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Not only do we work with other ministers, we work with staff members as well. Usually these are ministry assistants, secretaries, librarians, and others. While these relationships are somewhat different from working with other ministers, they have many similarities; therefore, much of the material in the previous section, "Working with Other Ministers," applies here as well. Good relationships with staff members can make your ministry possible, for whenever you do not have the administrative support that you need, you will lose effectiveness.

Develop a Team Concept – Few people simply want to be hired, do their work, and have no part in the larger vision of the organization. Most people genuinely desire to be part of something important that allows them to give back to others. Discover ways to help staff people become a part of the ministry team. When you hire someone, hire with this goal in mind.

Communicate – Many staff persons are frustrated because they do not have adequate information to do their jobs. For instance, church secretaries are expected to answer questions regarding activities, whereabouts of the ministers, calendars, and many other items. Often they are not given enough information to answer questions appropriately, and they feel that they appear incompetent when church members call. When possible, allow staff members to participate in meetings. When not possible, they should be informed regarding anything that others would expect them to know. One of the goals of a supervisor is to provide adequate resources for people to accomplish their jobs effectively. Resources include information!

Establish Procedures – Establish procedures to cover normal daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks. These procedures will allow staff members to do their work effectively. For example, when an administrative assistant knows that a report is due at the end of each month, he/she can begin work on the report when other work is slack.

Procedures should be in place for answering the phone, transferring calls, interrupting, dealing with access to your office, e-mail and phone messages, your desk, and many other details. Once procedures have been adopted, everyone should follow them.

Ideally, no one should have more than one supervisor. Problems always occur when several people are supervising the same person and messages conflict.

Additional problems will likely emerge when procedures are not followed. For instance, if a procedure is established for the weekly task of preparing a worship folder, and the music minister frequently breaks the procedure by not getting information to the secretary, the secretary may be afraid to ask for the information or to express the difficulty that this places on him/her. Difficult working relationships will surface. Staff members, ministers, and others need to follow established procedures. It is never appropriate for you to fail to give someone information that he/she needs to accomplish a task! When deciding priorities, give highest priority to things that directly affect the ability of someone else to do their job.

Establish Boundaries – Establish boundaries within which a person can work effectively. For example, let staff members know what decisions they should make on their own and which ones they should bring to you. Once boundaries are established, they can be expanded as more trust is developed.

Respect Their Time – Be respectful of the time of those with whom you work. Don't ask for overtime or longer hours except in a crisis, and a crisis should not occur on a regular basis! If someone needs to work late on a particular day and this becomes a pattern, then seek to negotiate the work schedule so that the person is given time off at another time during the week. If a secretary or administrative assistant attends your church, avoid asking him/her to work while at church unless this is a part of your working agreement.

Expect Confidentiality – All church staff members must respect confidentiality. Many aspects of church business are confidential and should not be shared with anyone. Church staff members should not talk about phone calls, appointments, correspondence, or other matters that may be confidential.

Give Credit – Many ministers take full credit for the work of staff members. Whenever possible, give credit to those with whom you work. When you're honest in giving credit, you will gain loyalty and trust.

Recognize Special Occasions – It is important to recognize special occasions for those with whom you work. Be aware of staff anniversaries, administrative assistants' week, holidays, and other special occasions. Acknowledge these special times with cards, gifts, or lunch. Many times, church staff members have few job perks. Discover ways to provide them.

Seek Their Advice – Once trust is earned, seek the advice of staff members. Often they will have important insights that will benefit everyone. Learn to recognize the gifts of all of the people with whom you work. Allow them to utilize their gifts as a part of the team.

Be Their Advocate – Whenever possible, be an advocate for those with whom you work. Advocate for them in terms of salary, benefits, flexible work hours, or other work conditions as may be deemed beneficial. Through being their advocate, you will not only be a person of integrity, you will also win their respect.

Working with Accompanists

The working relationship between the music minister and the accompanists often sets the tone for the whole music ministry. Obvious conflict is apparent to people in the music ministry. The relationship between the music minister and the accompanist(s) should be based on trust, respect, honesty, and mutual goals. Music ministers and accompanists must frequently remind themselves that success is mutual — when one succeeds, all succeed!

In order for music making to be ultimate, musicians must be willing to be vulnerable. In order to genuinely express our emotions and lead others to do likewise, we must be willing to share ourselves by sometimes expressing our vulnerability. When relationships are strained, this becomes difficult or impossible, and the music suffers, as does the ability to experience God's spirit among us.

All musicians in the church must be viewed as ministers. Occasionally, an accompanist is not comfortable being viewed as a minister. However, I believe that our view of others strongly shapes their identities. When we choose to view a keyboard colleague as a minister, the person usually discovers that a minister is exactly what he/she wants to be. However, we must all realize that being called a minister does not make us one, for the title of minister is always earned and is given to us by others over time. It is not a title that we can give ourselves. If we are truly ministering through our roles at the keyboard, more and more ministry opportunities will surface.

The relationship between minister of music and accompanist usually involves both rehearsal and worship; however, these two venues are very similar and always intricately connected. The following suggestions will prove helpful in building a good relationship between the minister of music and accompanist.

Confer with the Accompanist About Musical Issues – Respect the musical opinions of the accompanist. Be willing to ask his/her opinions about musical interpretation, selections, tuning, vocal production, and other matters. A number of years ago, I participated in a weeklong workshop with Robert Shaw. Throughout the week, he frequently turned to the accompanist and asked his opinion about tuning or some other aspect of the music. I thought, "If Robert Shaw can seek the input of the accompanist, then certainly I can be vulnerable enough to do the same." I began to practice this with both the church choir and school choir accompanist, and I soon discovered that the accompanist listened more intently, often kept a list of problem areas, was less likely to speak out when not asked, and provided me with great insights into the music and group. As an occasional accompanist, I am keenly aware of the difference between listening to the choir from the piano bench and listening from behind the conductor's podium. I'm aware that I hear much more when I'm on the piano bench. When I'm conducting, my mind is very multitasked. I'm thinking about gestures, vocal illustrations, diction, group dynamics, and much more. Accompanists tend to be centered on the music itself. This puts them in a good position to analyze musical aspects that may escape the minister of music/choral director. I have learned to see choral music as collaborative. I attempt to view the accompanist as one who can offer musical and supportive expertise. Many accompanists are highly trained and may have musical skills superior to the music minister. We must not be intimidated by their skills but find ways to utilize their musical knowledge in productive ways. The best rehearsal accompanist I've worked with was also a school choral director. She instinctively knew where the problem was, and she gave the pitches almost before I announced the problem.

Ideally, the accompanist has many of the skills of a choral director, for he/she must hear the problems and anticipate them. If the accompanist is willing and able, ask him/her to fill in for you when you must be gone from rehearsal.

Offer Input – I believe that accompanists want and expect you to offer input regarding the music. In fact, I've found that when no musical input is offered, most accompanists will ask for it. As musicians, we expect our work to be analyzed and positive suggestions to be offered. Several years ago, I was talking with a fine accompanist who expressed her pleasure in working with a particular conductor. I inquired as to why she enjoyed this particular collaboration so much. She replied, "He always offers me suggestions about my playing, and I like that. I never have to wonder how I'm doing." Incidentally, this conductor was also a fine accompanist in his own right and was uniquely qualified to offer suggestions. Often our input is simply to acknowledge aspects of the music done well and comment positively on them. Be willing to recognize particularly sensitive playing in rehearsal or mastery of a highly technical passage. I will sometimes turn to the choir after such a moment and say, "I hope you realize how fortunate we are to have an accompanist who plays so sensitively. Many choirs are not able to experience the musical joy that we've just experienced."

Provide Good Instruments – Perhaps nothing affirms the accompanist more than the opportunity to play on good instruments. However, even inferior instruments can be kept in tune and in good repair, and a good organist or pianist can help to convince the congregation of the need for higher quality instruments. Ministers of music should utilize the expertise of the accompanist in keeping instruments in good condition and in seeking upgrades. Accompanists should be expected to keep a list of items that need to be repaired so the technician will make all necessary repairs in one visit.

Plan Ahead – Accompanists appreciate ministers of music who plan in advance for upcoming music. Choral music should be planned weeks if not months in advance. Advanced planning gives the accompanist plenty of time to be prepared when music comes up in rehearsal. While the accompanist may enjoy the occasional challenge of sight-reading, this should not be the usual practice, or it may become a source of contention. Likewise, worship music should be planned in advance. This gives accompanists adequate time to look for creative treatments and other resources.

Planning in advance allows multiple accompanists time to decide who will play on what anthem or how they will work with additional resources. The absolute deadline for Sunday's worship to be in the hands of the accompanist is the weekly rehearsal; however, it is much more desirable if accompanists have the worship order earlier in the week and come to the mid-week rehearsal with ideas. When the minister of music plans ahead, he/she can expect accompanists to plan ahead as well and to be prepared.

Rehearse with the Accompanist – This is absolutely necessary for effective worship. When the minister of music and the accompanist(s) rehearse every detail of the worship service, they are freed to worship during the service. Rehearsing the worship service insures good tempos, knowledge of introductions and interludes, and a good sense of the service. Even though I've worked with the accompanists in our church for quite some time, I still rehearse everything. When I have assumed we didn't need to rehearse, I have always been regretful. Recently, on a particularly busy Sunday morning, I failed to listen to an interlude on a closing hymn. In the service the organist played a longer interlude than I expected and cadenced early. I brought the congregation in, and he wasn't finished with the interlude. This is a perfect example of what can happen when you don't rehearse, even though you work with the same accompanist week after week. If you don't rehearse with worship accompanists, you have no right to complain about tempos, registrations, or anything else.

Involve in Worship Planning

– Whenever possible, involve the accompanists in worship planning. If schedules are compatible, involving accompanists can increase the quality of your church's worship. If schedules cannot be altered to include the accompanist in worship planning, set aside another time during the week to brief the accompanists about the service. Describe to them what you intend to happen in each section of the service. Talk with them about moods, desired outcomes, and other expectations. Communicate as much detail as possible, and invite them to offer their input.

Show Respect – Accompanists deserve your highest respect. Under no circumstance should you belittle them or put them down in public or private. Offer them the respect that you want to be given, and look for ways to affirm them. Find small, yet significant ways to acknowledge their gifts to the congregation. Involve accompanists in the total process of the music ministry, and seek their assistance.

Know Their Skills and Technical Abilities – You should know their skills and technical abilities and plan accordingly. However, giving them plenty of advance notice to prepare a difficult anthem is fair and encouraged. Most musicians like challenges, and through challenges we grow; however, we must offer support and assistance in the process. For instance, if you are expecting the organist to play "Hallelujah" from the Messiah and he/she isn't comfortable doing so, help him/her find a simplified arrangement (some are available). Offer your assistance in deciding how music can be adapted and altered. These efforts will be greatly appreciated. In addition, plan some anthems that are specifically written for organ and some that are specifically for piano. Accompanists can become weary of adapting accompaniments week after week.

Provide Resources – Provide money to assist accompanists in purchasing resources for worship, and be willing to purchase new items for them when they are available. However, be careful that you don't purchase materials that are meant to send an unspoken message to the accompanist. If you would like more variety in offertories, preludes, and postludes, you should discuss this rather than send hints through gifts of new music. It is never affirming to receive gifts to which unspoken agendas are attached!

If accompanists are not good at transposing, modulating, and improvising, then you must provide resources to assist them if you expect them to have these skills.

Be an Advocate – The minister of music should be the primary ally for the accompanist. He/she should advocate for the accompanist's salary and should be his/her advocate to the congregation.

Since the organist will need to practice in the worship room, the minister of music can help to keep the organist's practice time from being taken by other organizations, and the minister of music can do whatever is possible to assure that the room is not unbearably hot or cold.

Feature the Accompanist – Whenever possible, feature the accompanist. When more than one accompanist is used, vary which instrument introduces the piece, or which accompanies the choir. Alternate which plays the prelude, offertory, postlude, and other service music. When the choir does a special concert or presentation, consider utilizing the accompanist in solo works. Encourage accompanists to do occasional recitals. Be a supporter and advocate of these events! When the accompanists are involved in community programs, school programs, or other events, be present to support their efforts and rally the support of the choir and congregation.

Minister to the Whole Person – Although you are both professionals, you are still the minister to the accompanist. This role goes beyond a professional, collegial relationship — you should be the accompanist's pastor. One way that this can be done is to get to know and appreciate the accompanist's family and friends. Be a minister to the whole person. Learn what is important to him/her and respond accordingly. Learn to be sensitive in recognizing special events and holidays in his/her life.

Work as a Team – The minister of music should view the accompanists as key players on the music ministry team and on the church leadership team. Expect them to be ministers to the whole congregation through their keyboard skills.