I believe there is at least one poison that hinders gratitude, and that is comparison.

You have probably heard the saying, “Don’t compare your behind the scenes to someone else’s highlight reel.” Social media is especially a vehicle in which comparison can be unknowingly encouraged. There is the underlying pressure to let the world know that you are producing, you are important, people know you, you know people, you’ve seen things, and you’ve been places! These subconscious standards we place on ourselves can hinder us from being grateful for the truly fulfilling lives we do live. Let us not forget who God has placed in our direct sphere of influence, and where God has planted us for this season. Let us steward well the opportunities we do have, and not be so concerned with the ones we wish we had. For every season and every opportunity comes with preparation and a price. Don’t let the trap of comparison hinder your gratitude for the blessings currently sitting in your lap.

1. You must lead in the areas you want your team to lead in.

Everyone has probably heard the saying; “You can’t lead where you haven’t been.” I’ve personally heard this saying in about every worship/leadership conference I have attended. However, it is so true. If you want your team to connect spiritually during the week, if you want your team to come prepared knowing all the songs and their parts, if you want the team to genuinely pursue God’s presence and display excellence in their craft, YOU HAVE TO LEAD IN THOSE AREAS FIRST. In saying this, I am not saying once you lead in these areas, all your team members are going to miraculously become perfect and all your leadership problems will be solved (If anyone has that secret, feel free to share.) However, I am saying that excellence and “buy in” are a process. However, we need to display the pursuit of it and not expect our team to do something we ourselves aren’t pursuing/doing.

2. Whoever is closest to the broom does the work.

I was first introduced to this phrase via Pastor Stan Mitchell when he came and spoke at one of our launch team meetings back in May. This phrase has stuck with me ever since. When being part of a church plant, or a church in general I believe, you need to become ok with doing tasks that aren’t specific to “your job description.” This is something that also needs to be transferred, taught and displayed to your team. Our pastor always says, “We must never allow title or position to dictate what we are willing to do. And more will get done when we are not worried about who gets the credit.” I can say our pastor easily displays this to our team not only on Sundays, but in his day-to-day living as well. This makes it an easy transfer to our team, not just as a fancy saying, but something we live and breathe at Connect.

3. Always have the bigger vision in mind, so that the daily obstacles will never hold you back.

Recently, I read this quote somewhere, and it has really helped me put words to many situations that can be discouraging or uncomfortable. As leaders, no matter how much vision we lay out or jot down or how organized we are, we all have those days where we ask ourselves, “Seriously?” Something that has really been an encouragement to me lately is when something doesn’t go as planned, learning to step back and put things in perspective. One thing that helps with this is reading or hearing other people’s stories. Hearing stories of people starting churches in libraries, setting up church every Sunday at 5:00 a.m., only having one keyboard player as your total band, makes my what seems to be catastrophic problem a little less catastrophic. So, in the moment when a musician doesn’t show up, or an audio guy calls in sick, or the song transition is a disaster, or the video playing doesn’t have audio to it because they didn’t un-mute the channel, just remember… it can always be worse.