Hat Tricks

Recently, I've had to take over some of the worship leading responsibilities at Mosaic... in addition to, of course, leading the church/preaching every week. At first, I thought it would be WAY too much, but it hasn't really been overwhelming... at least, not consistently so. In fact, it's been a rather pleasant and enjoyable experience!

This is somewhat surprising to me, simply because once I "hung up" my Worship Pastor hat, I thought that was pretty much a thing of the past... I really didn't like both leading worship/preaching in the same service. So, it's been mildly surprising that I've been actually looking forward to the times when I would lead at church. Some factors are: 1) I'm actually doing a style I love: a sort of "urban/rock", more or less (maybe more rock than urban, lol) and, 2) I haven't really had to be at the keyboard... having a band has been awesome. In my prior worship leading days, I always led from the piano.

So, for me - and for the church, as well - my taking over some of the responsibilities has been good. If nothing else, it's helping to reinforce the direction/flavor of our worship style, and preparing us for whoever the next Worship Leader will be. I just recently noticed that Gary Lamb has just taken over the teaching in the Student Ministry for Revolution Church... and he's enjoying it. I think maybe God is stretching us Lead Pastors to allow our churches... at least temporarily... to maximize our gifts for the greater good of the church and the Kingdom. My buddy Daniel Floyd encouraged me yesterday by reminding me that Steven Furtick led worship for Elevation Church until they were running around 700 in attendance!

Lead Pastors: Don't be afraid to oversee another crucial area of your ministry that might need YOU to breathe some fresh air into it! Definitely weigh the odds and don't neglect your fam... but if you see an area of the ministry that simply isn't where it needs to be... or there suddenly arises a hole that needs to be filled... God might be saying, "Right now, this hole is so big that it can only be filled by you!" Don't get me wrong... wearing two or more MAJOR hats for a Lead Pastor should be only a temporary thing; do it only until you can get that hole filled. And any hat you wear should fall under your strengths (not just something you feel you can do). It's time-consuming... and can only be done in God's strength... but, as long as He's holding us up, it can push the ministry - and God's Kingdom - forward in a major way!