Jason Hatley here again – Pastor of Worship Arts at The Journey and Founder of www.WorshipLeaderInsights.com - continuing a series of posts on how you can help your Worship Leader succeed.

In last week’s post we started with this important thought:

“As goes your worship team, so goes your worship service.”

Effective worship services and worship teams are lead by effective Worship Leaders.  As the pastor you have the power to help your worship leader succeed through,

#1 – Clear Expectations

#2 – Constant Feedback

I’m not talking about the constant feedback that may be happening in your sound system on Sunday . . . I’m talking about the constant feedback that you need to be giving to your worship leader.

Ken Blanchard says that, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.”

Yet too many times pastors don’t give feedback to the worship leader.

You don’t want to hurt their feelings, you don’t want to be the bad guy, you don’t have the stomach for it.  Who knows, but when we refuse to give feedback here’s what we’re saying:

“I don’t care if you succeed or fail.”

Feedback can be a “praising” or a “prodding”.  Either way, it’s necessary for your worship leader to succeed.

Here are three quick ways to give feedback to your worship leader:

1)     Honestly – Your worship leader needs to hear the crystal clear truth.  If you withhold it, nothing will improve, and good deeds will go unrewarded.

Receiving feedback is all about the heart of the person giving it.  If you have a heart to help your worship leader succeed, he will receive it and go to work on it.

2)     Immediately – for feedback to be beneficial it has to happen immediately.

If you are giving a “praising”, do it at the moment that you caught your worship leader doing something right.  Remember; reward what you want to see repeated.

If you are giving a “prodding” do it as close to the moment as possible.  If you wait, it will make a small change into a big deal.  Do it now while it’s fresh on your mind.  End it with a quick word of encouragement.  Makes the medicine go down better.

3)     Choose the right environment – Don’t give difficult feedback to your worship leader in front of the worship team.  Find a private place to talk.  Likewise, if you are praising your worship leader, find out the way he or she likes to be thanked (not everyone likes a public pat on the back).

Choosing the right environment will deepen the impact of the feedback.

By the way, create a culture on your team where your worship leader can give you feedback as well.  You will find that opens the lines of communication and strengthens your relationship.

PS – If you like what you’ve read, then you will love putting your worship leader through my upcoming Tele-Coaching Network.

Google can tell you a million ways to plan a worship set, but the Tele-Coaching network is the only one of it’s kind that focuses on the leadership and ministry development of your Worship Leader.

My next network begins on October 15 and is already over 65% full.  Apply at http://www.worshipleaderinsights.com/coaching.

PPS: Each month, I send out a Free Newsletter for Worship Leaders.  It’s a monthly email publication that focuses on leadership, worship planning, effective worship team development and much more!

To sign up your worship leader today, visit:

http://www.worshipleaderinsights.com/newsletter