Liberty University SOM Online
Relationship
Submitted to Dr. Zeb Ballentine
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
WRSP 430 – B01
Building Relationships Through Worship
By
Madilyn Dowell
September 8, 2021
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The family unit is an institution of God. Our relationship with our family is, according to
the Word, second only to the Lord. He is our Father, we are His children, the Church His bride,
and collectively, we make up the family of God. Our earthly families are a symbol of our
relationship with God that was secured through Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross. The family
is the first group of people that any worship leader or pastor will ever be entrusted to serve, lead,
and learn how to relationally function within. Scripture teaches us that a pastoral leader must be
able to lead a family before they can lead a team or even a congregation. Concerning
qualifications for spiritual leaders, 1 Timothy 3:4 reads, “He must manage his own family well
and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.” The
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leadership of a family is the roadmap for the leadership of a church or ministry. Developing
relationships with family members, the people naturally closest to us, lays the groundwork for all
other relationships that we will form, and often determines our level of success or failure in those
future relationships. When there is tumult or strife within the family unit, confrontation or
problems in ministry can become increasingly difficult to handle. The family unit is also a safe
space (or at least is should be) in which we can learn how to address and resolve conflict
effectively. This translates to ministerial leadership because since ministry deals with people, and
people are fallible, conflict is sure to arise at some point. Good leaders have the ability to address
and diffuse conflict in a way that has the best interest of everyone involved at heart.
In the context of family, the relationships within a home have direct influence on the
relationships within a ministry. It can be a difficult tension balancing family life versus
leadership life. Each role demands a lot of attention, and it is important to devote enough
attention to both. However, worship leaders don’t always have the luxury of living in this
balance. Sometimes worship leaders can overlook the development of the family because they
1 1 Tim. 3:4, ESV.
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are so immersed in the development of the team or body they lead. “It’s tragic to think that we
can invest our lives in helping other church members grow as worshipers of Christ, but we
neglect that aspect at home”. This should never be the case, as Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5 that,
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“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has
denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever”. Similarly, Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3 that, “If
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anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?”
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As previously stated, the family is the first group of people that worship leaders are entrusted by
God to lead and serve. We cannot expect to get it right with the church body if we cannot first get
it right in the home. “Don’t sacrifice your family on the altar of ministry” . Your family is your
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first and most important ministry. Thus, a way to strengthen relationships within the family is to
devote the proper amount of time to the family and to their spiritual and worship development.
When the family is prioritized and progressive growth occurs, it will pour out onto the ministry.
One of the marks of effective relational leadership is “results – the ability to reproduce”. In
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worship ministry specifically, faithful worship leadership begins in the home. We want to lead
worshiping families so we can lead a truly successful worship ministry. Ways that we can
promote a worshipful environment within our families is by teaching spiritual disciplines,
recognizing and combating spiritual warfare, and setting realistic expectations for our time of
family worship. We can implement a “Hymn of the month” system in which we encourage our
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families to come together to study and memorize a hymn, taking the time to unpack its context
2 Dr. Zeb Balentine, “The Worshiping Family”, Video presentation, 11:45, Liberty University,
June 11, 2020.
3 1 Tim. 5:8, ESV
4 1 Tim. 3:5, ESV.
5 Dr. Zeb Balentine, “The Worshiping Family”, 2020.
6 John C. Maxwell, “Be A People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective
Relationships” (David C. Cook, 2007) Chapter 2.
7 Dr. Zeb Balentine, “The Worshiping Family”, 2020.
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and meaning. To be faithful worship leaders in the home, we can delegate tasks to our family
members so that they are actively involved the worship rather than spectators the worship. in to
“The more you delegate the more buy-in you are going to receive from your family”. Finally, we
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must establish boundaries. “There is no amount of time and energy that the church will not take
from you that you aren’t willing to give”. We cannot expect our church members to hold us
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accountable and assure us that we’re doing enough in our ministry therefore we should go home
and invest in our family. That simply will not happen. We must recognize that burning the candle
at both ends means one thing eventually suffers. Let us not be guilty of letting that be our
families. Instead, may we commit to faithfully cultivating worship within our ministry area, but
prioritizing that faithfulness in our families first. This discipleship of our families will only better
equip us for discipling others under our ministerial leadership.
Bibliographies
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
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Balentine, Zeb, Dr. “The Worshiping Family”. WRSP 430: Building Relationships Through
Worship. Video presentation at Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, June 11, 2020.
Accessed September 7, 2021.
Maxwell, John C. “Be A People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships”.
John C. Cook, 2007. Accessed September 7, 2021.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780781448437/
