For many of us, we recognize the privilege of being able to lead from a stage. It’s a responsibility that, when stewarded well, can make a great impact on our teams, churches, communities, and even the world. However, being someone who is consistently in front of hundreds of people in person a weekend, is on camera broadcasted to thousands of people, and has a limelight on them, I can honestly say how important it is to make sure your platform off of the stage is something that you’re keeping strong disciplines on.
Through serving (almost) 10 years in ministry now, predominantly in worship-related environments, here are a few things I have learned over the years that help build healthy rhythms off of the stage.
- MAKE PRIVATE DEVOTION A PRIORITY
Have you ever met someone who you just KNOW they have a strong relationship with Jesus? They don’t have to talk about it, they just live it? That’s the result of private devotion. Spending intentional time with Jesus outside of just the songs you sing or the messages you preach on a Sunday are actually far more important for your spiritual health.
That seems like a pretty “elementary” thing to say, right? But so often, from talking with many church leaders, the simple things are actually the toughest things for many to set disciplines in. Those moments of diving into God’s word and allowing Him to speak help us find clarity. Those moments of prayer where we communicate and have a conversation with God help us find peace. Taking intentional time to worship Him without having the band, the lights, and the people in the room helps us develop such a strong intimacy with Him. Those things are powerful, yet are something we should consistently check in on with ourselves personally and with the people we serve with.
Maybe you’re reading this and you’re personally struggling with this or you know someone who is, and you’d ask “What’s a good starting point for how to develop rhythms of private devotion?” There’s a super practical method called the 5-5-5 Method that I’ve seen work with many people on teams that I’ve led. It’s where you take time in your day to take 5 minutes to worship, 5 minutes to read God’s word, and 5 minutes to pray. It’s not super complicated. Start it off and pull up Spotify and listen to a song or two from a worship playlist, pick up your Bible and read a few verses or a chapter (if you don’t know where to start, I’ve found that Romans, Ephesians, or 1 John are incredible places for someone to start), and then pray to God. Tell Him what you have going on, allow Him to speak to you, just have a CONVERSATION with Him. Over time, you can extend these times as much as you would like, but I’ve found this to be a great start.
- ESTABLISH GUARDRAILS OF ACCOUNTABILITY
“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11
One of the best things you can ever do to identify consistent growth in your relationship with Jesus is to find strong accountability. People who called out your “blind spots”. People who don’t tell you what you want to hear all the time. People who want to see you fulfill all God has called you to.
Being on a platform, you know from having lights pointed at you that every spotlight casts a shadow. People on stage with you see that shadow, but the people off of the stage don’t. Allow those people that you’re serving with know how you are doing, what you’re struggling with, and how they can hold you accountable in growing in those areas.
Common areas that I’ve seen people serving on a platform need help and accountability with are things like:
- The way we communicate with co-workers (outside or inside the church). Are we speaking over them like Jesus or is it crude, gossip-like, hateful, etc.?
- The things we like/follow on social media. Are we supporting things or giving our “heart of approval” to things that pull people’s attention to a direction of sin?
- How we interact with the opposite sex. Are we handling conversations appropriately with them honorably? If you’re single, do you approach conversations with the opposite sex promiscuously on a consistent basis or do you honor the journey being paved for your future spouse? If you’re married, do you honor your spouse in the way that you communicate (or don’t communicate) with certain people of the opposite sex.
There are many other examples, but these are all common issues that I think if we open up about areas that we struggle in with our leaders and people we trust, those people can help speak life over us and pray that God would transform us and make us more like Him.
“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”
James 5:16
- DEVELOP A STRONG SENSE OF HUMILITY
As musicians, creatives, pastors, speakers, and technological people, we have a very unique skill set. I will stand in agreement with you in saying, it can be rare to find people with the same talent, skill level, and minds like ours. However, that should not consume our minds to where we are operating out of pride. Romans 1 gives a powerful example on how destructive it is to take the blessings and gifts God has given you, yet utilize it for personal gain and forsake God altogether.
Two things I remind myself whenever I need to check my heart with having a platform is:
- It is a privilege to have a platform, not something entitled to me because of my talent.
- Don’t forsake the Giver of the gift for the pursuit of the gift.
So how do you develop that sense of humility? How do you apply yourself to those reminders?
- Develop trust with your leaders. Honor them and allow them to coach you through those issues you have. Assess needs and find ways to meet them.
- Check your “WHY”. Why do you do what you do? Why do you lead worship, preach, do crazy technical and cool things with production? Answer that to yourself honestly. If it’s anything apart from “To help people meet Jesus” then we need to shift our hearts.
- Don’t find your identity in what you do, but who God says you are. If your pastor came to you right now and said “We need someone to lead our janitorial team, and I think you’re the right person for it.” would you feel like they took your purpose or joy? If so, it’s time to reevaluate what we’ve put our identity in. The stage or in God using us to help more people encounter Him? Jesus was at the highest place of authority yet served in the “lowest” of positions. If you’re not willing to hold a toilet brush, you have no business holding a microphone. Remember that nothing is “beneath you”.
- Bring other people alongside you on the journey. Teach people what you do. If you learn something, show someone else how to do it. One of the best ways to learn something on a deeper level is to teach others what you already know about it.
So as you can see, building a healthy platform off the stage isn’t an “overnight” process. It takes time, effort, and energy. But as we grow in private devotion, allowing others to hold us accountable, and remaining humble, we’ll not only see ourselves change and become stronger, but we’ll see those that we lead following in our footsteps.
Keep moving forward,
Noah Black
