Dear Church Administrator...

There has been much written about the pastor/ worship leader relationship, but up until now, I haven't seen a proper perspective given from the worship leader. While understanding the great need for organization and administration in the church, I feel that there has been a proliferation of corporate doctrine streaming into church leadership as of late, where the Senior Pastor and/or Administrative Pastor are inadvertently becoming more like CEOs rather than shepherds. Thus, church leaders can make the mistake of forcing worship leaders into a corporate mold rather than foster creativity, for which they were hired and are paid to accomplish (a warm, personal, excellently delivered opportunity for the congregation to experience the presence of God). I understand that there is a level of organization and preparedness with which a worship leader must function to prosper on a church staff. But a great worship leader with great administrative abilities usually doesn't exist--there must be a mix, with worship leading being the primary skill set.

Every once in a while I come across an article or a blog that is worth re-posting. I have served on church staffs for more than 30 years and rarely do I see a commentary that articulates a matter as well as the following piece. When I read the post in it's original form, out of the eleven points made, some of them didn't resonate with me and, frankly, some were controversial. As a result, I didn't re-post the blog in it's entirety, but have included the points where I found myself hollering, "Yes!" (To see the original post and all eleven points, I have included a link at the end).

The author is Carlos Whittaker. He has served on staff at at Buckhead Church in Atlanta, GA, one of the three North Point Community Church campuses. He is currently a worship leader and recording artist with Integrity Music.

Dear administrator person who oversees [the] worship leader…

1. It’s not that they don’t want to be organized, it’s just that they won’t ever have that skill set, because you hired them to do something else. Help them. Don’t grade them.

2. You’re view looking at the back of people’s heads as they worship is only 1/2 the view. Trust what your worship leader sees and he will trust what you see. Both of your perspectives are vital.

3. “Office Hours” need not be primarily in your office. They need to be outside of the offices to be inspired. Let them.

4. If you are going to call them a “worship leader” then let them actually “lead” something else other than songs on a Sunday. Give them leadership opportunities with your staff.

5. Let them off at least one Sunday every 8 weeks. And let your preacher off too. There is nothing worse than creating a culture of robotic worship leadership and preaching. It will bring freshness. I promise.

6. You let the pastor preach from notes. Give them a confidence monitor for those new songs.

7. Relationship will go much farther than Performance Reviews. If there is no relationship, they will dread and despise anything you say in those review meetings. If there is relationship, they will not only take notes, but grow in their leadership faster than Usain Bolt on his best day.

Link to original blog post:

11 Tips For The Administrator Who Oversees The Worship Leader