Failing Forward in Leading Worship

Last Sunday's worship was a wreck. The worship leader stopped singing at some point because she got mentally blocked with what to say. Some of the songs were new but the projector just failed to function, and everyone was just distracted. I shook my head again while holding the bass guitar, knowing it wasn't the first time it happened.

I know it can be very embarrassing and frustrating to know that the time spent for rehearsals seem pointless at all. Often times when I leave church after service, it would occur to me and wonder if only I could be part of a Hillsong team or other great Christian bands like Planetshakers who never struggle with something like this.

I'm sure you can relate to what I'm saying. When Sunday worship is a success, we start to envision ourselves making plans for joining a global tour with Hillsong. But on a bad day, we start to complain, blame others, and sometimes think about quitting.

But I've read a few life stories and articles about greatness and, by nature, comes from the heels of many mistakes. John Maxwell's blog post talked about the benefit of mistakes and failing forward. I suggest you read it.

Mistakes are Steps to Moving Forward, not Backward

The more you fail, the more you make mistakes, the more you learn.  No one is amazing all the time. Thomas Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

What separates the pros from the amateurs? Your resilience to keep going, to keep leading. True worship leaders don’t base their self worth on Sunday’s performance. Their vision is deeper. They’re more concerned with faithfulness, intimacy, and endurance rather than they are one amazing performance.

Behind every setback is a stepping stone to greater influence, if you allow it.