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Stacy Hood is more than a musician. She is a worship weaver, one who helps people live their gifts to worship their Creator. She strives to fully integrate all elements of worship and thereby draw people into a deeper relationship with God.

Worship Threads :: worship as the work of the people

At times, allowing the beautiful diversity of the gifts of God’s people to be woven together and shared in worship can be a bit overwhelming; one might even consider it a bit messy. Like an artist with a paint palette full of colors, those in worship leadership have a “palette of people;” like the artist, those in worship leadership must see beyond the individual “colors” and envision a work of art that expresses beauty in the rich diversity of community. Worship as the work of the people gains depth and richness over time; it is not something that happens overnight.

Whether you find yourself working with a small or large group of people, it is important that you continually work to strengthen the relationship of the team. Whether you find yourself leading musicians, technical artists, altar ministry teams, ushers, greeters, or creative planning teams, you must keep casting the vision of the bigger picture to each individual team. You must be intentional to take time to remind and redirect people as to why it is we “do what we do.” We live our God given gifts in the life of our community so that others might know the love and grace of Jesus Christ. We take our place in God’s story here on earth so that others might do the same. Our passion to be part of God’s redeeming work in the world is the reason we “do what we do.” When team based ministry is constantly focusing on “why we do what we do” and not just “doing what we do” people have a different attitude; a selfless attitude.

It is easy for people to become overly focused on everything being “perfect:” no wrong notes, technical glitches, or . . . (you can fill in the blank). The reality is somewhat different; we are an imperfect people who live our gifts in the depth of God’s grace. We want to live those gifts with as much excellence as possible, yet we want to do so in a loving and caring team environment. Those in leadership must constantly seek to strengthen the team through intentional moments of sharing and caring beyond accomplishing the “task” of the team. A team that functions with an understanding that they are children of God working together, with an attitude that is “other-centered,” will be a team that spends much more time working together in peaceful harmony. It may take a little more time to be intentional about praying together, sharing a meal together with your team, or sending the tech crew out for bowling one evening; but what you may lose in “rehearsal” time by these added activities, you will make up for richly in the long run of team based ministry; ministry grounded in God’s love, grace, and unity.

Until next time . . . stacy

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