As Worship leaders and pastors we are tasked with encouraging growth and spiritual development. As a fruit of this effort we see growth in a church, unhindered worship, momentum and excitement! So what holds us back? I have been thinking lately about better ways to encourage growth specifically in they way people worship through music. In doing that I came to find some things that hold us back as leaders from pushing and encouraging growth.

1. Fear – One of the most difficult barriers to overcome is fear! Not only for the leaders but also for the congregation. We fear the unknown and when we are moving into a place of worship we have never been before it can become scary. As leaders we feel fear of how the congregation will perceive the pushes and encouragements to move out of their comfort zones and worship.

2. Laziness – The problem with growth is it takes energy. It is so much easier to continue the things you have been doing for a long time and not change anything. Unfortunately growth requires change and change requires more energy. The planning and creativity can really wear you out.

3. Personal Plateau – It has become a well-known truth that “you can’t lead people somewhere you yourself have not been”. As leaders we have a responsibility for our own personal and spiritual growth. It is rarely the case that leaders will experience new growth as they themselves are leading. We learn these by being led.

4. Chains – you can usually deduce the effectiveness of a leader by the people he/she puts around them. There are times where the leader is trying to encourage growth but get little support from those in leadership around them, which can really bog down the mission you are trying to accomplish. This makes it extremely difficult to make progress.

5. Lost Motivation – Every leader has a motivation. They work hard to make a change and push growth because of something. There is a reason, a motivation. Sometimes our motivations fade. This can happen but if we want to continue being effective in leadership in ministry our motivation must be to advance the kingdom of God. That’s a big task but each of us has our own place in the mission. If you can find that, you will find motivation.

At this point all I’ve processed are the problems and barriers that can keep us back. Now I need to spend some time figuring out how to overcome these with God’s help.

I would love to hear some feedback about maybe some other things that hold us back or even some solutions for these.