Have a Plan...

Did you ever notice that, as the years go by, we don't get any younger?
I keep hoping that I'll wake up one day and I'm a year YOUNGER, not older. I really wish it would work that way...

As I've moved ahead in years, especially these past few, it's become more and more apparent that I need to spend more time training up the next generation of worship leaders sooner than later.

We're not promised tomorrow - a great reminder my dad used to tell my mom. In our world today, that has impact on our life, our job, our relationships, our health - everything.

As a leader, I've got to step back and ask some tough questions, and then be prepared to find the answers to them ASAP:

• If God called me home today, who would step up and take my place? Who has the gifts and skills to be able to fill the gap? Would that person be short or long term?
  

• What do I need to look for in someone to mentor for this position?

• Where do I look? What are my resources at hand to begin the search, to even have the conversation with someone?
  

• What is my Senior Pastor looking for after me? Does he even know what that needs to look like?
  

• In the life of the church, what will they need moving forward? (You have to know who your church is in order to answer that question.)
  

You also have to be able to communicate who the worship service is geared toward. That will make a huge difference in finding the right person. (In our case, we're a believer focused - seeker sensitive approach.) What does that mean for a worship leader? How does that impact the kind of music that's selected, the make-up of the band, the layout of the room, the ambiance that is set, etc.?

As leaders we can't just be about what's on our plate today or this week. We have to be about future generations and what the church will offer them. It's much better to have a plan and then attack, than it is to have an attack and have to plan in the heat of the battle. Mistakes get made, things get lost and there are casualties.

Plan ahead, leaders. Plan with purpose and a goal in mind. I'll be there in the trenches with ya...