 All right, so can I request one of us to start us off with the word of prayer, please? Anyone, please go for it. Yeah Have any father we we thank you Lord for this morning. We thank you Lord for Give us his chance lots to to hear about your worship about your How you you'd like us to to approach you Lord? How how you'd like us to? Communion with you Jesus and we pray for that. It's It's faster and free teaches us this morning No, Holy Spirit open our hearts to hear open our minds Lord so we may receive Lord and we prefer that you In power pastor Shan Lord so that whatever speaks Lord Comes from you and Let him be blessed also through what is doing In the name of Jesus Father we pray Amen Amen, thanks Maggie Okay, so let's get it on with we start today's lesson with chapter 3 in your notes page 34 We worship ministry an introduction to worship ministry, okay From this chapter, it's going to get more practical and very specifically about worship ministry, okay And most of the points not just some of the points most of the points that we will be learning about Can be applied regardless of the size of your congregation or what ministry you are into, right? You might be here saying, okay, I'm not into worship ministry. Why am I learning this? Is it important for me? But most of these points are very very intentional. It can be applied for any area of your ministry for personal personal growth and also your ministry growth as well, okay, and so Please keep that in mind as we go through the content of this course if References are made to sit music musical instruments or skills or talents related to music We just keep that in mind. The course is all about that and we will also learn about the basic administrator functions of the worship ministry Team yeah, is that cool? So that's where we are with worship ministry Is there anybody here involved in a worship team or you lead worship or you are leading a worship ministry? I may just ask Okay Cool, okay So a lot of the things about worship ministry is I want us to start off talking about the challenges of leading a worship ministry Okay it's worship ministry leading a worship ministry and leading worship are two very different things, okay? It's two very different things So leading worship is something that you would do in a con in a congregation Corporately or a small group whatnot, right? So you would lead them in worship, but leading a worship ministry itself is a whole different ball game Okay, so overseeing a worship ministry is a challenging leadership task that requires insight and skill to growing your leadership as you look at the ministry and what not right? There are leadership and skill challenges that that comes with this with this title of a worship pastor or You know associate worship pastor or whatever if you're leading a worship ministry and whatnot, right? It's so important to know that you're leading a worship ministry whatnot, right? It's you have to take care of the dynamics of the entire team the band and whatnot and then there are these Technical challenges that come with working with everyone from volunteer musicians to worship arts leaders to sound team to the visual tech team Etc. Okay, and and so those are just a few of the challenges, right? If you're leading a worship ministry, you have the team in itself that you're leading and then you also have to take and a bunch of musicians who are like, you know Volunteers, how do you handle them? it's another thing and You have the sound team, which is very important the sound and setup team for your church Coordinating with them and the graphics team the media team And whatnot and we haven't even mentioned about the congregation right so In my time just being a worship leader and whatnot I've heard quite a lot being said to me, right? It's to my face And see guys I've been in this journey for a Good 50% of my life say at least 18 years You have people say, you know, you're not my favorite worship leader. I really don't like the songs you pick or how you lead them And by the way, also, this is an FYI worship ministry or the worship team or the worship ministry of a church In my opinion is the only team that gets the highest number of opinions and suggestions What do I mean by that Roshan? So it's like And why do you guys always do slow songs in the beginning? Why don't you do some fast songs? And why do you only do fast songs in the beginning? Why can't you do slow songs? Why are you doing only new songs? Why can't you do some old songs? And why are you doing only old songs? Why can't you do some new songs? That's I'm hoping it relates some of you relate to it It is it is not it is it's really not a pleasant place Okay, if you think the worship that this thing of worship pastor or worship leading or worship ministries You're so fancy being under the light and the spotlight. It's it's fun. It is fun Okay, it is when you look at it and from a different perspective when you see that it's You're just going with all your heart pursuing God And whatnot. It's beautiful. It's nice But then there is also this site the challenges that come along with it right the congregation This leading the church you are leading the church, right? So that's in my opinion is worship ministry of a church and gets the highest number of opinions and suggestions and whatnot You know why because it is the worship ministry or the worship team of a church That sets the hunger and the desperation level For the whole of congregation Right, it is the worship team that sets The hunger for more of God for more of his presence We are the ones that set the tone the level or create that hunger for For the congregation to pursue God for more. Okay, that's once again in my opinion You are free to defer and whatnot, but then once again This is my humble opinion from what I've seen if the worshipers in the worship team Are the ones true worshipers of you know worshipping God in spirit and in truth Going after him pursuing after his presence the congregation will want to see will see that and want more of that You know because what they will see the what the congregation see is the team on the stage And the congregation below the stage, you know and the congregation always sees It's it's like there's an invisible partition an Invisible line or an invisible veil if I may say between the congregation and the team And that can only be broken out of freedom because the river only flows down. Okay Hey, okay, just give me one second. There's some interference. Just give me a couple minute, please. Sorry Sorry guys my apologies. Okay Yeah, so there are challenges so leading worship is one thing and leading a worship ministry is a whole different ballgame as I mentioned Okay, so we need all the help we can get If you are leading a worship ministry if you are leading a ministry and if a worship ministry is under your supervision Your worship pastor Your ministry leader will need all the help he or she can get up in the area so that we can reduce stress Administratively and relationally Okay, so the challenges are real guys in worship ministry. It's it's it's fun It's it's beautiful. We get to pursue God and his presence as a collective as individuals It's it's a beautiful season that you know and I always keep encouraging my team Saying that hey, you know, we are in this You know only for a season, right? And we have to make the most of it in our pursuit of the time that we have together All right. I have Louie. Do we have question? I see your hand is raised Louis. Do you have a question? I can't hear you Okay, so I put on my videos of my Okay, do you have a question? No, I just want to you say something that That's the The worship team in the church sets the tone for the hunger of the congregation. Yeah I Don't know that's easy question or just a comment. I grew up in Bersie, but I could see a woman And most of the songs there was the sign were coming out of the teachings from the man of God So I'm trying to act is it that the pastor also sets the fabric or sets the texture of the message of the songs So it's like congregation to the worship team then the worship team to the pastor in that sense or it's just something that has to do with the Impressions of the spirit is just a loan or it comes from the fabric of the message informs the texture of the worship That extends to the contribution as a whole is that I will correct if you see that Yes, absolutely. I agree with you a hundred percent over there You know over the premise that you know, I just wanted to reiterate that that opinion was my opinion You know, but then also you are right on the nail and you say that yes You know, it's the our senior pastor also sets The culture the tone the hunger level and everything for the rest of the congregation Right and we learn more about it in the next chapter as well and how important it is to communicate with your senior pastor and you know in terms of Setting the culture for the for the congregation for the church itself. Yeah Yes, say I see your hand I Just wanted to chip in in support of your opinion is that I think the worship team Have a very very critical role in setting the atmosphere for the word of God to drop in parts of people Yeah, and so it's not just basically coming to Mark time because there's worship on the agenda for church People will basically to create an atmosphere. Yeah, but the heart of people will receptive to God and They can just fix their eyes on Jesus. It's just Support of what you say. Thank you so much say yeah, I appreciate that We one of our first album as a PC right the entire thing love album Was birthed out of pastor Ashish's sermon series on the psalms so he wanted to do a sermon series on psalms and So, you know, he he approached the team is like, okay Can we write some songs together or around the psalms that we that we will be talking about and so That's what the team did we got together and we started writing songs and One year later the album came out. So yeah, and this is in In response to what Louie was also saying and it's beautiful Charles you yeah, you see your hand being Yeah, just a it's not a Question but seeking clarity and maybe seeing whether it would be applicable For instance, if the worship team is preparing the songs that they're going to do For a service that is upcoming Would it be advisable to know the theme For the pastor that he's going to speak from so that they can prepare the songs for worship and praise Forowing the theme that is what I was thinking about Yeah, so hold on a second. Let me just Share this You're still able to hear me right So what you are seeing What you're seeing is the worship team roster That that is being sent out to the entire worship team. I'm not gonna show the whole Rostrum what not so here you see we started we are having this sermon series going on faith and science and For that Sunday is in the day. So all the sermon titles are being sent out to the team So the team that is leading so we have a bunch of worship leaders This is also how the roster looks like they're kind of jumping the gun here, but that's okay So every worship leader with this these are all the locations Central South North East West so when they look at this tab, they know, okay, what is the sermon series and? and so they can Prepare accordingly and and so now we know that the sermon series are on faith and science We look for songs that is around creation, you know Things like songs like indescribable God of Wonders and so they they can prepare well. I hope that answers Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Welcome Yeah, cool. So worship ministry is beautiful the time of worship in the church is also It's crucial. So yeah with that in mind. Let's move on. Okay, so we as ministers worship pastors worship ministers ministry leaders We need all the help we can get to reduce up the stress level Administratively and relationally extra extra because the challenges of leading the worship ministry is real Okay, so in this journey All there are four relationships in this ministry that make or break us Okay, each of the four areas of worship ministry the following four relationships Is it's not just an exhaustive list? Okay? there are a lot of relationships involved in our life that demand our attention and and whatnot but Again talking putting it into our context if you have to succeed in the task of building an effective worship ministry I've zeroed it down to these four points here. Okay the number one is All these four points are very basic, but then it's so crucial foundational to a to our life as ministers, okay first one our relationship with God how many of you think it's important It's one or two. Yeah We cannot compromise On this point, isn't it our relationship with God Right, it's crucial. It's foundational. It's we just can't say it's important and move on. It's it's everything right everything That that overflows from you is birthed in within you from this this point your time with him your relationship With him how intimate are you with him, right? So never compromise your secret life with God or confuse it with your public ministry activity Okay, never compromise your secret life your time with God or confuse it. Okay, this is a big deal and And I've seen it happen it is possible that we can get confused with our public minister activity as a continuation of our relationship with God No, that is different. This is different. You need to get alone with him You need to you know seek his presence pursue his presence spend time with him reading his word You know, so your physical health your emotional well-being Your authority as a spiritual leader everything hinge on this Right in the first chapter we learned about how David, you know He brought the presence back, isn't it? He was a visionary so much to say but And We can look back and see where it all began right when it's when he first starts us goes to Saul and said You know, I'll take on Goliath And Saul says how can you do this? You're just a boy, you know, but And then Dave's response is beautiful, isn't it? He says when I was tending my father's flock My father's sheep and a lion and a bear attacked You know, I went after it. I held the lion bites beard and rescued my sheep the imagery is beautiful, isn't it and When one of the very famous quotes Bill Johnson says is if you can kill a lion and a bear in private God will let you kill a Goliath in public right so and and Another feature about a shepherd boy or a shepherd in that region is they would take the flock and Go away into the wilderness area and the shepherd has been gone for a long time Huge a lot of hours of the day And so you can imagine the David as a shepherd boy with his flock all alone Only the flock as his audience. He has so much of time for himself Because he is alone and all he did during this time was right Psalms worshipping and his audience worship, right? So he was alone with God and so we as leaders we as worshippers you know forgive me if this point is too basic but We need to get back to basics sometimes we need to remind ourselves as ministry leaders as worshipers The importance of our relationship with God right if you can play an instrument get on your instrument when there is no crowd and just Be a lead worshiper and don't just be a worship leader Right, so that's our first one is a relationship with God and and the second point that will make or break Break you in this journey as a leader is your relationship with your family Okay Our first church to which we must attend is our family Having a good husband or wife son daughter father mother or even friend is Central to being a good worship leader or and an overseer of a worship ministry and need I elaborate on this I don't need to but then I just want to emphasize that and say First your relationship with God second your relationship with your family What face are they seeing you know at home what face of yours are you are they seeing at home? Right, so that that is essential and the third one Which is getting a little bit more real now is your relationship with your pastor Okay, your relationship with your senior pastor One of the most vital relationships in the local church is often one of the most neglected The relationship between the worship leader and the pastor of the church right and and most of the times And this is again I'm Just out of experience, you know, it I've seen where because of miscommunication and because of Very a relationship that is so frictional between the senior pastor or a worship leader or the worship team because not every church In India at least that I've seen has a worship pastor. It's just a worship coordinator or who's volunteering for the church and It is possible that there is No proper relationship between the two a Lot of people can get hurt right the congregation gets hurt the worship team gets hurt the pastor gets hurt Everybody involved can get hurt. So this relationship is very very crucial. Okay. Once again, you know If you are the path if you are a senior pastor leading a ministry or if you are a worship pastor of a church Ask yourself this question. How is your relationship with your pastor and how is your relationship with your worship pastor? Okay, both ways Right, so Let's talk a little bit more about what makes or what can make a Healthy relationship between the two. Okay, the senior pastor and the worship pastor So God intends that a mutually cooperative Unity prevailed between the senior pastor and the worship pastor God has blessed each of us with abilities that are uniquely our own and we must be content with our gifts The pastor and the worship pastor are not in competition You need to understand that Each is able to contribute in areas that make the ministry of the other more effective Each is able to contribute in areas that make the ministry of the other more effective Okay, so I just want to pause there and say and remind us once again of what we learned from worship ministry in the Old Testament With the couple of scriptures that we read back then one of the things that kept standing out was unity, right? When they did something with a unity with one voice when they lifted There, you know, when they played together as one when they sang together as one there's something beautiful that happens In unity and we need to get that right And there's something else that I learned. I saw a firsthand in 2018. I think We had something called a big Sunday during Christmas time It's a it's one of those Sundays where At apc we it's like an evangelistic Sunday We ask our church members a congregation to invite all their friends their unbelievers To come to you know come to church. We encourage them to do that every Sunday But then just that Sunday we say we specifically say it's going to be more like an evangelistic Sunday So it's a big deal. Okay, it's it's like a nice celebration where every team is doing something from the worship team to the children's church and the arts team, you know dance and arts whatnot so, um, you know, it was that sign is also Every team is like, uh, you know, kind of discussing about okay. Hey, when when are you guys practicing? When are you guys doing this? You know when when is our time when are we when are we going to get the stage to run do a rehearsal and whatnot? and uh And one of them responded by saying it's like, hey, no, no, we can't give you the slot because it's our time We have to we have to do this. You know things like that can happen. It happens And so one of the team member responded so beautifully. He said hey guys, we are not in competition We are one. Okay. We are doing this together as one. It's not that you're a different team We are a different team. It's not we versus you We are all in this together from the children's church team to the worship team to every other team, right? And so let's see how we can accommodate each other and um, so simple communication like that goes a long way Isn't it? I'm sure you all have been in scenarios like that and relate to um But yeah, anyone been in something like that Exchanged unpleasantries and also resolve Okay, right. It's only kong But then kongi, I guess it's just me and you then Okay, so uh coming back to this uh point right our relationship with our pastor. So here are a few things that can help um Us in our relationship with our senior pastor and vice versa. Okay So for the first one Once again basic respect Right worship pastor needs to respect by submitting to his authority Accepting the direction and the decisions of the pastor Right the pastor should now the senior pastor should respect To the worship pastor by not constantly interrupting or pre-empting the worship pastors methods without consideration Okay, once again one of the lessons that we learned from david's worship team the way he set up on first chronicles chapter 25 was all of them all of the worst the the The asaf he man jerethen and their sons. They were all under the supervision of the king And so right we need to respect that and uh If you're leading a ministry of the church, what is the senior pastor's vision for the church? You can't just come in and say i'm the worship pastor now I'm going to take off in an opposite direction because this is what the lord has spoken He said thus says the lord we that it's not going to happen. Right. That's clearly not for the lord Right, uh, we need to learn to respect and honor The vision of our senior pastor Yeah, it begins from there and knowing that we are under the supervision of our senior pastor and he is accountable to god right and then Also a message to the worship to the senior pastor is like hey, you know sometimes it's okay Give this with a worship pastor the freedom to fail Right, uh, and we'll get to that point in just a bit again, uh, and you know Just because the one is a senior pastor what? You've hired that person for a reason Knowing that okay, this person has skills that I don't and so i'm going to trust This person with leading the team and not keep interrupting or preempting You know with their methods and considerations and whatnot of course Having discussed about that That takes us to the second point of consideration Okay with the first point as a premise we go to second point which is consideration so When the pastor and the worship pastor have different ideas Which in most case is the reason About what the direction the service should take Each must have consideration for the other Okay, once again, and you will have consideration when you have respect out of respect I'm going to hear you what you have to say And then you will hear me what I have to say because there is mutual respect, right? We understand each other. I as a worship pastor. I understand that I am under the supervision Of my senior pastor and then he my my senior pastor also knows why he hired me and so he will hear me out Right, uh, the worship leader should be considerate of the pastor Respect his respecting his expertise his experience his vision For the church and whatnot and the pastor may allow the worship leader to make mistakes due to lack of experience And correct him or her gently in private after the service instead of public during the worship time Right. So let me see the role of the pastor is to build up We still are inefficient. So we'll read more about the role of the worship pastor and the chapters to come Kennedy hi, do you mind elaborating a question, please? Hi, Kennedy if you can hear me do Mind elaborating on that Okay, if you're talking, I think your mic is on mute. So Okay, all right. So Kennedy says he will talk later Cool Right. So there's respect consideration and that also finally also leads us to the third point is communication Okay, ms. 33 says can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction That's a beautiful verse. Uh, can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction And so there is no such thing as over communication with your pastor Okay, can I say that again? There is no such thing as Over communication and I've also learned this from leading a team Okay, this is uh, I don't know a pointer or a tip of leading a team is There is no such thing as common sense Right. Um, so as a leader what uh, you know, what seems common sense to me You'll be surprised to know that common sense doesn't occur that easily to a lot of people in the team so If you think it's common sense and assume that the team is just going to do that because it's common sense to you Uh, it's not going to happen. I mean that doesn't happen You as a leader is the one who will get frustrated angry and erupt So even if it's some, you know, a silly thing, uh, the most The common sense kind of thing Communicated because there is no such thing as over communicating in this context, especially with your pastor Okay, so if either have an issue against the other if worship pastor is frustrated with The expectations of the pastor or if the pastor is upset With the worship pastor for not understanding the vision Etc the only solution will be found is an honest loving communication Both need to remain humble and guard against pride Right guys. Um, are you with me? Any thoughts or anything else that you want to add? Uh Wait, uh, do you agree that uh a relationship your relationship with the worship pastor or the senior pastor has to be healthy And it's important Yes, Christopher, please Okay Christopher raised his hand and left the meeting All right. Thanks. Thanks for your response guys. Yeah Uh, do you think any of the points that can be added to uh, what is listed here respect consideration And how we can keep the relationship, uh Healthy between the senior pastor and the worship pastor any of the points that you want to add You can add in the chat section or you can unmute and speak I can I'll add it in the next year's lips Hey, uh, Christopher, I see you join back again. Uh, is there a question that you'd like to ask? Yeah, sorry. Uh, my question is Um It regards to I mean, I agree completely with all the what you had mentioned Uh, my only question is uh, does this not also apply to Uh other pastors pastors who are you know, uh looking after branches in the church And uh, not just necessarily to the uh worship pastor. So what you mentioned was, you know, the relationship of God with family and with a senior pastor Uh, would this not be similar to to that to those pastors also? Absolutely, Christopher. So, uh, I mean, so when I when we began this, uh, the The the chapter three in this class I began by the premise by saying, uh, this every most of the content that we will discuss The points that we will discuss is applicable, uh for every area of ministry as well Regardless of which ministry you all you'll be leaving and um, so and this we're talking about these points more in context with only worship ministry But then like you can talk about communication uh, respect consideration for of every area of ministry, right? Your relationship with your family is important regardless of which ministry you're leading. It's not just worship ministry. So Uh, and um, yeah, that's what I began by saying and you're right. It's applicable for every area of ministry Yeah, is that okay? Christopher. Okay. Uh, louis, uh, please go ahead Uh, I think sometimes you have healthy expectations from the worship team Um, because we use better or your song in our private worship does not mean we respect that Um from the worship team at certain levels So I think there should be that expectation that they grow Um in the grace and the spirit of the house Um, so that at the point in time we can see that there was a journey Um in their skills in the anointing their graces And then we can all come to a place where we're celebrating them as our own worship experience Yes, um, but if you use better to worship at home They come to church and expect that kind of worship then they don't have that skill set. They don't have that exposure Yes, um, there can be some kind of conflict with the worship pastor and the senior pastor Um, they're secondly understanding how they the pastor flows with the word of god and the gifts of the spirits and also help because um If if I'm on that someone like pastor, I should say it's more gentle and more calm in the disposition for the word I don't bring that to a tdjx meeting. It might not work Because the the sound and the music Um, it's gonna be different if I'm going to do a vamp or a pastor ashes It might not allow him flow in the gift of the spirit and then the communication on the work Yes, I can start playing a him or like a tdjx. I might not get the best of the person else So I must also distinguish and the character of the person I'm on there. I'm serving on that so that if I'm bringing um A sound to help his the ministration of the word It's more effective that way spiritually the the pastor Worship pastor and senior pastor can begin to come and begin to bond spiritually even without so much Meetings just that because your policies follow me as a as a full of christ Yeah, so if you understand how god ministers to this person then it can help you are the worship leader to coordinate your team to help him um function better when he's minister Yeah Thanks to you. Yeah Yes, I think if we were to simplify it as an uh to just put it into Maybe one or two words one is definitely maturity or spiritual maturity And the other one I would say is being sensitive to uh, what being sensitive To god, of course to the moving of his spirit and also being sensitive to the congregation that you are leading All right, um, like just as you mentioned the congregation's background or you know the the demographic The average age group of the congregation everything it's all about coming it comes down to serving Right, you're serving god. You're serving your senior pastor. You're serving your congregation. It all comes down to that. Yeah Yeah, thanks for sharing that And um, I just want to um you know The last point before we take a break. Um, this other relationship The fourth point is your relationship with your extended team members Right because at the end of the day if you are the worship pastor you're leading a team and um If you don't care For your team if your relationship with them and their relationship with you is not healthy um It's going to be Yeah, it's going to be very challenging Uh, it's in hebrus 3 13. We all know this was so encourage one another as long as it's called today So that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness, right? So uh, just keeping in constant touch With your team encouraging them individually checking on them. How are they doing? How is their walk with god? spiritually what's happening in their life just being proactive and not just reactive but proactive about genuinely taking interest in their life as like, hey You know getting to know them catching up with them for coffee and and whatnot and creating a culture A kingdom culture and not a culture of criticism or backbiting Etc etc, right? um Encourage your team members to be difficult to be offend This is uh offense is a huge part that can Uh that can break a team that can destroy individuals or teams right offense getting offense. So Uh, there's a wonderful book. You might already know there's a apc publication called You know offense. It's a small 30 page book. I think So creating a culture a healthy culture a kingdom culture Of encouragement, uh, you know as being there for one another a culture of community You know So many things right all the healthy culture that you can think of is very important So you as a ministry leader and your relationship is very crucial with the team members That you are leading. Are you genuinely taking interest in their life? Right? so And also having said all of this the in the in the last three lines of that point It is also vital that I mentioned here the relationship between members of the opposite sex must always be Kept above board with people keeping and respecting appropriate intimacy boundaries both in public and in private Right. It cannot be stressed enough on that one of some of the guidelines that we have at least at apc is that if you're meeting with A lady member of your team, they will have to meet a me and the church office Uh, you know, and so there is no meeting Individually privately in a cafe or whatnot. So, I mean all of this is just understanding the guidelines of the church respecting one another's boundaries Especially when it comes to the opposite sex and keeping a character in check your integrity in check and all of that is very crucial As well because you're not just going to be leading a man. I mean a team of the same sex right, so That's these are the four, uh, you know relationship That can make as a breakers In the journey of worship ministry. Okay. First thing is your relationship with god your relationship with family your family Relationship with our pastor and finally our relationship with the team members Okay Uh, we take a break now and we'll come back and resume the second session Right. Thanks guys. Have a good one