Following up to my post from last week that dealt with several emails I have received from music ministers caught between wanting to remain true themselves as artists and faithful to the congregation that God has placed them in. For some readers out their in internetville that personally know me, you may think that the last post was about my own personal struggles, but in fact, it was not. As some know I've recently resigned from being the Music Minister of my church of the last four years, so it was easy to assume I must have been sneaking behind the scenes issues secretly into the post. But in fact I didn't resign for any of the issues mentioned. Over time God has clarified my call to pursue the pastoral office and I am making preparations to attend seminary in the next year.

However, I would like to address the issues raised in the last post since many have shared with me similar situations:

If the direction that the leadership is moving in is not compatible with what you believe to be the mission of the church or one where you feel you cannot contribute positively in your vocation as a minister of music, then you are faced with a couple options:

• Search the scriptures prayerfully, talk openly about your concerns with the leadership, and try to come to a resolution that will bring unity and peace.
• If you cannot in your conscience move forward with the direction, or no compromise can be reached, then based upon experience, I would say that it is best to move on, because you will only impede the greater ministry of the church, stifling the other pastors, and probably putting yourself in a place where you will grow weary with resentment. Though not ideal, this is the road that ultimately benefitted the mission for Paul and Barnabus in Acts 15:38-41.

Typically, most books on ecclesiology will say that the only time to leave a church is because of (a) false doctrine or (b) open and unrepentant sin on the part of the leadership, or allowed by the leadership to go unchecked within the congregation. Sometimes they will add "divisiveness" but that could arguably fall under the category of sin.

What most books fail to mention as it regards to church leadership is the important category of "compatibility." Yes, we as men of God, should be able to "get along" in the Rodney King sort of way, but I think compatibility in the pastorate goes deeper than mere surface unity. It involves friendship, transparency, vulnerability and a level of personal compromise out of deference and respect for one another. You can see how this goes much deeper than checking off the boxes on a church's statement of faith.

The simple fact is the church is made up of sinners, including her leadership, so we must confess that there is no perfect church militant this side of glory. But the scriptures do make clear that some churches are more faithful than others, and faithfulness is something we should all be striving for by God's grace. I also realize that every issue in the church has more than one side, so we must be mindful that we may be problem, which means we may be the one's that need change. My heart and prayers go out to those struggling with the kinds of ministerial problems that have been raised and I do pray for true unity, friendship and God's glory to be made manifest through gospel resolution. The Lord be with you all. 

Leadership in the church is always a slippery-slope of sorts. Recently, I've received numerous calls and emails from ministers of music from a variety of traditions asking similar, if not exact, questions in regards to the direction that their particular church is moving. Now that first thing that must be emphasized from me is that I do not regard myself as being some kind of authority or whiz on matters of church leadership. However, I have experienced serving in four very different congregations in four very different cities, which at minimum provides me with a level of perspective.

I will generalize some of the various on-going discussions I've been having with some of you readers, because I feel that many of us are going through the same kinds of things, and maybe we can help one another out a bit. And sometimes, just knowing others are walking in your shoes and experiencing some of the same kinds of emotions, etc., is profitable to our souls so we don't feel like we're all alone.

Typically, you enter into the music ministry through volunteering and you gradually begin to elevate in position as you grow in leadership responsibilities or you are hired to fulfill a particular role (i.e. Director of Worship). In either case you evaluate taking on this responsibility because of a variety of things that work together: 1. Agree with the doctrine and structure of the church 2. Like/respect the pastor(s) 3. Excited about the church's potential 3. For musicians, feel you can contribute your gifts in a meaningful way, which goes into style preference.

For many of us that fall into the "missional" movement which includes hymn revision, blended, and pseudo-contextualized worship types of environment, we were actually sought out and encouraged for our particular talents or interests by pastors/church planters because it was a part of their overall vision to reach the particular indigenous culture of the city in which the church is located, or they just wanted something cooler than next door. But...now here's the rub. What happens a couple years later when the church's growth has slowed down? If you're conservative (theologically speaking) you realize you are only going to be able to draw so many "already Christians" into your church via church transfer. So the primary growth you are hoping for is through conversion. Who doesn't want to see souls freed by the gospel? But what if the massive conversion of your city that the leadership longs for doesn't happen overnight, or say, after five years? Finances always come into play and cause problems, of course. When you look across the street and you see Church X growing by leaps and bounds there is always the lure to ask, "What are they doing?"

It turns out the Church X has "High Impact" worship using the latest and greatest from popular CCM star (fill-in the blank). This is what Christians listen to; this is what they like and respond to! In exit polls with recent visitors there has been a constant refrain that it takes a bit to get used to the worship at your church, because it's....well...different. It's so easy and free to shout-out the simple songs at Church X.

In discussion with your leadership you are confronted with: "Don't get us wrong, we love what you're doing, BUT we think that we need to tweak the direction of the music ministry a little so that people feel more comfortable." [or some type of statement carrying the same tenor]. What if you added some songs that are more popular? You don't really feel comfortable with this since this is the exact opposite direction from the one you were originally hired for and it certainly is not your strength, but you also don't want to be devisive and you respect the authority of the elders, so you comply by adding a few of the better tunes you can find. Plus your band can put their own spin on them without altering the melody too much.

Things are going alright, but you start to notice a change in the way the truths of scripture are being preached or taught. Slowly the direction of the church at large is heading toward a course very different from the one you started upon; not necessarily bad...just different. You feel uncomfortable by these changes. Is it you? Maybe you've become enslaved to your own tradition, you ponder? Maybe it's the pastor? He just wants growth at any expense and now it looks like he wants you to become some emotive Christian pop-star? It could be a myriad of things, and you are at a crossroads. What do you do? How do you approach this with grace and wisdom?

Well, friends that's the dilemma many find themselves in. How do we handle this? Fire away. I'll provide some thought or suggestions in a follow-up post. God be with you.

Luke Morton has put together a very good set of diagnostic questions for the worship community to think through as a means of assessment:

Worship, Liturgy and Spiritual Leadership

Theological

1. As you have compiled music for the church over the years, have you seen it in terms of shaping/challenging/galvanizing the theological life of the body? Why or why not?
1. Along these lines—how far can we go in saying that the music/worship/liturgy of the church forms the convictions of the body as compared to the preached Word or say, something like Sunday School?
2. I am reading a book right now, Music and Social Movements, and am fascinated by the idea of music and songs being at the core of a social movement’s identity. This seems to be a ripe concept for consideration in the body of Christ—a social movement par excellence (ideally, by His grace!)…coming together to demonstrate to the world what renewed humanity looks like.
2. How might the teaching/directing of music in the church connect people to their spiritual lineage, their history? Put another way, is the music director in a place to be a church history teacher via the music selections?
3. What benefit (or detriment) do you see in prolonged seasons of singing within the liturgy?
4. Any thoughts on being ‘missional’ with the worship? I am curious as to the Psalms’ role in inviting the nations to praise the God of all the earth.
5. How does (or should?) the music director encourage/facilitate their musicians to be involved, missionally, in the community? What if this looked as simple as the choir singing at a community street fair (amidst the wonderful noises of commerce and other music) or any other group from the church playing music that was unashamedly pulled directly from the liturgy? (For some reason, I truly think if it is done well with great sincerity, it will be received in a public setting…) Inevitably, the body of Christ is rubbing shoulders/get in conversations with people in the community. If we believe the gospel is good news for the world, an unabashedly public message, how is it not good and right for sacredness of the liturgy to be a blessing on the street corner! (Regardless of whether or not it is understood…)
6. What could be said for music—and the themes therein—being an instrument for racial reconciliation in the divided city of St. Louis?

Pastoral/Praxis

1. How do you see the liturgy and music function as a tool for discipleship?
2. In what ways is the leading of music a shepherding of souls?
3. How do you deal with suggestions from others that are not in line with our theology and/or desired ethos of the church?
4. How have you dealt with eager musicians who lack proficiency but dearly want to be involved? Within this, is there a ‘pastoral obligation’, if you will, to come alongside and nurture their desires?
5. Where and how does prayer play a role in the preparation of the music? How might is serve as more than a tack-on at the end or beginning of a rehearsal?
6. What can be said for ‘working oneself out of job’ by way of training the next generation or even just for the strength of having a back up leader when gone?
7. Would it be worth the effort to spearhead a local, annual church musician summit or conference? Maybe a joint effort with New City Fellowship, Old Orchard, etc. with an aim to explore worship in the city?

Personal Sharpening

Any practical ways to ‘stay fresh’ musically, creatively? Do you listen/read broadly? Intentionally interact with people on other ends of the spectrum musically, theologically or otherwise? Could these things be seen as part of a work week?

Found this poem while perusing the online superhighway. Very encouraging musings on being a minister of Christ. Sometimes it is easy (and all to common) to heap unrealistic expectations upon the results of our ministries, feeling like failures when we do not live up to them, or worse, getting pissed (ungracious?) with our congregations when they fail to live up to expectations they do not even realize we have placed upon them. Take heart my fellow Pharisees and find grace in this poem:

It helps now and then to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of
saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession
brings perfection, no pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives include everything.

This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one
day will grow. We water the seeds already planted
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of
liberation in realizing this.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's
grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the
difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not
messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.

                                       -- Archbishop Oscar Romero (martyred on March 24th 1980)