A group of former students from my alma mater were contacted by a former professor—and good friend I might add—asking for relevant input for his upcoming Church Music Administration class. Basically, what were the things we wished we had known before entering ministry full-time? Here is my (edited for blog relevance) off the cuff reply.
- Read the Word, Know the Word, Live the Word, Consult the Word. This is first and foremost before anything and everything. This should go without saying, but sadly it needs to be said. It is so easy to get caught up doing the “work of God,” and start to leave Him and His Word out of it. I’m guilty of this far too often. Don’t forget to pray. Read the Word and pray apart from your study time. Don’t have study time until you’ve had personal time with God. Don’t plan any music or program or whatever until you’ve had time alone with God on a regular basis.
- If you neglect your family and choose to “minister” first, you will soon find yourself as an ineffective minister without place in which to minister. My wife and kids put up with too many years of me being a minister first and husband/father second, or third, or last. I think I’ve finally got a handle on it, but I regret the years of joy we missed together.
- Network, network, network. Start now getting to know as many different music/worship leaders as possible, from as many different churches/denominations/traditions/styles as possible. Not only are they a great source of encouragement, but they are your number one source apart from spending time with God for resources/creativity/ideas/etc. when you find yourself lacking. There is no excuse to not be reading some the worship leader/music minster blogs out there—there’s a group of people out there doing the job and sharing with the whole world how they’re getting it done. If students don’t know where to start looking, I have a huge list of blogs I read on a regular basis I would love to share.
- Get in the trenches now. Don’t wait until graduation to get neck deep into ministry. I wish I had been forced into it more when I was in school. I know we had our Christian service requirements when we were in school, and I assume those are still in place, but I wish I had been pushed/required to do more. Find a church to either intern with or volunteer in NOW.
- Realize that, no matter how good and relevant the teaching you get in class is, no matter how good the professor is at giving you the best, most relevant information he/she can (in terms of technology, use of said technology, trends, etc.), it will be out-of-date before you graduate. Yet again another reason to network and get personally involved. It is only then do you see the applications both practical and possible when merging the truth of the Gospel with technology and culture. It is your responsibility as a student to keep yourself “fresh,” not your professor’s. Plus, you’ve GOT to figure out how to best operate your ministry. Don’t try to take what you learned in class, plop it down on your first church and expect it to go perfectly. Learn how to fit yourself into the church, not fit the church into you.
- Don’t cut yourself off from the culture around you, but rather immerse yourself in it as much as is possible/practical/permissible. My old interpretation of “be in the world, not of it” was to completely cut myself off from anything that was not implicitly Christian. It made me where I couldn’t even relate and understand the language of those I was trying to minister to. Realize that, wherever you go as a minister, you HAVE to learn how to relate to the local culture(s). Jesus was involved with the average Joe.
- Learn everything you can. Realize that, even though you’ve graduated and earned a degree, you really know nothing. Don’t stop learning from every source possible. Keep the good (what is true, what is applicable, what has value, etc.) and throw the rest away. Just be willing to learn from all angles. Even someone you complete disagree with can teach you something, even if it is how NOT to do something.
- Become a reader, if you’re not one already. If reading is a chore to you, then you’re setting yourself up to remain limited.
- Don’t stop training. Keep taking voice/instrument lessons. Push yourself to learn a new instrument, even if it’s just the basics. Keep yourself current on software and hardware. Learn how to mix audio, how to record audio/video, how to master a track. Put yourself in a position where, if you were to lose a key person on your team, you would be able to at least train someone in the basics of that position. Beyond the basics, try to keep current (via networking) as to where to find further information/training beyond what you are able to teach so that you can get it into your team member’s hands.
- Learn how to replicate yourself. Work everyday as if you are trying to train others and work yourself out of a job. Be less of an on stage leader and more of a facilitator.
What do you think? For you ministers out there, what would you add to this list. What practical advice would you give a young person preparing for ministry?
