Look at what I have done for my god! Look at what my hands have achieved!” This attitude mistakes zeal for God with zeal for oneself, for at its core is a self-centered obsession for personal achievement and recognition. I tell you that such an attitude will win no favor from God and will kill the spirits of the people around you.
“If you are a worship leader or a leader of a worship team, you are a shepherd. A shepherd is one who takes care of sheep.”
Again, I speak as one who has had to repent of this very sin. And as one who is repenting, I wish to remind you that whether you are a pastor or not, paid staff or not, if you are a worship leader or a leader of a worship team, you are a shepherd. A shepherd is one who takes care of sheep. The people in your team or in your ministry are your flock, the precious ones that God has entrusted to your care.
Sheep too, not just SEALs
So, as a good shepherd, put the lives and hearts of your sheep above your own. Spend time with them. Listen to them. Buy them meals, hear their stories, share their pains and frustrations, and celebrate their victories. Lay hands on them in prayer, not in discipline. Yes, encourage them to grow and better themselves, but do so with kindness and tenderness (qualities that are sorely lacking in the church today).
When the people under you see how much love and grace you pour out into their lives, you'll win over their hearts and there is nothing they would not gladly give for you or the church you serve. They will see, feel, and experience the love and grace of God in a direct and personal way through you, and this will be a far better motivator for excellence than all the criticism and blunt feedback in the world. They will want to give their best to God rather than feel forced to. You will find that your teammates are running with you rather than being dragged behind you.
More than that, the love and grace you infuse into the worship ministry will not be contained within the team but will spill over into the rest of the church. It will transform the tone and the spirit of the worship services. Congregations can tell if a worship team is serving with genuine hearts of joy or with heavy hearts of obligation. When the grace you sing about matches the grace you live and extend to people, God is pleased and His favor rests upon you.
“Remember that your fellow worship team members are both SEALs and sheep, and treat them accordingly.”
Be careful not to swing the pendulum over too far and do away with excellence in the name of grace. Like so many things in Christianity, the two need to be held in tension in order for them to work. Both are needed for a worship ministry to thrive. Remember that your fellow worship team members are both SEALs and sheep, and treat them accordingly. Set for them the highest goals and the noblest ideals. Encourage and motivate them with joy and enthusiasm. And, treat them with the utmost love and respect. In this way, your team will be like King David’s Mighty Men: powerful, skilled, passionate, and loyal. Just the kind of people you would want to have at your side, either on the field of battle or on the stage of worship.