Keys to Building A Healthy Worship Team

Alex |

Welcome to the Worship Ministry Training Podcast, a monthly podcast for worship leaders who are serious about growing in their craft and calling. My name is Alex, fellow worship leader, super stoked you’re here. And if you’re a new listener, I’m going to encourage you to hit that subscribe button, because every single month I’m gonna give you helpful practical guidance that you can immediately implement into your ministry. Hit that subscribe button, and then go back through the past nine years of episodes and binge listen your way to a healthier ministry. If you’re someone who is really serious about growing as a worship leader, I’m going to point you to the Worship Ministry Training Academy. What is the Academy? It’s an online training platform that will give you everything you need to build a thriving worship ministry. You’ll get ten indepth courses on topics like set building, team building, musical excellence, vocal techniques, and more. You’ll get live monthly training workshops on topics that are relevant to you. You’ll get exclusive expert interviews with some of the best worship leaders in the world. You’ll get done for you ministry admin systems and audition process, onboarding documents, team training materials, and even team discipleship materials.

 

Alex |

We will take care of you so you can focus on leading your team. If that sounds like something that would be of help to you, you can try the Worship Ministry Training Academy for just $1 by going to Worship Ministrytraining.com. Sign up today for your $1 trial, and I hope to see you inside of the academy. All right, let’s get into today’s episode. Hey, friends. This is a video that I did with Jimmy Cooper of hey worship leader for his YouTube channel. We talked about building healthy teams and just some of the key factors of how to build healthy teams. So first of all, go follow Jimmy on YouTube. Hey, worship leader is his channel. And then secondly, enjoy this conversation we had and hopefully take some of these ideas to build healthier teams at your church.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Hey, Worship Leader, welcome back to the channel. Today I have with me Alex. How are you doing, man?

 

Alex |

I’m doing great, Jimmy. Like, we’re like almost TWINSY. We both got black fuzzy jackets on.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

That’s right? Yes. It’s a little chilly here in old North Carolina, where you from?

 

Alex |

Los Angeles. And it’s cold for Los Angeles too.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

I hope the power doesn’t go out, because it was like thunderstorming earlier, and there’s a tornado warning here, so we’ll see what happens.

 

Alex |

Wow, this could be, like, a really interesting YouTube video. Yeah, hopefully his last shot, he’s, like, getting sucked out.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

That’s right. Hopefully not. So we got to meet at a conference about a month ago and got to catch up, and I was like, man, I loved your breakout. I went to your breakout, and then you got to do a main session talk. It was also good. I was like, I got to have this guy on the channel. And so I love what you’re doing. Love your heart. You’re with worship ministry training. Tell us a little bit about that.

 

Alex |

Thank you, Jimmy. Yeah, worship ministry training. It’s a podcast and a website. So if you’re a podcast listener, go search for ship industry training and binge the podcast, because it’s been for eight years going now. But if you’re looking for more in depth training, we have an online academy which has like ten in depth courses on set building, team building, musical excellence, running better rehearsals, group communication, tons of courses. I think it’s 30 hours of courses. We have team resource documents, like onboarding documents, like audition process, team DeVos that you can use with your team every week. So basically my role is to provide everything you need to build a healthy worship ministry. That’s what I try to do. I give you everything, the training and the tools, and then you can take it and implement it. Plus there’s like coaching calls and live monthly workshops. So anyway, worshipindustrytraining.com would be the place to go. But that’s a little bit about me. I’m also a worship leader, worship pastor, like Jimmy, and just in the trenches with you guys. So it’s an honor to serve alongside of wonderful people who are trying to point everyone to Jesus through music.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

That’s right, yes. And one of the things I want to say about you, since you’re on here, is that you have a gift of being able to break things down really simply, and it’s very easy to grasp. And so, like, those breakout sessions I went to, I was just like, man, it’s so good. Go check it out. Go check out the academy and you’ll learn a lot. Maybe there’s some videos on there about what we’re going to talk about today, which is our topic of team culture, how to build a healthy team culture. And I want to start off by asking you, this could go a million different directions, I guess, but what are some of the team culture values that are a priority for you, specifically in your worship ministry?

 

Alex |

With my team, yeah. So we have seven, if I can remember them all, hopefully we are worshippers. So that has to be number one. If you are on stage but offstage, you’re like sleeping around or drinking or whatever, you are not a good fit for this team. The crazy thing is, I know, Jimmy, that there are teams where people turn a blind eye to that kind of behavior because they want the musical excellence. Right? So that’s the number one is we are worshippers. The second one is we are encouraged. And so we’re always trying to build each other up and we’re always trying to call up the next generation. So just speaking life constantly, we’re encouragers and then let’s see, we are committed. Meaning like, you show up on time, you learn your parts, you do what is asked, you show up to the team meetings because this is important stuff that we’re doing. And then, let’s see, we are progressing because I didn’t want to say we are excellent because excellence feels like a bar that you can hit, but progressing means every day you’re trying to get a little bit better. So, like, the scale always keeps going up.

 

Alex |

And there’s a few others, but I think that covers kind of some of the we are family stuff like that.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Okay. Yeah, that’s awesome. See that? You’re already doing what I was talking about. Some of these are values for me, but they’re just breaking them down. That simple. That’s super helpful. So I think what would be helpful in this video is to break down. We can just talk back and forth about how we take these values and implement them. So, for me, you just mentioned family. That’s not the name I have for it for us. I’m not even that organized. I don’t have names for them. So they’re just kind of like these ideas that are floating around, and so now I’m being challenged to write them down and make them real. But there are things that we prioritize in discussions and I speak about, but one of them is like, the family thing. I want my team members to feel a sense of belonging and real care from me as the leader. Is that kind of the family aspect that you were talking about?

 

Alex |

Yeah. Well, I want to affirm a few things you just said. Number one, you should write them down, and I’m not telling you, but the listener, please write down your values. Think about the team you want to have and think, here’s what I always say. And this is part of some of the documents that I have in the academy, where basically it’ll help you do this process. But think about what you want someone else to say if they were visiting your team for a Sunday, how would you want someone else from the outside to describe your team if they were talking about your team to someone else? And if you can think about, like, man, I want them to say these things about us, you have to write those things down. And I love that. Just we are this, we are that. So I would say define it, because you have to be able to communicate these values to your team clearly. If you don’t communicate to your team clearly, they won’t know what’s expected of them. And if they don’t know what’s expected of them, they can’t deliver that. And so, yeah, having it written down and having it constantly communicated is super important in terms of family.

 

Alex |

And your other part of that question is, like, yes, 100%, the team leader needs to make everybody feel involved, welcomed, loved, and cared for like we are. Shepherds right, primarily. And I think the number one thing that I’m looking for in a team and if I’m assessing a team’s health is, like, do people feel connected? Do they feel safe? Do they feel like they can be themselves? And is their joy? Is their joy and laughter? Because if there’s joy and laughter, it means people feel safe and they feel like they belong. And it’s our job as leaders to go above and beyond to make people feel folded into the family. And if someone’s standing in the corner of the room and they just don’t feel like they can talk, it’s your job to invite them to get a little closer into the middle. Or, like, what do you think over there, Sally? I always use the name Sally for some reason, but it’s your job as a leader to make sure your whole team feels like they’re part of the team.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

That’s great.

 

Alex |

Yeah.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

I think a lot of times worse leaders can forget that or they’re so busy or thinking about other things, or they’re the one that’s the leader. So their headspace is so far removed from that that often they can forget it and come across differently. I’ve been a volunteer in a volunteer role before, and I remember what it was like to try to read the worship leaders mind and feel like I didn’t want to let them down. But at the same time, I feel like they had so much going on that they didn’t really see me. And I think that hit me as a younger worship leader, and I was like, man, I don’t want anybody to feel that way. I want them to be seen. I want them to feel like this is family. And even though in my ministry, being on the worship team is not equivalent to a small group because it’s too big, we got, like, 35 people that’s not really a small group, and a lot of them don’t even know each other because we got a few bass players. They never play at the same time. So it’s not a small group.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

It’s not a replacement for that. But I do still want them to feel, like you said, it’s a safe place they can come. And I love the joy thing that’s been my team for the past two months when you said joy, and I’m glad you said that. Being able to look at a team and see, like, laughter and joy is just a symptom that there is security there. That’s great, man. How do you go about doing that? Okay, we know we need to create this space. Do you have any steps, any wisdom, or what does that look like for you to create that?

 

Alex |

Yeah. Number one, like I said, is defining what you want to see your team become. Who are we becoming and how do we treat each other? And then the second step is for you as the leader to model that and for you as the leader, because we replicate who we are. Right. And so if our team feels, clickish. If our team gossips, if our team this and that. The first place you want to look is in the mirror because you’re the leader. So your team will see your behavior as normative. So if you’re late all the time or if you’re unprepared and you don’t practice, they’re going to copy you. They’re like, oh, that’s what it means. If the leader does it, then of course I can do it. Right? So the number one thing besides defining what you want is to be what you want, right? And then the second thing after that is to just reiterate these values and these expectations. Or just besides modeling it, you need to, like, repeat it and say it at a team meeting once a quarter or at the beginning of your team hot luck. And that’s another thing I would say, Jimmy, as you were talking about, like, you know, some of your team members don’t even know each other, because when do the basics never stand on stage together?

 

Alex |

You never have two basis, and if you do, that would be super weird. And somebody listening to this should try it. That would be super interesting. But yeah, you should be doing events at your house and opening up your home if you’re trying to create a family vibe. Like, hey, guys, we’re all going to come to my house, like, once a quarter, and we’re going to pray together, we’re going to play some dumb games together and embarrass each other and those types of things, that builds that connection, that builds that community. So those are just a few thoughts off the top of my head.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Yeah, that’s great. And you mentioned a few things in there about being what you want, like modeling what you want it to look like on your team. And I was thinking you mentioned, like, time and rehearsals. So that’s another value of ours. And I think you mention that. What was the word you used for, like, time? Did you say committed?

 

Alex |

You’re committed.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Committed. Okay. Yeah. I like that. I’m so glad this video is going to be on my channel so I can go back and watch it and write all this down. I think that’s something like just what it looks like for me to respect them and model specifically with time. For example, since you brought it up at rehearsals, I always say rehearsal, and I repeat this a lot. Like you said, we’re repeating it a lot. Rehearsal is six to 730 on Wednesdays for us. And I’m a lot more lenient on the start time because I know people are coming from work and we live in a busy city and owe traffic, but it starts with me valuing their time. So I think something else I’ve learned is that I remember going to rehearsals, and it just taking forever. They would just drag on and be like, okay, we’re done, and all this stuff. And I just like we end at 730 whether we’re done or not. And I say that upfront, like, hey, I’ll get you out on time. If we’re not done, go home and practice, and we’ll do a quick rehearsal Sunday morning, ready to go.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

But I let them know that I value their time because they came from where they got to go home, and it’s already a commitment to come out another night of the week. I think modeling what you want from them, it really does help in saying it. So that’s one area where I’m following your rulebook there, where I not only model it, but I’m saying that I’m modeling it not to try to show off. And I’m like, hey, I’m actually here to serve you. And when you serve them, it actually serves you because you get from your team what you actually expect. You mentioned excellence, and then you mentioned another word, so explain that a little bit again.

 

Alex |

Yeah, so when we were fighting and that’s another thing when you’re defining the kind of team you want, like, you don’t want to you want to be really intentional with the words you choose. You want to fight for the right word. And so we were like, do we want to be excellent? Yeah. But is there, like I don’t know. Excellence just didn’t feel right, so we chose. We are progressing. And again, the reason why is because even if you are amazing, you can still get better, and you can bring the Lord an even better gift. Like I play my drum for him. Pompom, pump, pump. It’s like, I play my best for Him. Bump, bump. Each day, your best should be a little bit better, right? So, yes. For us, that was our value, and we’ve seen a lot of progress in the six years that I’ve been leading the team, because I’ll be honest, when I came, it was a pretty hot mess. Musically, it was not good, and we’re alarmed. When I came to my church, Jimmy, we were 10,000 people attended. Our team only had 15 team members, which already tells you there’s something wrong, and they weren’t even that great.

 

Alex |

And hopefully no one of them are watching, but I kind of already told them that, hey, guys, we really need to grow musically. But, yeah, it was rough. And so because of our value of not excellence, but that we’re getting better every week, I challenged them every week, and I would be like, we got to simplify our parts. We got to listen to each other. We got to this, we got to that. We got to learn the parts. We got to this. And three years in, I would say we turned a corner, and it was like, wow, we’re actually sounding really good. And now, five and a half, six years, and it’s like, man, you guys are doing great.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Yes, we use the word excellence, but we use the word pursuit. In front of it. So we would just say like a pursuit of excellence, as if excellence is not something you can achieve, but it’s just that pursuing. So I think it’s kind of the same thing. Like, we’re progressing and it’s just really no matter what words you use, which I think that’s a great way, like, that’s a great way to make sure you fight for the correct word. It’s just to have a spirit of, like you said, getting better. Because I feel like that is directly attached. And if we’re telling our team the why behind it, that’s directly attached to our worship of God. Like he has given us gifts. And if we are just regressing or just flipping about it, well, that’s our worship. And if we see it as our worship, then it’s like, and I want this to be better for my savior. If this brings more glory to him, then that’s what I want. And I think that’s the gist behind what we have to have to say to them. I think it’s easy to say that, but it can be hard to implement.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

And what else I remember is that you can say something fancy like that we are progressing or we pursue excellence here, but people will know what you actually think and want from them based on how you treat people and what you actually say. So I think all of my worship leading strategy comes from bad at previous experiences because I’ve just been under worship leaders who very talented, probably cared for people. But in those moments, man, just it seemed like the excellence factor or the perfection or whatever trumped the pastoral part. And so, like, yelling, I’ve seen some yelling and rehearsal, just frustrations and stuff. And I was just like, man, I just remember some yelling happening. I knew they were close friends and I was more new, but I was like, but I’m here. I’m a part of the team. And I don’t know that dynamic. They should be a little more wise. And so I just thought, man. So I usually just try to build trust with my team. I don’t want any like, I’ve had to apologize before. I guess what I’m saying, I guess some of that is in me. We’re like, man, all right, we’re going to work on this part.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Especially if you’re having a bad day. Not every day is a great day. You have a bad day and then they’re just not getting it. So you just calmly go over here, we’re going to do this, we’re going to land on the four chord. And they still go to the one five times in a row. And you’re like, yeah. And so I’m like, hey, it’s okay. If you’ve already built that trust in your family, you can go back and just have a conversation.

 

Alex |

Yeah. And there’s so many things I want to pull out from what you just shared. Number one is like, you said we have to explain the why in what we’re asking for. Why do we want excellence or why do we want to be on time? If people understand the why, there’s no connection in their brain as to like, oh, okay, well, I can get on board with the why. They might not like the what, but they’ll get on board with the why. So I think that’s super important that we do that. And when it comes to excellence, you’re right. It’s a stewardship issue. So God gave you a gift, and what does he ask from us when he gives us and trusts us with something? He asks us that we make it better and presented to Him in a better state than when he gave it. So it’s a stewardship issue. And also, like you said, excellence matters to God. Look what he did with the temple. He was like, I want the best craftsman, the best material, the finest gold, the finest linen, the finest purple, the finest everything, and I want it intricately and artistically made.

 

Alex |

So, like, he wants that, and we get to do that with music. So that’s another thing. And then one last thing to pull out of what you just shared was basically, excellence matters to God, but people matter to God more. So if you’re beating people up, it’s like, Get out of here. Do you really think God is like, okay, I want everyone to land on the one more than I want you to treat someone nicely? It’s like, Are you serious, dude? He wants you to treat people like he treats people with love and care and kindness, and he wants us to exhibit the fruit of the spirit, a life of worship, not a song of worship. Right? Get out of here. If you’re like being a punk to your team, get out of here. Literally 99.99% of it does not matter. At the end of the day, at the end of the day, your church body will not remember that Sunday. They won’t remember that note. They won’t remember that song. Just love people, please.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

But your team members will remember how you treated them. Exactly, because I’m remembering all the bad times. That’s so good. I think another value and this may play into some of yours, is like, creating a culture of serving each other and going back to the modeling that I really try to serve my team even when I don’t feel like it. And that’s little ways one of the best ways and we could talk about this little bit is, like, scheduling them ahead of time and giving them the resources they need. And that’s a way to serve your team, because there’s nothing worse than committing for a week and then just trying to wait for that. Hey, what songs are we singing? Are the keys finalized? So someone watching this, listening to this, needs to hear that, like, serve your team. And one way to serve your team is to get the resources. Any wisdom on that?

 

Alex |

100% agree? Yes. Please worship leaders, be organized, please be timely. First of all, a good leader is a consistent person. So be a consistent person, be reliable. Okay. And secondly is yes. Our job is to serve our team and the way we serve our team is by giving them the resources they need with the time that they need to succeed. Your job is to help your team succeed. You do everything in your power. Give them good clean chord charts. Give them MP3 in the correct keys. Give them resource YouTube links. If you’re using Planning Center, just link it all up in the song, make sure it’s in the right key. Pick your songs on the same day every week. You know, get in a rhythm and like send out your set notes on the same day every week. And just be organized for your team because if you help them succeed, they’re going to help you do better and the church is going to be more blessed. So please be organized and please give your team the tools they need and in the time that they need to be able to succeed. So yeah, I agree with you.

 

Alex |

Let’s do better.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

All of us, let’s do better. Another way that I was thinking about serving each other. And I put this under the category in my brain, but maybe it fits somewhere else. But I think just like loving each other and squashing any trash talk, even if it’s and it’s usually covered in joking, traveling around and being a part of different worship teams. You get to see, like which I don’t do as much anymore, but I’ve been a part where you just see different cultures and you’re stepping into a team maybe for a guest Sunday or whatever, and you can pick up the way these people are being led. So I was at a conference last week and I can’t remember this guy’s name. I wish I could give him the credit, but he was a marketing guru for a couple of big companies, and one of them was Chickfila. And he said every once in a while they would go to another restaurant, another drive through or go up to the counter. And he said that he could directly see what was being poured into that staff member, that employee, by what that employee was giving him.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

And so I was like, that’s so true. Like a lot of these companies, they don’t care. And you see that in the product they give. Well, you can see that in the culture of a team, how they treat each other. Like you said at the beginning, that leadership is on you. You can see what kind of leader someone is by how the team even just interact with each other. And I’ve been a part of teams and sometimes even on my own team where I just have to be intentional, to squash it. Like the putting down little jokes or just stuff that you feel like, man, there’s probably some truth behind that. And I don’t know that we’re close enough for that or I’ve been a part of teams before where there was a group of people so close, like some people who were, I guess, even closer to the pastor, close enough to have that relationship, but other people in the room weren’t close enough. So it just came across as like, speaking bad about the pastor. And honestly, I don’t know if it was anything less than that. I just know our sin nature will do enough work to pull us apart.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

And so we got to be on top of squashing any of that trash talk or whatever it is that’s usually, like I say, covered up and joking. Like I usually just try to be super authentic. So in my unredeemed states, I can get super sarcastic. And I used to be that way, especially in my so I know that if I’m uncomfortable, it starts coming out and so I have to be super intentional about that and I don’t want my team to be that way. So for me, just being vulnerable, I have to make sure that sarcasm is not what I’m leading with. That’s not the priority or the majority of my talk. Do you have any wisdom on that topic of how we treat each other?

 

Alex |

Yeah, I mean, the struggle is real, right? Like you said, the unredeemed sinful nature wants to talk bad about others. For some reason, our pride is like, I must say something bad about so and so. I even just full confession. Like yesterday there was something I found out about some people that are no longer part of our team. And I wanted to say some things about it to someone else or to a few people, but I was like, oh, I’m not going to say anything. But then I waited and waited and at the end of the day, there was like one person that I really wanted to say it to and I said something. I didn’t say it like, I mean, I guess it’s all gossip, right? But it was couched in that kind of like Christian, like, did you know, whatever. So, yeah, I’m just being real. The struggle is real. And the truth is that stuff feeds. And our church is going through a lot of transitions right now because we have a new senior pastor, so we’re bringing on lots of new staff and there’s a lot of changes and people are talking.

 

Alex |

People are talking. And the best thing I’ve learned to do is just be like, yeah, I don’t have anything to say about that. But that’s kind of like the passive way when people are fishing for information is just to not give it. But the other side of it is squashing it, like you said. And the best way. To squash. It is like, to have those conversations privately. If it’s a big group setting and people are being unkind, yeah. You have to jump into the group and be like, hey, guys, we don’t do this here. And by the way, everybody, that’s a really key phrase. We don’t do this here at this church. This is how we talk. Like, you make it normal, you normatize it. I guess we don’t do this here, and they all get the picture. And then if you see people doing it to each other, you pull them into your office and do it privately. But, yeah, there’s a lot to think about there. But I think you’re right that the devil wants to divide. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy, and he wants to do that on our worship teams.

 

Alex |

And we know that words are very powerful and word in the tongue is the power of death and life. And we can build up or tear down a simple spark can light a whole forest on fire, and the tongue can do the same. Right. You can do a lot of damage on your team, or you can let people do a lot of damage on your team if people are speaking poorly. So I would just completely agree with you. And I’m in the boat with everybody. Like, we’re all struggling with it, but let’s be very careful there.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Yeah, you just said something that reminded me. I think all worship leaders are built differently. And I think in my mind, I’ve been thinking of that worship leader who is maybe dominant or busy and running over people, that kind of person. But you can also be unhealthy and be and this might be even the majority of people where they take a backseat, they let things happen on their team, and they just don’t want to touch it. They’re nonconfrontational, which is actually my bent. I’m like, it’ll work itself out. It won’t.

 

Alex |

So you have to deal with the cancer when it’s small, right? When the cancer is this big, it’s so much easier. It’s a small incision. It’s a quick operation. You pull it out, you’re done. If you let the cancer grow because you don’t deal with it, you’re like, oh, it’ll get better on its own. It will just grow. And then you have this huge tumor in your side, and you have to have this massive removal surgery that takes you six months to recover. So, yes, 100%. We need to not be brash and mean and unkind and harsh, but we have to protect our team, and our job is to cultivate the culture and to protect the culture. And so if you’ve worked hard to build a healthy culture, you have to protect it from anything that’s going to damage that or get in the way of that or whatever. You have to guard your culture, and you do that by not tolerating things that are harming your team. And so we have to learn to be lovingly for people in the sense of, hey, what you’re doing is not helpful for you or for the team.

 

Alex |

And, you know, those conversations can feel scary, but I think if you just put on your big boy pants and, like, learn, you know, with time, that it’s actually the most loving thing you can do for the person and for the team. And you don’t have to be mean. You can just, like, start with some observations like, hey, look, I’ve noticed this or that, is everything okay? And you’re like, what’s going on? But we have to confront you cannot have the team you want if you don’t learn how to have hard conversations. Because we’re coaches, ultimately we’re coaching a group of people in a certain direction, and so we have to have corrective conversations. It’s not bad for a coach to tell a baseball player that his swing is off. It’s like, I don’t play baseball, so I don’t really know the analogy. But if you’re swinging wrong, the coach’s job is to help you correct it so you can do better. And our job is the same with our team. We’re supposed to help our teams do better and help individuals do better. And so it’s totally normal. Part of a coach’s job is to tell people what they need to improve.

 

Alex |

And put yourself in the boat, too, and be humble about it and be like, yeah, if you ever have feedback for me, let me know because it’s true. We all have blind spots.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Yeah. And you just said something that reminded me of what I was going to tell you at the conference after your breakout. I was like, oh, there’s that one thing I remembered. And anyways, what it was, was I think we’re talking specifically about auditioning, but you just said we’re coaching, like, establishing that coaching relationship from the beginning. And so a lot of water worship leaders probably don’t feel that way. They’re hearing you and they’re like, yeah, I’m not coaching them. I’m just trying to hurt them together. I don’t know. There’s a lot of different people, and I think that come to this differently. But I think it is important to like you said, and maybe you can tell us how you do this, but to establish that coaching aspect of your relationship with your team early on so that you do have that authority and you’re not just buddy buddy and you don’t just let them run over you. Are there ways that someone can do that?

 

Alex |

I have an easy answer, and then I have the real answer. The easy answer is when you’re onboarding a new team member, you just say, hey, we’re really big on feedback here. I just want you to know that it’s part of our culture. So I’m going to be sharing things that I think you’re doing really well at, and I’m also going to be sharing things that I want you to work on because the role God has given me here is to just help you grow in your gift set. And so I want to come alongside of you and help you grow in your gift set so you establish that when they come on the team. So that’s the easy answer. And that’s true, that’s what you should do and everybody listening should do that. But the harder part of that is not you don’t want to be an authoritarian person with your team that you already have. So the best thing I can say is to, like I said, model it. Be an example. Basically be an example. And also they should know just how much you are for them and just how much you love them and just how much you care about them.

 

Alex |

Because until they know that you care, they won’t care what you have to say. But if they know alex always thinks about me, he always prays for me, he always sends encouraging messages to me. He always is building me up. Like whatever he says, I’m going to listen to that. That’s the harder answer, that’s the real answer. It’s like you need to care so deeply about your people that they want to know what you think and they want to listen to you.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

That’s so good. And I think we’ve hit on so many things and it just reminds me, I kind of want to land the plane here that some people look at the worship beer job and they just like, well, what do you do? Like, you just sing songs and we’ve already just, in this video, briefly skimmed the surface on all these different areas. And I want to say that we’re shall be just watching this and you can maybe get some encouragement too. Like God has you where he wants you and he’s gifted you with everything you need. That is, we don’t keep growing, but you are where you are for a reason, to serve Him, serve the kingdom and serve those people. And so our position is unique in that it can get super technical with like propresenter and ableton and program heavy and then it’s mixed with artistry of music and maybe visuals and sound design. And then at the same time we’re like managers and coaches and then we’re also employees. And there’s just so much that goes in this job that need to be excellent or need to be pursuing excellence or progressing.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

And so I just want to give a word of encouragement. At times seem overwhelming, but you got this, you can do it. Any last words of encouragement, Alex?

 

Alex |

Yes. I would disagree that God didn’t make a mistake when he chose you. You are not fully baked, neither am I, neither is Jimmy. But you are the person God chose. So keep pursuing growth. It’s good that you found Jimmy and you’re on his channel and there’s a bunch of other worship people who want to encourage you as well. So find the people you resonate with and dive in and get plugged in with their communities and just know that you’re not alone. And obviously the Lord is with you too, but so our guys like Jimmy and me and other wonderful people like that. So, yeah, keep going.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Awesome. Well, like I said, we scratched the surface of a bunch of different topics, and maybe some of you are like, hey, I wish I had some training on this. Well, good news. There is a resource, and I think you can get in relatively risk free. Isn’t that correct? Can you tell me about that?

 

Alex |

Yeah, thanks. They can check out the Academy for $1 for 15 days. That will give you full access to play around, see if it’s right for you. You can go to Worshipmastertrain.com and just put your one dollars in and join the academy and take as many courses as you can in those 15 days. And if you still love it at the end, then stick around. But yeah, just want to be helpful, be a resource. There’s a lot of free resources on the website wishesmasterchino. Comresources or just click the Free resources tab. But yeah, we’d love to encourage you however I can.

 

Jimmy Cooper |

Awesome, man. Well, thanks for coming on the channel. Thank you guys for watching. Give a like, comment down below what you want to see more of what maybe what’s your biggest struggle is as a worship leader and team culture building. Maybe we can respond and give some advice and coaching there. Thanks, Alex, for being on here, man.

 

Alex |

Thanks for tuning in today. I hope this episode encouraged you, helped you, and pushed you forward in your ministry. If it helped you, can you take a second and help us by sending it to just one person that you think needs to hear this? And if you’re feeling extra nice, leave us a nice shiny five star review on Apple podcasts or like this video if you’re watching it on YouTube. If you want to discuss this episode or ask questions, we do have a free section in our academy where you can post comments and questions and chat with other worship leaders just like you and also sample some of our courses. And you can go to Worship Ministry Training.com free to join us inside the free portion of the academy. If you’re looking for more, check out the full access academy. You can get 15 days for just $1 to start and try things again. You can try all of it for 15 days for just $1 by going to Worship Ministrytraining.com. Hope to see you inside the Academy, or else I’ll see you next month for another helpful episode.