Building teams is hard work, for it involves openness to others’ ideas and collective willingness to dialogue honestly to reach consensus. Such dialogue requires agreement on guidelines and ground rules about behavior and practice with serious commitments of time, energy and consistency. Maybe the team comprises only the preacher and worship leader, yet neither should underestimate the skills needed to develop and sustain a good working relationship.
A worship leader looking for a new job said to me: “The number one priority for my next job is a quality relationship with the senior pastor. Can we pray and relate together as friends as we prepare for public worship? Everything depends on this relationship.” Yes, such team work demands time and effort, but it proves invaluable for ministry.
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Define core values. Core values identify values and beliefs that drive vision and action. They answer the question why people should invest their time and energy in this particular activity.
Aubrey Malphurs describes a Christian organization’s core values as “the constant, passionate, biblical core beliefs that drive its ministry.”4 Alongside other values, churches should identify their distinctive worship beliefs, grounded in their past and present. (Note that core values are not about future vision, but concern present strengths – vital for building future vision!)
For example, Faith Baptist Fellowship in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has developed core values entitled: “What is the Philosophy of Worship that Unites Us?” Identifying key beliefs such as “expecting the powerful presence of God” (James 4:8), it sets out a series of principles in order “To Offer Leadership that is Prepared Spiritually, Relationally, and Musically” to enable the congregation to worship in spirit and in truth.
Time spent sharing and articulating such values not only proves high seriousness and deep team commitment, but provides solid foundation for ongoing ministry and negotiating through conflict. Issues, such as tension over styles and preferences for music in worship, should be addressed within the context of each church’s distinctive worship values. I suspect that many “worship war” outbursts could be avoided by quality team relationships that, from the beginning, worked hard at defining such core values.
Shape worship structures. Planning worship services operates both at the macro-level, with its annual cycle, as well as at the micro-level of individual weekly events.
• The macro-level. Though some preachers organize preaching programs on longer time scales, (such as six or twelve months), the commonest worship structure follows the Christian year.
Mentioned earlier, this annual cycle of worship is ordered around the life of Christ. Using lectionary readings, it comprises seven seasons with three main climactic events: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Each Sunday therefore belongs within a narrative sequence, leading Christians through a disciplined structure of corporate worship. Many preachers are totally committed to following set lectionary themes and Scriptures. Considerable lectionary resources are available to ensure their adequate preparation.