than other parts of the worship service. Yes, sometimes ministry leaders need to stay somewhere else during singing to prepare and/or help with the next portion of the service, but available ministry leaders and staff should participate in the church’s entire worship service.
their preferences and ideas. Blending these into a cohesive whole will naturally add to the unique quality of the music presented to the congregation. This will, of course, also require more than an hour of rehearsal. Prepare teams of musicians and singers to invest time so that they can offer an excellent praise to the Lord!
Why? Because people watch their leaders and they will model their behavior. It is especially crucial for the new believers in your congregation. They need to see the different ways God’s people worship God—singing, prayer, and the hearing of the Word— modeled by those who have followed Christ for a little longer than they have. Help educate your pastoral staff in the vital role they play by merely arriving at the beginning of the service, participating throughout, and greeting the congregation following the close of the service.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” ( John 13:34–35, nasb).
3. CULTIVATE YOUR WORSHIP TEAM The relationships developed between the worship pastor and the musicians, singers, audiovisual crew, ushers, and greeters are key. Take a pastoral and family approach to this. It goes far beyond taking basic prayer requests and making casual conversations. The leader must interact with his team on a weekly basis. It means making an effort to share life together. Rehearsal times should not only include music, but should also consist of learning how each person thinks, challenging the group biblically, weeping and rejoicing together. The energy and community that comes from this has a significant impact on the congregation, especially in corporate worship. Encourage band members and vocalists to think outside of the box when learning a song. When a diverse group collaborates on a song, it takes on new character. Everyone in the room will have
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4. ELIMINATE PERSONAL PREFERENCES The congregation won’t submit their preferences to God if the leader refuses to let go of them first. Many music wars in churches have started because people want leaders to cater to them in their walk with God. Diversity in music is about reaching beyond our personal preferences to unify people to express their love and commitment to God corporately. It centers on Christ. Many of the songs I choose in worship sets seldom describe my style or preference. If the message is clear and the melody is good, I can work with it. I grew up in a church that was 100% African American. There were lots of blue collar jobs and not a lot of education, but we loved God, and we loved each other well. Many of the songs we sang focused on the power, healing work, and life of Jesus Christ. The songs had words of hope in God for a better future than the present. The joy in singing with other believers, the accompanying melodies, and music arrangements gave way to emotion, struggle, and hardship. It provided hope and endurance for overcoming hardships. From a genre perspective, many label these songs as