There are fat times and lean times. Joseph in the Bible interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, forecasting seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Storehouses were built and the preparations saved not only Egypt, but people from all over came and bought food.
Every ministry has its cycles. Sometimes setbacks happen, and you will occasionally have to start over. It’s not pessimistic or lacking in faith to prepare for the worst, while you expect the best. It is simply being a leader who, like Joseph, plans for these cycles.
When things are fat and your team is cooking along, the tendency is to rest in that and stop recruiting other leaders. But this is the best time to do more training and experimenting that will pay off when the lean season rears its head.
Simply, we need to answer the question: “Who will replace me when I’m gone?”You may not leave, but if you are growing as a church, this question, if answered, will put into place a worship leadership team in a new church plant, a youth group team, a children’s ministry worship team, or a new multi-site launch.
Remember, hats are worn, shared, or given away. Use this process and you will likely have more in the lean times. Even better, when your church takes off, the bench—those who you’ve been mentoring along the way—will be able to offer every type of leadership to every ministry need. Like Joseph, you will be rewarded for thinking this way.
Excerpt taken from The Six Hats of the Worship Leader by Rich Kirkpatrick
Reused with permission