http://www.worshipmatters.com/2007/05/qa-fridays-shou/

Scott, thanks for your thoughts. Your story sounds sadly familiar and common. While I am not a pastor and not in charge of the music, I am on the worship team, and some of us are in a position where we have the privilege of praying for those in charge and (hopefully) having some kind of godly influence as we gently, patiently, and humbly share what we’re learning. But for those who ARE in a shepherding role, your statement, “Our job as leaders a lot of the time is to teach people what they need, not give them what they want,” hits the nail right on the head. I’m so glad you said that!! AMEN! I think there are many people who don’t view their relationship with their leaders this way, and don’t necessarily think they NEED to be taught what they need. Thank God for pastors like you, Mike, and Bob, who take this call seriously and strive to avoid taking the path of least resistance (for fear-of-man reasons) while truly loving and caring about those you’re called to lead.

Must be really hard to walk in pastor moccasins sometimes… glad I’m a girl!

I face an almost identical situation a couple of years ago at our church. I had been accused of having a “my way or the highway” attitude, because a small group of people in our church wanted songs like “the Lighthouse” and “I Saw the Light”. I didn’t have issues with the Southern Gospel style and tried to occasionally do a few better songs from the same genre. I even offered to come and play and sing some of these with them during their fellowships and bible studies.

Ultimately it wasn’t enough, because they didn’t want to just hear certain songs they wanted to make the church look a certain way. Music was one step in that direction for them. Since I was a servant to the entire congregation I had to be careful to not let the proverbial squeaky wheels dictate what was done for the entire body. Because of that I told them that I and the other Pastors had discussed the direction of the music and were satisfied that what we were doing was Gods will for our body. I was accused again of having a my way or the highway attitude, and we eventually lost 8 families all of them over 70 years of age. I was, however, always gracious and tried other ways to genuinely minister to these people at times other than corporate worship, but it wasn’t enough. Twenty four months later, blessed subtraction in this case fits well. I don’t agree at all with the “sometimes you have to bite the bullet and give the people what they want” mindset. Our job as leaders a lot of the time is to teach people what they need, not give them what they want. That takes, time, patience, persistence, and unfortunately some heavenly sandpaper. Hang in there brother.

I want to say a little bit about the song “suggesters”. Maybe if you talked to them, told them You pray over the song choices and will take their songs to heart and to the Lord? They may just be enjoying a memory of a time when they walked closer to the Lord and such a song will bring them back to that place again? They may just want a hymn, period, any hymn, so maybe update the music for their hymn? That is done all the time.And Amazing Grace always makes them smile.

Praying for you all dealing with sheep is never easy.
Because of Jesus, Bobbie

We think about you and Mark often and how blessed we were with worship. i still sing those songs.

That’s a great song- how did it go down in a corporate worship setting?

BTW, just received my order of $6 CDs from SG Music. What fun! Thank you guys SO MUCH for having that sale, and now for extending into March. How kind and generous of you!

While a blog comment is too small a place for a full treatment on the subject (and I am not qualified to treat the subject fully), I offer this story.

My father-in-law is a pastor in rural Nebraska at a church of about 80. He had been their pastor for almost 7 years, but still felt like an outsider. Meanwhile, he had pursued a lifelong dream and became a registered Emergency Medical Technician.

Several months later, when he was the first on the scene of a severe car accident, he was instrumental in saving the life of a high-schooler. He told me that the next few weeks were the first time that he felt accepted by the community.

So, a long comment to say there are many ways to love the people.

My concern with songs like “The Lighthouse” and “I Saw the Light” is purely lyrical. For example- The Lighthouse equates Jesus with a lighthouse that shows the way, keeps him from hitting the rocks, but nothing of his death, burial, or resurrection. Nothing about furthermore, the lighthouse is called old, the “big ships” don’t come around anymore, and it seems to be stuck up on a hill. Some confusing metaphors.

“I Saw the Light” doesn’t have the confusing metaphors, but my main beef with this one is that it comes across as very me-centered.

Regarding patriotic songs, I desire to be very clear regarding the unique claims of Christ and the Gospel in our meetings, and want to avoid any association with a particular nation and God’s blessings. Furthermore, while we are a predominantly Caucasian church we do have believers from Singapore, Korea, Zimbabwe, and other countries that are a constant reminder that people from every nation have been brought near because of the blood of Christ- let’s sing about what He’s done.

Two weeks ago I had someone complain about a song that we sang, and immediately received an email from someone who said it was on of their favorites. So, who do I listen to in that situation? The answer is neither, I think. As Bob stated above, we have a call to be faithful, to have a theological agenda, and a motivation to help people have a clearer picture of the Savior when they leave. I’m thankful for encouragement, and willing to grow through criticism, but these should not be what guide us from week to week.