For today’s worship leaders, developing people is more than just a preference; it is a must, and is clearly taught in the Bible.
You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. [2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV)]
Paul makes two points in the passage that I want to unveil.
1. We are CALLED to pass the torch. Our job is to prepare for that time when we will no longer be around. This means we are to empower others. We are not called to simply build our own position for ourselves, but for the greater good, so if from the start we develop people, our church is served.
2. It is STRATEGIC to build into others who will also build into others. Think about it. I am not that great at math, but exponential growth can happen in the small development of one person who then develops another. If we keep developing people and those people do the same, in a short time, the compound interest will mean our church has a solid base to expand and deal with the challenges of the future.
A lot of the frustration from younger people is that they have to cause a revolution in order to express their gifts. This is too often true because many of us who are in the gate-keeping seats keep these positions for ourselves. But the way to stay relevant is to build into others who will do the same.
Let’s stop the cycle of revolt and build an attitude of celebrating and empowering others who will take what we have done further. That sounds a lot better than starting from scratch each generation, right?
Excerpt taken from The Six Hats of the Worship Leader by Rich Kirkpatrick
Reused with permission