35% - Music & directing skills
20% - Administrative and team building
45% - spiritual growth

I may be completely different from others, but here I go:

1) Spritual Growth and Development - 90%
2/3) Musical and Directing Skills / Administrative and team-building skills 5% each.

The way I look at it, Spiritual Growth and Development is the purpose of any worship minister if you are going to have one. So that is by far the most important factor to me. Team-Building skills and musical abilities are important because if they are completely absent it will hinder their ability to function in Spiritual Growth and Development, but its much easier for me to see someone lacking in these areas making up for it in their spiritual abilities than it is for the other way around.

In Christ, Ken
http://www.acadisc.com

This week's survey is one that deserves a lot of thought. Thanks for pointing it out to me early. I'll have to give it some time to simmer before I write out a response to the poll. My initial thought it you *have* to have all three. 33% across the board. But I know that's not correct, and I need to think about what percentages I would assign to them. This is a highly important question when trying to find a worship minister for a congregation.

I think all three areas are important, but here's a stab at prioritizing:
50% - spiritual growth, assuming this includes not only personal spiritual growth, but mentoring those with whom he works and helping them grow as disciples as well.
25% - Music & directing skills - need to be compentent enough musically to get the job done, and to inspire confidence in others as they grow musically
25% - Administrative and team building - Being organized and on top of details helps the music flow harmoniously; hard to separate team building from spiritual growth in a team ministry

I really believe that the spiritual growth and leadership ranks #1 at around 50 %
If it is at 50% i would recommend using half of practice time and rehearsals on this goal alone
You can do this by talking about the songs in depth and shaping a devotional thought for your group around those songs. A worship leader should be able to do this. Having prayers and meditation on the songs that you are singing and their true messages will empower your team to be reminded of why they are doing what they are doing.
I would then put teambuilding and leadership at around 30% simply because i think even this ranks ahead of music leading and composition skills. Here's my thought on that. You will probably get singers who know music and blend and harmonies anyway. So, if you build teamwork, networking and accountability to each other, then your team will help where you lack musically. THis also sets you before them as a humble leader rather than "director emeritus." I think that also sets up your team to be open to input and feedback more often.
Finally, it is important to have music ability, but i leave that at 20%. God bless all of us in our desire to be better worship leaders "ever mindful of why we are doing what we do while we are doing it."
Thanks for reading my take on this subject. Much love. Oh 1st Peter 4:10 goes great with this subject.

75 % Spiritual Growth
20 % Musical Training Skills
5% Administrative Team Building Skills

If a man is striving to be all that God wants him to be then he will certainly have team building skills. Musical traning is important, however, Worship doesn't focus wholly upon ability and skill. God certainly expects us to do our best and I think you could make a strong argument that if we are to sing then every person is obligated to learn how (even to learn how to read music). We make the connection with reading the Bible so why wouldn't it be the same with reading the songs we sing?

It is no easy task to bring people from the busy, sinfilled world with all its turmoil into the presence of God. Only those who abide there can truly accomplish this well.

Any worship that focuses only on the pretty music will be flat, meaningless and vain. What we try to do as worship leaders is lead worship not singing, not songs, not do re mi. We are bringing hearts of men along with us into the throneroom of God. Helping people loosen their hold on the world and tighten their grip upon the God of heaven.

Godly men can do this like no one else.

The many who prays best is not the one who has the best form but the one who is often in prayer so he speaks openly and candidly to the Heavenly Father. The Scripture reader does best when he mirrors the words. Preachers who preach what they practice bring people into harmony with God.

Balance is vital to worship leading. Do your job during the week so you will not be weak when the Lord needs you most.

Thats my opine for the day!
Joe Chase
Burleson, Texas
Joe Chase
Burleson Texas.

1. Spiritual growth and development 40%
2. Musical and directing skills 35%
3. Administrative and team-building skills 25%

I'm glad that you brought this up. Some will think of this from a utopian point of view, and that's ok. As long as that view isn't taken too strongly into a hiring process for a worship minister. There are very few full-time worship ministers in the churches of Christ, so an over-abundance of "the perfect guy" isn't out there yet. I believe that any guy who has a healthy amount of the three areas mentioned, AND a heart for ushering people into the worship of God has the possibility of becoming that guy. Oh yeah, and the church leadership needs to be supportive. ehehehe.

Musical and directing skills 35%

Administrative and team-building skills 20%

Spiritual growth and development 45%

I'm not sure that I fully agree with my numbers. I'm trying find the right numbers of the staff position and not the personal worshipper that he is when he's not in that role. I know that i'm not where I want to be in two of those areas, but when I get to church on Sunday morning I work extra hard in my weaker areas and build my teams with people who will fill in the gaps.

I posted ratios previously, but did not elaborate. My ratios were:

35% music and directing skills
20% administrative and team building
45% spiritual growth

I have noticed that the majority of commentors have rated the first category with a very low percentage. As a director of an a cappella chorus, music and directing skills shouldn't be overlooked. Spritifual growth must take precedence overall, yes, but let's not forget the importance of the worship leader's skills. Being able to teach music to others is so very valuable. As a piano and voice teacher as well, I see this happen often: Once one grasps some basic knowledge of music theory, songs and singing then become much more personal for them. Thus, opening the door for even more spiritual growth. Growth and knowledge in one area enhances the other. I wish all of our worship leaders would invest a bit more time and effort in their music and directing skills. The result would be an enhanced worshp experience for all.

Thanks for the great poll question!
Robin

ok, I'm going to say I end up spending the following
40% Spiritual Growth
40% Musical Training Skills
40% Administrative Team Building Skill
(and yes the math is intentional, meaning I feel like I should spend more time in each category)

As much as I'd like to say that Spiritual growth deserves the highest priority, the reality is it takes me as much time to do the administrative (assuming this includes the creative part of worship planning) as any other part of what I do.

I realize it's a different conversation, but I wonder how the %s would change or what additional gifts or skills would come into play in a church of say 250 that was looking for a combination guy (worship and _______).

In response to this question Keith asked me, he also asked me to post this reply.

Quesion: Have you ever witnessed an outstanding choral director, maybe even a Phd, who couldn’t lead congregational singing very well? That always puzzled me.


Reply: I’ve never had that particular experience (in fact, I’ve known a couple of “choral guys” who are quite effective), but I have noticed that my idea about what constitutes “good leading” has changed over the years. I am so much less concerned with things I used to think were important (page #, people hearing a pitch, beating time, enhancing energy mainly by singing faster, telling or showing people what verses we’re singing, etc.) and much more concerned with helping people worship.

When I was at Harding in the late 60s and early 70s, the choral guy at the college (Ken Davis) used to lead singing often at the college church. He was technically flawless and pretty understated in his style, but I thought he was emotionless. Looking back, I think I was wrong; I think his style was just right for that church at that time, and people who knew him or who sang for him all really loved him. He was Uncle Bud to them, and I think their emotion for him was a response to the way he loved them. My guess is that, because of relationship, he truly was a worship leader for them.

Times are different now, and I believe the pieces that go in to helping someone be an effective worship leader today (at least for many churches) are different than they were... at least in the sense that they have “morphed” into a style that is more about helping worshipers enter into an experience than giving them a technically sound leader.

OK... way to many rambling thoughts and words, but maybe all that takes a step or two down the path to understanding why a PhD in choral director (or other professional) might not be as effective in leading worship as someone else with less training.

I think it's important to realize the importance of balance. It seems to me that a "balanced" worship minister is an effective one. Saying that one of these qualities is more important than another is taking away from each and every worship minister and the talents God has given him or her specifically. Our prayer should be that God will use our strengths, and sure up our weaknesses so that we can become good at each of these important factors.

If we focus to much on the music training, we become a choir, we are hard to sing with. If we ignore music quality and training, and only attempt to reach the heart, we are ignoring our responsibility to God, and our congregation, to lead them in music and song, and present our best to God.

Etc, etc......

In a perfect world, we will be truly balanced, and strive to be better at all of the above.

I've given this much thought today and here's what I can tell from the internships I've had with several worship ministers.

Spiritual Growth & Development 60%
Musical & Directing Skills 20%
Administrative & Team Building Skills 20%

I personally think only about 20% of the job should be about music & directing the music for a church.

And 20% of the job should be administrative and team building, which would include encouraging growth and development of skilled members who can do more muscial & directing skills, lessing the 20% of that even more.

Third, 60% of spiritual growth & development. I put this here, because I believe sharing the Powerful, Good News of Christ falls here. Also, I believe if we spend most of our energy here, we begin to take more and more percentage away from musical ability & especially adminstrative & team building skills because we will be led to share with others, develop with others spiritually and learn not to be the leader of the ministry, but simply the encourager, the prayer guide, the spiritual & financial shepherd of the ministry and its peoples (which does include the entire church).

Oddly enough, I end up confused.

An addition: I think Mike Cope is one of the best worship ministers in churches of Christ and he can't sing that well. Hmmm-

Hmmm... tough question. I'd have to say 100% for each. By that, I mean the best worship leaders need to dedicate to improving in all three of these areas... and probably twenty-seven or so areas that aren't listed!

But if I had to answer this within the context of the survey, I'd have to say:

1. Spiritual growth and development - 40%
2. Musical and directing skills - 35%
3. Administrative and team-building skills - 25%

You've asked a great question. But, I would broaden the survey a bit to include the entire "liturgical" experience of worship. No doubt, most of our worship planning has focused on music. Music is a powerful way to proclaim and respond to the Gospel, but I'd like to see us explore and emphasize some of the other actions of worship as well.

Let me briefly share what is at the root of my thinking. I'm at a church of about 600 in Albuquerque, NM. For several years we've been using a praise team and incorporating the latest and greatest music into our worship. A couple of years ago, we hosted a leadership seminar. Our target audience was the small churches in Northern New Mexico. We hoped to provide them with some tools and resources and also inspiring worship times. The worship went great but in the end I'm afraid the small churches went away a bit depressed because they didn't have the singers back home to succesfully do contemporary accapella worship. Let's face it, contemporary accapella can be tough in churches that don't have the voices or leadership to make it work. To me, it's a basic flaw in the system. Don't misread what I'm saying...I love contemporary accapella music. The "flaw" is in the difficulty in duplicating it in the small church setting.

So, I think it's worth considering meaningful means of corporate response that don't rely so heavily on music. There inlies the need to broaden our understanding of the liturgy as a whole. How can our prayers, scripture readings, giving, and celebration of the Lord's Table carry the same meaningful impact for proclamation and response that our singing does? How can we develop our services (liturgy) in ways that involve the congregation to the level that our singing does? How do we engage in a conversation with God (as some have come to think about worship) in ways other than singing?

All of this is to say that I think that we have done a pretty good job of equipping our congregations and worship leaders musically (Keith, Zoe, Hallal, and all the churches that are providing resources) but we might want to begin expanding our conversations regarding structure (how the service flows that perhaps encourages a dialogue between God and his people) and content (How are we unfolding God's story?, How are we responding to Him?, What role does prayer, scripture, music, giving, and the Table play in this conversation?)

OK, back to the question at hand:

Musical and directing skills (25%): Essential, especially in a large congregation. Music and the arts in general (drama, painting, sculpting, etc. )should be considered an offering of worship. Worship leaders have a responsibility to pastor and nurture the arts and to help the congregation understand the arts as worship. Therefore, the worship leader should be skilled and comfortable with the arts.

Administrative and team-building skills (25%): Essential, I mean in most of our churches we can't just grab a guitar and lead the people in worship. Most of what we do requires a group. Believe it or not, singers (and tech people) tend to be a sensitive group...no, really they are. Worship leaders have to be aware of group dynamics, have to plan ahead, and make the worship team an easy, meaningful experience.

Spiritual growth and development (50%): Worship leaders need to be pastoral in all that we do and to all the members of the congregation. Too often we confine our pastoral reponsibilities to the people who are directly involved in the worship ministry itself. Unintentionally, we may find ourselves alienated from the congregation as a whole. You may have a great pastoral relationship with the praise team, but the congregation may perceive that you are not interested in them. For example, I used to lead the singing on the floor in front of the praise team (yes, on Sunday mornings we use a stealth praise team). I thought I was avoiding the spotlight, but some in the congregation perceived that I was ignoring them and just concentrating on the praise team. Maybe I was...our responsibilty is to be a worship leader for the whole church. That means we must have a keen understanding of our local church context. As we plan worship, we must provide a worship voice for everyone in the service. That doesn't mean that there is not a time to be prophetic (meaning, recognizing our weaknesses in worship and casting a more meaningful vision). I only mean to say that we must know the entire congregation and know where they are spiritually. If we are to pastor our congregation and plan worship that is meaningful, we must know them.

Got to wrap this up. Thanks, Keith, for stirring up the conversation. I got to go write some prayers or something.

God bless,

John Magnuson

Musical and Directing Skills: 33%

Have you ever been to a church where the song leader just didn't cut it? How about when the scripture reader stumbles through the Word of God, or the prayer leader drones on for what seems like hours? It's painful, embarrassing, and usually far from worshipful. Our gatherings of worship are for praising God, not just a mindless exercise of lip service. I can think of several people in my congregation who have the heart to serve in worship, but not the ability to effectively lead worship. I can likewise think of several others who have the ability, but not the heart. A worship leader has the awesome responsibility of ushering people into the throne room of the Almighty God -- it seems to me that the church should always pick the best person for this awesome task.

Administrative and Team Building Skills: 33%

A full-time paid worship minister does loads more than just pick out some songs for Sunday, set up the chairs, and make sure the sound system is functioning. Ministry is involved: it requires a heart for outreach, whether that outreach is to the neighborhood or just your own body of believers. (I often think that our biggest mission field is our own church body.) Jesus worked in teams, and organized His followers to do His will. If that doesn't speak to the importance of Administrative and Team Building Skills, then I don't know what does.

Spiritual Growth and Development: 34%

In end, if your worship leader isn't a spiritual person, it's all for naught, isn't it? Fortunately, it is generally worship junkies who are drawn to this sort of work, and worship junkies usually know a thing or two about the heart of God, since they spend a great deal of time with Him. Spiritual Growth and Development is pretty much a requirement for ANY Christian, not just worship leaders. Worship leaders, however, are in the unique position to facilitate Spiritual Growth and Development in others, by the mere action of taking people into God's presence.

I agree with John Magnuson that we need to expand to discussion of worship beyond singing. Music is only one form of worship. If our assemblies are focusing only on our singing, or our preaching, or how many people are coming, then we've missed the point, haven't we? We gather together to be with God in a corporate setting, to hear His Word, to be touched by Him, and to express our corporate emotions to Him (whatever they happen to be) as His children. Our time with Him can be like a great conversation: not all of our great conversations are happy, but they are always fulfilling and enriching, and we never go away empty.

My breakdown for these three areas are...

30% - Music & directing skills
25% - Administrative and team building
45% - spiritual growth.

I believe these percentages can change based on need and circumstance. If I'm working with an inexperienced or newly formed praise team then my "Music and Directing Skills" may be more important to apply than my "Administrative" skills.. If I have walked into a situation where there was "bad blood" among praise team members, "Team Building" skills may take precedence over the others. I believe every group matures and changes with time and personnel shifts. Even so, "Spiritual Growth" should always be as high a priority as possible in developing a praise team's ministry because a Praise Team without a purpose is just a singing group.

My personal circumstance is a bit unique. I'm a Senior Minister for a church of 230. But, I've also been a Worship guy in my past and I'm still the lead guy in working with our Praise Team here at Northwest in Phoenix. I am a "functional illiterate" when it comes to reading music in that I read OK, but not in the "classic" sense (more of a "see it, know it" reader). I have very strong readers on the Praise Team and rely on them to help in practicing new music. My main role is to guide the "intepretation" of the music into a Worship setting. I also get to introduce new songs to the church and still lead a song or two each week.

Since I'm the preacher, I have a unique role in that I get to help form the overall worship theme and atmosphere from beginning to end. Our two worship leaders and I communicate about the worship each week. I have the privilege of substituting songs when I believe there are better fits with the overall message. Therefore, my main contribution to our praise team at this time is "Spiritual Growth," because I am constantly harping on what we sing, why we sing it, and how we visually communicate with our eyes and faces when we are leading the church.

Hmm, a few interesting points. Firstly, I reflect that the question was about worship ministers, not worship leaders. I see them as two different, albeit similar, roles.

Secondly, as I've let this simmer this week, I believe you can stimulate the third if you have the other two. For instance, if you are in touch with the music and direct others to be in touch with, and you can really organize and bring your team closer together, then you will probably also stimulate spiritual growth and development. I think the same works for all combinations.

But on to the percentages. My ideas for a worship minister:

1. Spiritual growth and development - 40%
2. Administrative and team-building skills - 35%
3. Musical and directing skills - 25%