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What's the difference between committees, councils, and work groups?

Although the definitions of these different groups are flexible, they generally differ in that committees are appointed by the governing body of an organization and usually serve in an advisory capacity, while councils are usually comprised of people who are expected to make decisions and accomplish tasks. Work groups are usually ad hoc groups that meet for a particular purpose and usually have a definite beginning and ending.

Music Committee

The music committee is usually appointed by the church nominating committee and is voted on by the congregation. The committee's make-up may or may not have input from the minister of music. The group usually meets monthly or quarterly and considers issues such as attendance, overall goals, and directions for the program. Adequate opportunity is provided for members to offer input and feedback from the congregation at large. The committee usually consists of not more than ten members. Directors of major choirs and the music minister are usually ex officio members. The minister of music may chair the meeting, or the committee chair may take that responsibility. The importance of this committee usually rests in its tie to the congregation at large. Members of this committee should be people with a strong interest in the music ministry who can promote the ministry throughout the church, can offer wise council, are sensitive to the reactions of the congregation and can bridge differences, and can offer constructive criticism.3

The Music Council

The music council is comprised of the minister of music, accompanists, age group leaders, and choir presidents — the primary leaders in the music ministry. Its primary purpose is to coordinate schedules and events, to serve as a recruiting advisory group, evaluate attendance, establish new goals and directions, and deal with other practical aspects of music ministry. This group should also prepare the budget and the yearly calendar of events.

Worship Committee

The minister of music is often the primary person who relates to the worship committee. The purpose of the worship committee in most churches is similar to that of the music committee in that the members deal with larger issues relating to worship, and how those issues relate to the congregation. The qualifications of this group should be similar to those of the music committee.

Some churches have a worship committee that participates actively in the worship planning process. For a thorough discussion of such a group, see Franklin Segler and Randall Bradley, Understanding, Preparing For, and Practicing Christian Worship, Revised Edition, 1996, Chapter 7, Chapter 18.

Personnel Committee

The music minister rarely relates directly to the personnel committee except for recommending raises and compensation packages for music staff.

Other Committees

Most music ministers relate directly to one or more additional committees. Typically, they relate to Flowers and Decorations, Sound and Lighting, and others. Ministers of music may be ex officio members of other groups such as the Education Committee.

Delegation

One of the most important jobs of any minister is learning to delegate. Responsibilities must be delegated to other ministers, staff members, accompanists, associates, choir coordinators, and volunteers. Unfortunately, some ministers of music are not willing to work through other people to accomplish greater ministry. Consequently, these ministers may experience burn out; therefore, they may not have long-term ministries. Perhaps ministers of music may be resistant to delegation because much of their training is spent in isolation. Ministers of music may also have an artistic temperament — deep down, no one else can do a job that pleases them! For long-term success, nothing is more critical to effective ministry than the ability to delegate appropriately.

Delegation is the ability to give the job to someone else, define the parameters for accomplishing the job, and give him/her the authority to get the job done.1 For many, the most difficult part is giving the job to someone else. Perhaps we are afraid that others will not think we're doing our work if we give some of our work to someone else, or perhaps our ego doesn't want to accept the fact that someone else can do a job well. Whatever the reason for our hesitations, we must learn to delegate some tasks to others. Once the job is delegated, define the parameters for its completion. Determine completion date, budget, who else should be involved, priority level, how often you would like to receive reports, and other pertinent factors. Finally, give the person the authority to make decisions related to the job's ultimate completion. Without giving authority, the person to whom you've delegated the job will not be empowered and will not fully own the process. You must then accept the reality that the job will not be completed as you would have done it. Many times the job will be done better!

1 Jimmie Sheffield, "Delegating Leadership," Church Administration, 42 (October 1999) no. 1, 24.

What Should You Delegate?

Generally, you should delegate jobs that (1) someone can do better than you, (2) someone can do instead of you, (3) someone can do with better timing, or (4) will help someone else grow and develop as a leader.2 When you know that others can do the job better than you, you should allow them to do it. When your schedule is overloaded and someone else has more time and is capable, let him/her do it. When you know that you cannot accomplish a job by its deadline, allow others who can get it done to do the job. When someone else can grow as a leader, you should allow him or her the opportunity. Progress in churches, businesses, and educational institutions is severely hampered by administrators who keep too much work for themselves. Their need to control outweighs their desire to see the organization make progress. Ultimately, these administrators keep other people from thriving because they are keeping them from doing their work (work gets caught in the system waiting for someone to move it along), and they foster an organization with many undeveloped leaders!

How Do You Delegate?

Define the Responsibility – Define what is to be done. Be sure that the person to whom you've delegated the task knows exactly what he/she is to do. You should write a definition of what is to be done and follow up with verbal instructions. Allow plenty of time for questions.

Establish the Parameters – Determine completion date, budget, who else should be involved, priority level, and how often you would like to receive reports,

Let It Go – After building certain checkpoints into the process, you must let the job go. If you constantly look over people's shoulders, they will not be able to do their best work, and you will not be able to do the work that you intended to accomplish by delegating!

Check Up – Although you've delegated the work to someone else, you have not delegated the responsibility. You are still responsible to see that the work is accomplished. It is better to build in normal check up times from the beginning instead of doing random checks.

Evaluate – Take time to evaluate once the task is complete. Evaluating assures the person that you value his/her contribution and input.

Express Gratitude – Always express gratitude for work that is done. Even when it's not done according to your specifications, be grateful for someone's attempt. Give praise for work that succeeds, and share responsibility for work that is less than desirable.

Avoid Upward Delegation

Upward delegation happens when the person to whom you have delegated work hands it back to you. Once a person realizes that you will take work back or do their work when they don't do it, you will have the problem through the remainder of the relationship. This might happen for several reasons:

1) Instructions were not adequate. The directions must be clear, possibly in writing. Give plenty of details and ask questions to make sure the person completely understands what is expected.

2) Ownership of the task was not clear. Be sure that the person understands that the project is his/hers. He/she is fully responsible for every aspect of the task. Evaluate periodically.

3) "I've got a problem." When the person comes to you with this phrase, before meeting with him/her, ask that he/she come prepared to discuss two or three options for solving the problem. Force the person to work on the problem before he/she reassigns it to you.

4) Avoid saying, "Let me think about it." This phrase puts the ball back in your court, and they've successfully handed the task back to you.

5) Procrastination. Sometimes people will wait until the last minute to do the task, which creates a crisis. If you can possibly survive without rescuing them, do so. If the organization depends on the task, you may have to rescue someone. When this happens, confront the person and let him/her know that, in the future, you will not come to the rescue.

You will discover that some people are masterful at these tactics. Many people learn to use the system successfully and are excellent at taking control.

Parent Councils

Youth and children's choirs function best when they have strong parental support. One of the best ways to establish parental support is through a parent council whose main responsibility is to support the ministry of the choir. Parent council members can be elected by other parents, appointed by the minister of music, or can be self perpetuating. They can have officers or they can simply have a chair, and other members can serve as chairs of various committees that make the choir function.

Responsibilities

The parent council should be responsible for the following: Providing Input and Evaluation – They should provide input regarding choir tours, other activities, and policies.

Fundraising – They should be in charge of raising the needed money to support trips and outings by the choir. They should have a role in deciding how much money each student will pay and how much will be raised by the choir.

Chaperones – They should have input into who will chaperone trips and outings.

Food for Outings, Parties, and Other Social Activities – They will coordinate food for all social occasions and for all rehearsals or other gatherings where food is needed.

Uniforms and T-shirts – They will work with choir officers in deciding on appropriate attire for the group. They will be in charge of collecting money, buying uniforms, coordinating t-shirt design and purchase, and related items.

Publicity – They will be responsible for publicity within the church and in the community.

Community Awareness – They will serve in a public relations role in connecting with the larger community.

Rehearsal Assistance – They will provide rehearsal assistance as needed. This might include helping with discipline, taking roll, taking up money, and passing out music.

Motivation – They will help in motivating the choir to do their best and will help other parents realize their role in motivating their child to accomplish this goal.

Serve as a Link with Other Parents – The parent council will serve as a link with other parents to insure their support and involvement.

Meetings

Parent Councils should normally meet once per month during the school year except as tours and trips approach. They will be in charge of involving other parents and will likely be responsible for chairing sub-committees to support special projects. The music minister or the parent council chairperson can chair the parent council.

Managing and Leading Change

Change is both inevitable and necessary. We will change whether we choose to recognize it or not. Moreover, we can choose to approach change either proactively or reactively. We can choose to react as victims to inevitable change, or we can choose to take an active role in effecting change. Nothing will more significantly shape our ministry than our response to change and our response to the potential to lead in change. Our ability to imagine a brighter future for others, the church, and ourselves will ultimately shape our ministry. G. Douglas Lewis states, "Neither individuals nor congregations are motivated or energized by the present. We have no energy for the process until we discover our desire about the future."1