Ch 2: Leading Yourself
Before we get into the practicalities of what an MD does, understanding the spirit of excellence is crucial.
Why is Excellence important?
Excellence should matter to us because our God asks for it. Colossians 3 says that in whatever you do, work “heartily” as working for the Lord, not for men. The word “heartily” in Greek (ek psyches) means “from the soul,” which is so fitting for worship because if we’re creating an expression of worship that is excellent, it will come from wells dug deep within us. As an example of someone who operated in excellence, Daniel 6 talks about how Daniel “became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.” As Christians, we are called to a level of excellence the rest of the world should be running to catch up with!
The excellence we bring is also a matter of honor. A lack of honor can kill an anointing. Jesus could do no mighty works in His hometown due to a lack of honor. We need to constantly re-align our hearts and ask ourselves: Does the spirit of how I approach this attract the power of God, or does it quench it?
What is Excellence in Music?
The question then becomes: As an MD, what is excellence in a musical context? Musical excellence is about the details because music itself is pure detail. It’s a thousand small things piled on top of each other. Excellence within that is hearing the detail and understanding that it’s important enough to speak into. It’s a necessary and regular part of our conversation as a team. As MDs, we have to OWN the space of the granular detail and bring our team along on that journey!
Excellence vs Perfectionism
When we’re talking about excellence, it’s important to note there is a stark difference between the spirit of excellence and perfectionism. Perfectionism says you’ll never be “good enough,” while excellence is simply not settling for mediocrity. Perfectionism is birthed out of a spirit of fear of failure, which has no place on our team! There’s a Grand Canyon-sized difference between fear of failure and conviction to develop into higher levels of excellence. As a team, let’s never conflate the two! We should always call ourselves higher and, as Music Directors, we should call our teams higher to develop them. Don’t let fear of perfectionism make you shy away from the pursuit of excellence.
Perfectionism also invites a spirit of performance onto the stage. Nothing kills what the Holy Spirit wants to do in the room faster than a spirit of performance. Even if it’s just on one person. Remember, it takes all of us to create unity but just one of us to break it! When someone with a spirit of excellence walks off the stage, they reflect on what God did during that service while a person with a spirit of performance will dwell on and count their mistakes.