Ok, so I've not blogged for nearly 2 months. But what a 2 months it's been.
Since the New Year we've got back to normality after almost 5 weeks of 'church-LITE' as things dialled down for an easy going Christmas at church (something many of us were puzzled by, and are determined to not repeat this December!).
We've finally moved to 2 separate worship bands. It's been a long time coming and we finally took the plunge now that we're fortunate enough to have musicians to serve both bands. This has been a really exciting and important change.
We've all either been there ourselves, or seen others experience the dreaded 'Burn Out'. Overworking and under-appreciating people in ministry can be a dangerous combination. A few years ago our church went through a period of 4 services a day and only 1 main worship leader - and even the most dedicated leaders found it a massive struggle which inevitably ended in burn out and the need for a well deserved sabbatical. Since then we've steadily built the worship team to where we are today, and have learnt a lot along the way (some of it the hard way). But now we are fortunate to have 4 main worship leaders, several on the fridges or in training, and a pool of deadicated musicians eager to grow in their craft. Moving to 2 teams has meant that nearly everyone has every other week off.
Every church is different and sometime it's hard if the leaders and musicians in your church are few. Even so, it's good to make sure we look after those we are working with, and ourselves. Schedule time off, weeks when you can join the congregation to worship, and even take time out for yourself and your family, and in those times seek God's face and rest in His presence. Be renewed and refuelled. That way you can keep the fire burning bright, without burning out.