I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but HOHHHHHH BOY the timing of this video is impeccable :p

After a year of being "sabotaged" (yes, seriously), I left the church and am now taking a break. A values document may have helped our situation, but I don't know. Thank you ever so much for these honest topics.

Thank you so much for sharing your heart on this matter. I’m sure you probably already know this...you are pastoring THOUSANDS through the ministry of Worship Tutorials!!!

We've got a handful on our team that don't look at the music until rehearsal night. They're aggravated because they're lost and don't know the changes. We get the music 3 weeks in advance. Our worship leader has set us up for success and that's frustrating for the ones that do actually learn the songs. Keep our team in prayer. We're trying to encourage these members to do better and meeting some resistance in return.

I’m grateful that not everyone needs this information, but for the rest of us this is GREAT stuff!

Great video and solid encouragement. I am thankful that no one came to mind on our team when I saw the title however our team has been through a season of transition in this area and are rebuilding our team ending a season with our former worship leader. We just met and laid out our newly evaluated team philosophy at our first quarter gathering this week. So it is because we’ve been there, recently, and have done some of the things you talked about that this video was a timely source of encouragement. I love the idea of seasons also and the constant reminder that we are dealing with people which we ought always to do with great love, a heart of unity and spirits of reconciliation. Great stuff guys thanks!

Maybe another good talk would be when there's an issue the other way around. I'm sure there are people struggling with their own worship leaders.

That intro with the caption "How do you remove a team member" followed by a smile and happy music. Lol

I suggested "benevolent dictator" as my offical job title, but they wouldn't go for it. But for real, more churches need to embrace time off as a postive thing BEFORE problems begin. Great job guys.

God bless you guys for these Videos!! I truly mean “May God truly bring blessings to your lives!” Love these videos 🌷

Great topic on a really tough subject. Thanks for having the courage to talk about this.

Thanks for bringing this topic out and being real about it. We're humans and we tend to struggle with conflict (more so, as you say, as creative types). I've been on both sides and as a leader, always did what I could to put relationships first. I've come to realize I'm more of a relational leader than anything; more of a shepherd than a "rancher" because I care deeply about individual people - which makes some situations hard to deal with but the first pastor I led under told me that ministry is all about having a series of hard conversations and I've certainly grown from having them. I also wanted to mention that these are great suggestions - biblical ways to address sensitive situations whether or not its worship related. I've experienced it in leading in various capacities; one where growing numbers were expected (something I did not know until I 'gathered' that after being poorly let go). Speaking of being the one let go, when you're not given a reason (and you were 1/2way through the statement "different direction", which was all I got), that hurts more than anything I've ever been through in being 'removed' from a team. I expect it from secular positions or service but not my brothers and sisters who are mentoring me. Especially when... 1) the leader doesn't actually give you the reason and 2) doesn't follow up (even when they've told you as your leader to do that with your people). 3) Its people - leadership you've done life with - that tell you they love you (and they don't communicate reasons with you and you never hear from them again...) 4) you suddenly notice you are not scheduled and fall off the planning center calendar with no explanation; you see the person ask and they don't have an explanation...(?) (and continue to stay unscheduled) Lets not be 'that guy'. We all deserve the conversation. We all deserve to know how to get better at what needs 'bettering' or at least if we are struggling with a personality issue or if they need some vocal / musical coaching, we need to do what we can to help point that person - our family member - in the right direction so they can get the help they need (everyone struggles from time to time with something) and be considered for 're-entry' if that is what God's plan is for them. I'm admin AND creative but I see this more as how do I want to be treated in a situation that isn't working out from my leader's standpoint. That's where I try to lead from. Putting myself in their shoes because I have been and that kind of hurt is very difficult to process and move past. There's the dynamics of it being your own place of worship, ministry you may attend etc...Also, the more one matures in Christ, the more one can allow the Holy Spirit to do the leading in the conversations, restorations & preserving the relationship, right? Jesus was and is all about relationships; Love God, love others. =) Sorry if this is too long but this is a topic near and dear to me and I'm grateful y'all are putting it out there. Its necessary.

Really great video, thank you for the clear guidance and the vision document!

Yeah this is a difficult subject to deal with and your approach is to be applauded. I have been part of a team where this wasn’t done in a Christlike way or in love and The ppl were so hurt they left the church, unfortunate and sad especially when the ppl were very dedicated and committed.

Great info ~ thank you so much and I just loved the ending bloopers/funny out takes

The topic was like the most hardest to deal....yet u two did a great job.... thank you so much.... God bless

Love you guys. Love your heart. Thanks for tackling hard issues.

I love you guys! So thankful for your priceless wisdom!

Thanks for the videos! Love all you humor and you values! God bless you!

Hey guys, I love the videos. I'm on a worship team and we all have no Dynamics in our music. We play at 11 on every song every time. We're choppy. We have a guitarist that controls everything and treats all lead parts, intros, and instrumentals as big Van Halen style solos. Also I've mentioned to them that we need to learn songs like they are written and I only hear "we can't do that so we will just do it this way" I have no power to remove anyone, I just don't know how to approach my worship leader with this without sounding like I want a lot of spotlight. I learn songs, I set my tones to work well with the song, I use a metronome to set my timing, I believe in playing with excellence. That comes across as arrogance.

Talent is definitely a reason. If someone is not wiling to work hard to learn the setlist they need some time off.

This is really helpful...Been thinking of how to do this...and I was actually going to stop rescheduling some..Thanks again..This is really helpful💯🙏

Perfect timing for this... Well 2 weeks ago would have been perfect, I'm afraid we may have messed up... But at least we have something to move forward on. Thanks for the video!

Giving people a reason or chance to succeed. Well said...

this is always a slippery slope... yes, we need to cut out the cancer in a Godly manner.. BUT.. the most important thing here is to listen to the Holy Spirit on this! i HAVE a drummer, boy, this person had issues, and he used to rub me up the wrong way fast. i was just rolling with the punches though. also had a friend where i could go and speak to about this, who were gracious enough to understand my situation. but here is the thing. the Holy spirit told me to hang in there. so i handled this battle different than just making the gracious steps to get rid of him. i prayed for him every day, asking God to help and relieve this person of his pain and conflict. it took 5 months, and then one evening at rehearsal, he stood up and confessed his wrong ways to all of us. He apologized for making things miserable most of the times. God healed him of the hurt and he got free. he is such a blessing to us all now, playing his instrument like a pro, adding ALOT of flavor to the music. the best part is that God hid him away from the church during this time sothat the music from him was always great, no matter what the conflicts was, God still flowed big time here. Sometimes we think we are just a band leading people into worship, but we might just be something more. we might be an oasis for hurt people that God send to have a season of healing thru music in a place where friends, brothers and sisters will have your back and pray with and for you, no matter what the issues present. band/ healers group. just a thought. listen to the Spirit before leaping into leadership models.

You point at them and say "You're fired".

Great points guys! Thank you so much. P.S. Awesome "Joke" at the end... "Out of all the people on worship team, you're no longer one of them." LoL

It's Indeed a tough topic "subject to deal with"

With some people, it might be as simple as 'dude, you're (not working out, being negative, not practicing, etc., etc... Fill in the blank here).' Being that many working volunteers are either burnt out or headed in that direction (due to the lack of available volunteers these days), many might be relieved. Some might even be musicians who tried to retire but were asked to play due to a need. Great topicz, though. Sadly, sometimes burnout can be due to a number of factors, but sometimes burnout can be due to not being sufficiently challenged. It can be difficult sometimes to take the same four chords and make something new out of them (in the parameters of what you've been handed). If you have any degree of ability and strive to be the best you can be, you really have to approach worship similarly to how you'd approach standard blues (ie expand one's repertoire over the same chords song after song) to not become overwhelmed with boredom sometimes.

So many team leaders has Un-Christian methods to deal with getting musicians off their worship team. I have been a worship leader and lead guitarist and vocalist for a few decades. It can get very political but is a taboo subject but must have brave people like in this vid to bring this up. There has to be the principles set in The Book of James 2. The best way for me is to step down for a while or even permanently since God is who we must please. One of the key issues I have observed is the tendency to want to be surrounded by “Yes” people.

Very helpful. Thanks guys!

You guys always bless me so much, thanks 😊

Guy on the left needs to let the guy on the right talk more. You kept cutting him off, and it was clear that you just wanted to hear your own voice.

I led for over 20 years in a mega Church. Always stepped in trained vocalist for over 30 years. Was slowly but surely pushed out for much younger models in tight jeans. After 4 years of not going to Church I went to Christmas Eve services at another Church. I will tell you it mentally crushed me.

good advice !! Amen.

OR as an excellent alternative, send them a link of this video and a winky-face

I really need this. I think I am burning out people by not giving them a break. Thus causing an implosion. Thank you.

Hey guys! Love the channel! This video is perfect timing. I do have a question about “letting someone go” when it is a musical situation. What if you have someone that is “grandfathered in” and absolutely loves to play, loves the vision, etc., but can’t keep up with the songs, timing, structure, etc. Even after working with the person, they just aren’t getting it, which is leading to the other musicians who are well prepared, to be frustrated.

Hey guys, great stuff! Are you ever gonna do a review of your Shelton Strat style guitar? It has so much going on with the switching I would really love to see what all it can do

Great video.

I had a pastor tell me that he prayed and god told him it was time for me to step down from a team. The god he prayed to was the worship leader ...his wife... Who wanted me to step down. his wife wasn't woman enough to come speak to me about stepping down. And I had been on the worship team before they ever came to the church and took over as our pastors. I do not attend that church any more and won't ever set foot in it again

Thank you for the values pdf!!!

THAT ENDING!! IM DIEING!! YOUR SOOOO FUNNY FULLER!!

Are there any kernels of wisdom for people searching for a place to serve? What should they be looking for? What do people do when leadership is not healthy? How should people that want to serve deal with that?

I experienced this way: - Don't say, what the member has to change - Don't say, that the person could be off - Don't say anything, till the stuff from the car is back into the room, because would you say it in the beginning, he would never help.

This video must be studied. I will take this to bed because I believe God sent me here.

100TH LIKE!

Here is a topic suggestion I'd love to hear your insights on. How should we handle someone NOT on the worship team, who can't sing at all, but sings super loud in the congregation, to the point that it not only disturbs the worship of those around them, but that even the musicians on stage have trouble worshiping because of it? What's a constructive way to ask them to sing quieter?

Hello kuya's that what we call if we respect our older brothers here in the Philippines. It's a very big help to me and our WT to have this ideas, God bless you and your ministry there.

how about replacing the worship leader?

A theme I’m hearing through the videos is that of having enough people on the worship team to give people the opportunity for a season off or even a few weeks. Any ideas or suggestions for a smaller church that doesn’t have a pool of people to draw from? How to prevent burnout?

What about if you’re a volunteer on the worship team, and the worship leader is the problem, and they refuse to talk with you, and when they do they are very difficult? What do you do in this situation?

This is something I struggle with so much I lead a recovery ministry and there can be rough personalities at time and it's so hard to deal with because personalities have taken turns for the worst.

I don’t see a link to download your sample values and vision document. Thank you for taking on such a hard topic. One thing you don’t address is the difference in church size when dealing with a praise team, plus being a paid staff member verses a volunteer trying to lead worship. Thank you for this channel. I look forward to your posts each week as I grow in leadership.

Our pastors at church allow anyone to lead worship who absolutely cannot sing. It’s like nails on a chalkboard or kareoke night. They think it’s all about the heart and who cares about the talent, but I’m so frustrated with it that I’m thinking about leaving, because they just don’t take it seriously. They’re in such denial that’s it just poor leadership to me. You have people in charge that shouldn’t even be allowed to have a microphone. And the ones with a real gift and anointing to lead, they don’t even recognize that person. I’m starting to think it’s more about church politics then anything else, which is sad.

One question that would be great to hear from you guys on: how does your church approach offering communion to the worship team? My church has bounced between different things: offering communion to the team after the service since we play a song during communion, or playing pads while the team receives communion and then they begin a song when they get up there (difficult and awkward), or just having a leader play a song by themselves for communion. My church offers communion every Sunday, so this is important for us. What recommendations do you have?

We had lead guitarists that always trying to out play everyone else on the team. And trying to make everyone else feel insecure and amateur.

lov it

What about a team member who doesn’t seem to have any respect for the worship leader? Also, what do you if no one can rehearse together on the same night?

One issue I am currently dealing with is a team member who is fully capable but does not spend the time to learn the music and constantly comes to rehearsal unprepared. The net results is noticeable mistakes in the service. This also effects the other team members who do take the time to learn their music. Very hard too because I truly love this person and they love the Lord but there is an obvious discipline issue.

I was told by my leadership that God wants me to fix the problem, but never wants to fix the problems that causes problems? I don't think that's fair.

Can u teach us how to play 'who am I'

We have a drummer that started playing bc we had no one else...we are a small church plant. He always messes up and throws the rest of the team off. He refuses to practice at home and complains whenI bring me complex music to work on. This has been about 2 yrs and recently the Lord brought us a very skilled drummer that practices every chance he gets. What do I do?

the MOST important thing is lifestyle not musical ability

Haha , “I value you even though you’re not doing anything for me “ Yeah,that’s the problem,sometimes we are feeding someone program.

As a big church yes you can have them conversation. But what about the smaller church's that don't have that many people. What do you do then?

thnks for the tips guys! can you help i cant download the pdf:/

How about if the person that needs to step down is the Pastors wife?

Mark 3:25 , Mathew 18:15-18

Its a terrible thing when worship musicians go off script and cause damage to themselves and the rest of the team.

what if the problem is the person itself?

How long is a worship season?

Don Moen you know we love you as a brother but you need to take a break . You just need to know the power chords on Back in Black by AC-DC

But like what if the person the team just isn't good not that I don't like their music style or anything like that but if their just honestly not good how would u approach that ?

Just tell, Its not you, its me...

Any chance u can reach out to me, i need some guidance.

Does Brian even talk in this video?

Most worship leaders are horrible people, I been writing, producing singing etc for years and find Everytime I try to explain to leaders to not keep playing old worn out songs,

I really need your help. What if the person in the team is piano player that is always off beat and ruins the flow of the songs. She never comes to practice and doesn't really practice at home. She is always very inconsistent when she shows to play as in the last weeks she didn't even show up. I have nothing against her, I just don't think she is giving her full commitment. The days we play without her it goes alot smoother. What should I do?

How do u remove someone from your flesh

Is there a Helix patch for this?

Churches are so hungry for live music, they will hire anyone. If you can fog a mirror and can spell "geetar" you're on the team.

If the person stanup an leve befor the conversation start.

aren't christians not suppose to hold grudges?

Is anyone available to answer a question ?

Would not be a problem if your praise clicque would allow other people in the ministry - explain it as trading people in and out, because it's NOT your ministry - it's God's ministry - you do not own it - you do not have the right to exclude other interested people from using their talents, and one day, you're going to have to answer to God for it. It's all about the people - remember the CONGREGATION?????!!!??? Not yourselves. You're not a band, your group facilitates worship with the congregation (supposedly) taking the lead role. If you want to be a Christian band, go do that.

Lol I was never late...wasn't going through problems...I was asked to leave...great ideas but no one follows it...I played well...was even told to leave the church... I left stopped tithes ...stop going to all church...read the Bible...some good ideas...but they also never spoke to me again. I'll be unsubscribing. Good try guys but it shouldn't be what's best for church but what's greatest to glorify God..." Does not the Shepherd leave the flock to find the one lost?" He is your team mate.

Our church just ghosts the person they want to ditch, voila done. 🤨

How about you focus more on being a community instead of creating a naturally competitive environment LOL. You brought it upon yourself to have to deal with these issues.