In defining the attributes of good leadership the conversation of core values often comes up. We think, speak and act out of our core values. Our values literally inform everything that we do! Worship leaders are required to have the core values of being God-centered, Jesus-imitating, Prayer-engaged. However, there exist other core values that are essential to the task of leading creative teams of people. Four values for your consideration are: 1) Learning-postured 2) Excellence-committed 3) Innovation-focused 4) Volunteer-Driven.

The first value is Learning-postured. This is a critical value for artistic leaders because one of the primary functions of fine arts is to provide commentary on the ideas of culture and society. This is true in the context of worship as well. Music, art, dance, digital design, and drama all raise the questions, reflect the perspective, and demonstrate the emotions of the congregation. The only way to stay in touch with the congregation, culture, and changing forms of communication is to constantly maintain a learning posture. As author Georg Cladis asserts in "Leading the Team Based Church": “The learning team is not satisfied with its present state but seeks to grow spiritually and to know more about doing ministry in more effective and meaningful way.

The second value is Excellence-committed. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian Church: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24). An overarching passion of every worship arts ministry should be to glorify God or put another way: “make God look good”. Excellence for God’s honor creates an environment where the congregation is confident that every worship experience is the best offering that the community of faith has to offer to God.

A value often associated with the arts is the work of being Innovation-focused. As culture changes so do the means by which human beings experience their daily life. This includes the way that they worship God. Thus, it is imperative that worship design teams continually innovate with new ways to experience God’s presence through contextually appropriate means.  In their book “The Art of Innovation” Kelley and Littman outline a proven method of innovation based upon the experiences of the design firm IDEO:

In fact, we have a well-developed and continuously refined methodology…: 1) Understand the market and current perceptions. 2) Observe real people in real-life situations to find out what makes them tick. 3) Visualize new-to-the-world concepts and the people who use them. 4) Evaluate and refine the prototypes in a series of quick iterations. 5) Implement the new concept.[1]
 

These five principles of innovation are practical guides for any Worship Arts Team to apply in designing worship as demonstrated in Table Two:

TABLE TWO

Innovation Concept                                                             Worship Design Concept

Understand the market and current perceptions             Utilize current perceptions as metaphors

Observe real people in real-life situations                         Use real life illustrations to raise questions and illustrate

Visualize new-to-the-world concepts                                 Design new worship practices based upon new concepts

Evaluate and refine the prototypes                                    Prototype new worship experiences in safe environments

Implement the new concept                                                 Implement new worship concepts in corporate worship

If engaged in a disciplined manner the work of remaining Innovation-focused will systematically energize Worship Arts Teams with new ideas and projects while simultaneously creating new avenues for the congregation to experience God in meaningful and relevant ways.

The final core value is to be Volunteer-driven. This value drives artistic leaders to empower, equip, and strategically place the unpaid staff of your church into ministry settings where they can serve with passion and excellence. In a contrasting assessment, Donald Miller recognizes that “A sign of routinized religion is that functions previously performed by ordinary members are delegated to specifically certified professionals.” Periodically, churches fall into this trap. Often, when churches launch new worship services or styles, they require the assistance of professional artists. The artistic leader is susceptible to the lure of hiring professionals because of the benefits of their high performance levels. However, to give to a professional what an unpaid staff member can and should do is to deny the artistic community access to their God mandated partnership in the priesthood of all believers.

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[1] Tom Kelly and Jonathan Littman, The Art of Innovation, (New York, NY, Random House, Inc. 2001) 6-7.