worship for hire
I recently noticed that in a local classifieds section that there is a church seeking out a worship band. Yes, you read that correctly... not a worship pastor, but a worship band. That may not seem very scandalous except for the fact that it was listed as follows:
"Are you in a band? (Such 'n Such) Church is in need of a band for our new contemporary worship service. Please call..."
Admittedly, there is the possibility that God may direct a truly Spirit-led worship leader to this church. I will not deny that God works in mysterious ways, but is there no prerequisite for leading people into a worship experience? Are we really this willing to just seek out a band that will come in and do a worship music set? When did this happen? I know that there are many churches that have wrestled with worship leadership, music, etc... I simply make my case that if we are to lead into songs of worship to our king that maybe the person leading should also have a history of leadership and, more importantly, of worship.
Let me be one of the first to line up in saying that I don't believe that worship is solely tied together with music. By no means is this what I am making a case for. What I am saying is that we must seek leaders in our church that are ordained by God. We must seek those who exemplify the traits of a Christian leader- those who bear good spiritual fruit. (And yes, there is a difference between good and bad spiritual fruit.)
Would we bring in an itinerate speaker to fill our pulpit without first checking to see that he is indeed qualified to teach/preach/lead in the true Name of Christ? Perhaps we would, but should we? I contend that we should not, for what should be obvious reasons. There are too many false teachers in the world as it is; we have to protect the flock from the wolves.
I have been in at least one church with hired worship band members. I can honestly say that the music was very enjoyable. The music was even I style I enjoyed. But the worship was shallow. Music quality does not equal genuine worship. Let me repeat this... music quality is not the equivalent to earnest worship.
Excellence in all that we do should be sought after. We are instructed to bring our firstfruits to the King- this includes our talents as well as our finances. But we must not exalt skills and talents above heartfelt worship and Spirit-led leadership.
To have a worship leader that is not in tune with God's Spirit is far worse than to have a worship leader who is not in tune with the rest of the band.
"Are you in a band? (Such 'n Such) Church is in need of a band for our new contemporary worship service. Please call..."
Admittedly, there is the possibility that God may direct a truly Spirit-led worship leader to this church. I will not deny that God works in mysterious ways, but is there no prerequisite for leading people into a worship experience? Are we really this willing to just seek out a band that will come in and do a worship music set? When did this happen? I know that there are many churches that have wrestled with worship leadership, music, etc... I simply make my case that if we are to lead into songs of worship to our king that maybe the person leading should also have a history of leadership and, more importantly, of worship.
Let me be one of the first to line up in saying that I don't believe that worship is solely tied together with music. By no means is this what I am making a case for. What I am saying is that we must seek leaders in our church that are ordained by God. We must seek those who exemplify the traits of a Christian leader- those who bear good spiritual fruit. (And yes, there is a difference between good and bad spiritual fruit.)
Would we bring in an itinerate speaker to fill our pulpit without first checking to see that he is indeed qualified to teach/preach/lead in the true Name of Christ? Perhaps we would, but should we? I contend that we should not, for what should be obvious reasons. There are too many false teachers in the world as it is; we have to protect the flock from the wolves.
I have been in at least one church with hired worship band members. I can honestly say that the music was very enjoyable. The music was even I style I enjoyed. But the worship was shallow. Music quality does not equal genuine worship. Let me repeat this... music quality is not the equivalent to earnest worship.
Excellence in all that we do should be sought after. We are instructed to bring our firstfruits to the King- this includes our talents as well as our finances. But we must not exalt skills and talents above heartfelt worship and Spirit-led leadership.
To have a worship leader that is not in tune with God's Spirit is far worse than to have a worship leader who is not in tune with the rest of the band.
posted by Gregg @ 10:37 AM
6 Comments:
At 18/5/06 7:00 PM,
Miriam said…
hi gregg, thanks for the encouragement about my photos! i sometimes shoot with film, but mostly shoot with digital because there is so much you can do in the "digital darkroom." i enjoyed reading your blog--its nice to have some mental stimulation and spiritual challenge. i'm glad to see that you are also a margaret feinberg fan. she's wonderful! i have some more work posted on my flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/miriamwalls
At 19/5/06 6:15 AM,
CJ Wolf said…
Greg,
I don't think I could agree with you more. I have noticed several churches in our area that have "Praise & Worship Bands" yet the leadership is lacking so is the qualification for spiritual leadership. Worshipping God is so much more than "enjoying a good band". Also, I have to add that it disappoints me to see people who seem to be almost "star struck" by some of these bands and might very well attend services to hear them play. It seems like a stretch but I know of one example of a person who attends a church locally and speaks more about the band, music, and band members names than any of the teaching, praying, etc.. that they experience at this church almost weekly. This person even attempts to have others buy a CD the band made because they are, I quote, "So awesome!" To me, it is sad because the music is switching places with the Creator of the Music.
At 19/5/06 8:04 AM,
Unknown said…
Gregg. I do not think that having a good quality band is bad. I also think that God calls us to quality.
I mean if we are really worshiping shouldn't the music be of a high quality? What would someone think if we were "truly" worshipping God and the "music" was terrible? I bet they would not think to highly of our God.
At 19/5/06 9:04 AM,
bradley said…
Nor would they if your hired back doesn't display the Spirit in their lives. I certainly don't think Gregg is saying that talent is bad; he said it's not sufficient. And I completely agree. I probably have a higher standard for the actual talent of a worship band than most people, but I also think the heart is more important than the skill.
My favorite worship verse is Psalm 33:3 - "Sing new songs of praise to him; play skillfully on the harp and sing with joy." (NLT) There are two aspects of worship in this verse. Playing skillfully is one. But playing to HIM is the other. If you're not playing for Him, all the skill in the world can't lead people into His presence.
At 19/5/06 10:08 AM,
Margaret Feinberg said…
wow. I have never heard of that before. I wonder how big the church is? I wonder what situation would cause them to post such an ad. Have you thought about calling ? :)
At 19/5/06 1:20 PM,
Gregg said…
UPDATE:
I would like an opportunity to clarify my opinion on this matter a bit further.
I do believe that we should strive after excellence in all we do- sa says the Word of God.
I do think that our worship through music should be relevant to those who are engaging in worship. Some congregations perhaps should not pursue contemporary worship because it would be an unnatural form of worship for the congregants.
The primary purpose of my post was to state my belief that we need to be cautious of whom is placed in positions of leadership within our churches. I think we must give some credit to the ability of a person to be able to perceive heartfelt worship even if there may be a lack of talented musicians.
Thank you all for your continued interest in this dialog. Blessings!
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