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| March 17, 2008
Professional Tools
Doug Lawrence
Quote "Patience is the companion of wisdom." —St. Augustine
"In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation." —Psalm 5:3
Prayer So, Lord, I'm waiting. I'm waiting to be everything your Word promises I can be. I'm waiting to be satisfied with my life. I'm waiting to be known by people—wrinkles and all. I'm waiting to find my purpose in life. I'm waiting for justice in the world! I'm waiting! Help me wait and soothe the despair that I sometimes feel as I go through that process. Help my waiting. Help my unbelief and lack of trust. Help! Amen Waiting in scary times...
 Everyone is waiting for something. Have you ever met a person who isn't unsettled about some aspect of his/her life. I hate waiting. I’m so impatient that when the microwave takes 2 minutes to warm something up, I have a bowl of cereal instead. During the evening news commercials I watch a quick Tivo© version of previous Jeopardy shows because I…well, hate to wait. I use the drive-thru Starbucks© lane near our home because I don’t want to wait in line (although I’m usually the 12th car back). I hate to wait…did I say that already? Here are some of the things we wait for in worship ministry with suggestions on how to wait constructively. There is some tongue-in-cheek here. Please wait to be offended until after you’ve read the whole thing. 
Churches do this all the time—poll people on what worship should or shouldn’t be, then they’re surprised when it appears they’ve started the worship wars all over again. What’s your task while you wait for the results?
—Be a non-anxious presence and pretend that it pleases you that everyone in the congregation will finally get to have their say about how you’re doing as a leader.
—Leave your job before the results are published.
—Renew your “blended” vow so that everyone will be happy all the time. 
—Pray like you’ve never prayed before!
 —Be willing to submit to the results, though this may require a maturity you have yet to (read as "might never") acquire.
Waiting for affirmation that you belong in this job…
—Note: Enjoying affirmation and needing affirmation to prove your value are two different things. Decide which one defines you, because there’s real trouble in one of those choices.
—Evaluate what “belonging” would feel like, then try to get over it if it’s causing you “heart conflict." —Don’t wait by your email InBox for the news, do something productive with your time, like giving leadership to your program.
Waiting for a guru to tell you how you should “do” worship…
—It has been said that leadership is the biggest deficit in today’s church. Don’t be part of that statistic—lead.
—You are servant, but it’s O.K. to have a strong opinion.
—Most people will only be able to tell you when you’re not doing your job, so it’s actually up to you to figure out what "the job” is actually supposed to be.
Waiting for a sign from God about how to implement worship…
—God has already given you those directions, the trick is to submit to them. He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. —Micah 6:8
—Good worship leaders are worshippers themselves. When creating a “worship dialogue” with God, there should be little confusion about how to lead others, because you're a worship life person and you already know.
 Waiting for the new pastor to arrive…
—Start building a bibliography of articles and books that have influenced your point of view on worship so that you can tell the new CEO how you came to the position you currently embrace. —Find out everything you can about the new pastor's past history with worship practices—ask everyone, and read everything you can find. —Detirmine that you will be a partner, not a competitor when he/she finally comes. —Position yourself to be part of the answer, not part of the problem. —Learn to say, "I'm sorry." —Learn to say, "I think I'm right on this one, but I'm willing to be wrong." All that being said...
O.K., tongue out of cheek and ear to the ground! Our job when waiting is to let God be our waiting room. It is not a time for isolation. God wants to be in our waiting. He designed us to wait on Him, not to wait for Him. It's not like He has forgotten us or is off-line during our process. A non-anxious worship leader is just that—non-anxious. God is at the center of our waiting and is not distant or disinterested. He is vitally interested in the outcomes of our lives. He is not surprised by our anxiety, but is not a victim of it himself. God is, afterall, GOD! Be willing to start from scratch in your thinking, even if it means reinventing yourself. Waiting will reveal things that you may not want to hear, but it could also be a means of affirming what you already know, so be willing to accept whatever information your abiding might have to teach you. Good for you! God wants good for you!!
© 2008 Creator Magazine All Rights Reserved Doug has been a consultant to church leaders for 35 years and is anxious to be helpful to you in leadership, musical, and staffing considerations. Please click on his name above and email him. He's available to consult on the phone as well. ******************************************************************************************* Take a look...
My son, Steven, recorded a fabulous CD dedicated to his sister (who passed away from ovarian cancer complications three years ago) featuring some of the best jazz artists in Los Angeles. This is a wonderful product for pre-roll worship music in your church, or just to enjoy! A portion of the proceeds goes to cancer support groups. Go to his website and listen to some of your favorite hymns, praise songs, and a couple of unexpected surprises!
http://www.4julesrecords.com/ 
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