4 Ways a Worship Leader Can Earn the Trust of Their Lead Pastor

At Elevation Church, we are in the unique situation of having a lead pastor who used to be a worship leader. He is also a huge music lover who knows more rock trivia than anyone I know. Even though he knows how to do our jobs as worship leaders, Pastor Steven has given us a lot of freedom in the worship department as we have gained his trust. Here are some of the ways this trust can be developed.

1. Implement your pastor’s vision for the worship ministry, not your own vision.
The Lord speaks to the lead pastor about the vision and direction of the church, not the worship leader. Yes, your pastor wants you to dream big and push the envelop of creativity and excellence, but it must be done within the parameters he has set. At Elevation, Pastor Steven has cast the vision that our worship experience will be one of celebration. So, you won’t find a lot of dark songs in a minor key because they don’t fit the vision of the church…that might mean I don’t get to play one of my favorite songs– and that is ok. There will also be times when your Pastor asks you to cut or add a song, and when he does, do it joyfully.

2. Be a worship leader who cares more about Jesus and the vision of the church than being on the next Passion CD. Jesus specifically has chosen to work through the local church to advance the gospel. Your pastor will trust you when he sees that you are more passionate about the vision God has given him for your city than you are about the how cool you sound covering the latest Coldplay song.

3. Choose the words you say on stage carefully. The priority for us at Elevation is the preaching of God’s word. That gets 50 minutes in our worship experience while the worship set gets 20 minutes. As a worship leader, when you pray or set up a song, be intentional and strategic so that you maximize your impact with few words. When we don’t prepare and ramble, we are taking valuable time away from the most important part of the worship experience.

4. Play to win, don’t play not to lose. Push yourself. Don’t play it safe. When we get comfortable with what is working well and stop creating, we are not honoring God with our worship. Always let your pastor see that you are continually striving for excellence and taking chances. Worshipping our creative God should never be stale and boring.