not the best weekend?

We’ve all been there - feeling a little discouraged about the weekend. Whether there was a technical issue, you struggled vocally, or you and your team were a little “off”, it’s important that we know how to deal with that. Read on…

In Today’s Email

1. Look Up, Look In, Look Out

2. Professional & AFFORDABLE Voice Coaching

3. Ortberg on the Need to Worship

Look Up, Look In, Look Out

Let’s face it - sometimes we have weekends that are just plain rough. Maybe your in-ear mix was rough, or your team wasn’t prepared, or maybe you were a little pitchy. You listen back on the stream and think about changing vocations… anyone?

When this happens, many of us can get pretty discouraged pretty quickly. Some of us can even go from loving ministry to questioning our calling after a difficult string of weekends.

We need a way to deal with the “not-so-great” weekends because, *spoiler alert* - they’re going to happen. And the way we respond to them is an opportunity for faith for us! When we have a rough weekend, we need to look up, in, and then out.

Look Up

Our starting point for dealing with a challenging weekend has to be our understanding of our role.

Reality Check - no one gets saved or sanctified because of your worship leading. People come to an understanding of the Gospel and grow in their faith because of the work of the Holy Spirit. As worship leaders, we are vessels and instruments in the hands of God.

That’s really good news. Why? Because that means that the work of the Holy Spirit isn’t enhanced or limited by our performance.

Have you ever ended a service thinking “yikes” and then someone comes up to you after and tells you how much it ministered to them? God is always working.

Because of this, the weekend is never lost or wasted. We have to look up and remember that we our hiccups or shortcomings don’t hinder the work of God.

Look In

For some of us, our main concern is more about ourselves in these situations.

Ask yourself this: what is your default emotion when things don’t go well on a weekend? This can reveal a lot of what is in our hearts.

What do you feel? Bummed? Frustrated? Annoyed? Angry?

Ask yourself why you feel these things.

Sometimes, there are righteous reasons to feel these things. But we have to be honest with ourselves and admit that maybe these reactions towards difficult weekends shine a light on our own pride.

Are we angry because we’re afraid that our reputation just took a hit? Are we frustrated or annoyed because we may feel insecure about our own leadership?

We must learn to be thankful for the challenging weekends - few other things act as a flashlight into our own hearts. We must look up to God and then in towards ourselves.

Look Out

Once we have looked up and remembered our place in God’s work and story, we can “right size” the past weekend. We can trust Him with it.

Then, we can look in and identify the root of any negative emotions we feel towards the weekend.

It’s only after these two things have happened that we can fruitfully and effectively look out to make changes and corrections.

If we look out before we look up or in, our feedback for others will be tainted with whatever emotions we haven’t dealt with. If we want to earn trust with our volunteers who may need to be challenged, we must have first looked up to the Father and in towards our hearts.

Only then can we lead securely and with love and grace.

Professional and Affordable Voice Coaching

Worship leader, you are a vocal athlete! How we train and take care of our voices matters for our longevity in ministry. Professional voice coaching can be really expensive - and sometimes it is difficult to find a voice coach that understands worship leaders.

If you’re feeling stuck vocally, wanting to grow in your range, endurance, or stamina, or needing to strengthen your voice - we’d love to connect with you!

We offer professional voice coaching that is tailored to worship leaders and won’t break the bank. Check it out here!

Ortberg on the Need to Worship

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• Gatherings - Looking to connect with other leaders? Come to our free monthly hangs with local leaders in select US cities or join us quarterly online!

• One on One - Looking to process your ministry, your faith, or your challenges with a third-party you can trust? Set up a meeting with a member of our team.

• Vocal Coaching - Feeling stuck or discouraged vocally? We offer professional in-house voice coaching specifically to worship leaders. Best part? We raise funds so we can give you a BIG discount. Schedule a consultation with our team!