Table of Contents

Partners in Ministry: The Music Associate

By Steve Phifer

If there is no personal spiritual relationship between the pastor and music pastor, there is little hope for a public display of God's power on the platform.

The senior pastor and the music pastor bring the ministry of the church into public focus. One leads the congregation in worship, the other leads them into the Scriptures, and together they set the atmosphere for the time of prayer during the worship service. This partnership is essential to the life of the church and needs to be maintained.

BUILT ON RESPECT

The music pastor must respect the senior pastor. I have learned to respect my pastor and the difficult job he has. He is like the player/coach, the first chair/conductor, or the theatrical director with a leading role. He has to mold staff members into a unified staff while performing his own vital role. He manages our conflicts while pastoring our hearts. He plays differing roles: pastor and employer, mentor and manager. He does the hiring and firing, the inspiring and even the retiring of a challenging class of individuals—associate pastors. Some of these associates are world-beaters at the beginning of their careers. Others are world-weary in the middle of their careers, and some are world-wise nearing the end of their ministry. This is no job for a coward; the senior pastor demands my respect.

What do Worship Pastors Look Like? "With the worship renewal of the past 30 years, the position of worship pastor or senior worship leader is coming into its own as a vital part of the pastoral team. So what is the profile of this increasingly important position...?"

But respect must be mutual. An effective music pastor is a versatile individual who could succeed at other things. Perhaps he* can preach, but is not called to be a senior pastor. Maybe he has taught high school or college, but working with volunteer musicians is his true calling. He may have composed and recorded music or traveled with professional musicians, but leading amateurs gives him the most joy. For his dual discipline—music and ministry—the music pastor deserves respect.

The music pastor is not a hired hand. Our calling is to pastor the people of God. Music is not our primary product: People are the product; music is the tool. The effective music pastor pours his heart into the people he leads in worship and music ministry.

All the attributes of New Testament leadership (gentleness, nonstriving servant-style leadership) are on me as I prepare the choir and orchestra. There is no room for the temperamental, overbearing maestro. Yet I must produce music of the highest quality week after week while working with volunteers. This careful balance of artistry and ministry is worthy of respect.

An effective senior pastor/music pastor team must also share complementary visions. My goal is not just to adopt the vision of my pastor, but to color it with my own. The end result is something neither he nor I can do alone. Through God's grace and our mutual respect, he and I form an effective team, a partnership of powerful ministry.

CEMENTED BY TRUST

An effective senior pastor/music pastor team must also share complementary visions. My goal is not just to adopt the vision of my pastor, but to color it with my own.

A senior pastor and music pastor can work well together only to the extent that they trust each other. While respect may come, at first, from the resume, from a reputation, or from credentials, trust is built through time and the sharing of hearts. A pastor needs to trust the hearts of the congregation to the ministry of the worship leader. He must release the singers and instrumentalists into the hands of the music pastor. But the music pastor must earn this trust. How? We learn to trust as we learn more about the other's heart. Our hearts are revealed by our work.

What is the attitude of the heart toward power?

Any pastor who is hungry for power is dangerous. For the music pastor, power hunger is rooted in performance-oriented rather than worship-oriented music ministry. When music pastors are worshipers, not performers, the thirst for power lessens.

All pastors are commanded by the Lord Jesus to shun power. He always did. Jesus refused to claim the nation at the Triumphal Entry, the throne before Pilate, or even an army of angels to rescue Him from the cross. But in the Garden, He willingly accepted the responsibility for the sins of the world. In the judgment hall, He took the whip; and on the cross, He took the nails. He told us not to lord over others but to serve one another. This is the way a worthy music pastor leads.

The trustworthy music pastor does not divide the congregation.

He does not steal the hearts of the people. His success is never a threat to the senior pastor because he will never use it to build a power base. He supports the pastor publicly and in those private moments when someone compliments the music and complains about the preaching. If the pastor doesn't trust the music pastor, how can he set him free to follow his heart or to lead worship? Only when the heart of the music pastor can be trusted, do the doors of ministry open wide for him.

The trusting heart does not keep score.

dA fellow staff member once stormed into my office with a calendar. He was fuming over the days off the pastor had taken. He had marked them on his calendar. Do not compare your lot with others. Keeping score will not earn and keep the trust of the pastor. There is too much to be done for the Kingdom; who has time to keep score?

POWERED BY PRAYER

The senior pastor and music pastor need to meet together and pray in preparation for the services. If there is no personal spiritual relationship between the pastor and music pastor, there is little hope for a public display of God's power on the platform. The music and the message should routinely complement each other. Sometimes this happens in consultation, but mostly it happens through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The music pastor must be a person of prayer. His private relationship with the Lord is vital to his public ministry. Then, as the service unfolds, the worship leader will know what to do. His walk with God prepares him for that moment.

I love being a part of a winning team. When I was an offensive tackle and the running back scored a touchdown, it wasn't just him—it was me, the center, the quarterback, the guards, and the backs. Every touchdown was a team effort.

I have also known the joy of teamwork in pastoral staff meetings. Across the table from me are the youth and the children's pastors, next to me is the singles pastor, and on the other side is the tech director. Down the table are the business manager, the senior adults pastor, and the evangelism director. At the head of the table is the senior pastor, the man who put this team together. I am a specialist among specialists, each trained in a certain aspect of ministry. That expertise and anointing has brought us to this table where a diversity of gifts becomes a unified ministry. We are a team built on respect, cemented together by trust, and empowered by prayer.

Steve Phifer is the Worship and Arts pastor at Sunchoast Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Florida.

*Although this article refers to the music pastor in the male gender form, the discussion is equally valid for the many women who serve in this important ministry position.