Churchfront Podcast What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Worship Pastor | Conversations With a Worship Pastor Part I
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What I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Worship Pastor - Part 1 Episode Description
Matt sits down with Sean Bennett, one of the newest members of the Churchfront team and a 16-year worship ministry veteran, to talk about what it's really like to lead worship and production teams. In part one of this two-part conversation, they discuss what to look for when stepping into a new worship pastor role, navigating the tension between excellence and authenticity, and how to lead a production team you can never actually be with.
Both Matt and Sean have led in large churches, small churches, and multi-site churches. They've both been the worship pastor who also had to somehow lead the tech team. This conversation pulls back the curtain on the real challenges worship pastors face and offers practical wisdom for anyone in church production or worship leadership.
In This Episode- What to look for when interviewing for a worship pastor role - Why you need to see people at their worst before taking the job, and the red flags Sean wishes he'd paid more attention to
- Excellence vs. authenticity - How to define excellence in a way that doesn't lead to perfectionism, and why "doing the best you can with what you have" changes everything
- The worship/production leadership dilemma - Why churches should stop hiring one person to do both roles, and what to do if you're already in that position
- You're a pastor first - Why your primary objective is discipleship, not musicianship, and how that changes the way you lead your team
00:00 - Introduction: Meet Sean Bennett 03:27 - What I'd Do Differently Stepping Into a New Role 08:04 - The Tension Between Excellence and Authenticity 13:16 - Leading a Production Team You Can Never Be With 18:15 - You're a Pastor First, Leader Second
Key Quotes"Excellence is doing the best you can with what you have. That starts with being honest about what you actually have."
"If you're leading people, you are a pastor. Your primary objective is discipleship - helping someone become more like Jesus."
"There are some churches that could not pay me enough to work for them. And knowing that ahead of time is a good thing."
Resources Mentioned- Working Genius Assessment by Patrick Lencioni
- Churchfront free courses at churchfront.com
Visit churchfront.com for free church production training and resources
This is part 1 of 2. Watch part 2 for more on discipling your team, building sustainable systems, and avoiding burnout.