Here’s my ordeal with musical excellence vs. right heart. I am coming from a standpoint of someone singing solos a lot in church so I know how important it is to practice, practice, practice. I know I should give my best in every performance, but here the very thing that is puzzling me. Somebody help me please understand this because this very thing is becoming an issue with our Choir/Worship Leader in our church. What if my best is not up to the Worship Leader’s standard of what is good enough for a solo on Sunday Morning? Should I be told that I cannot sing or play because it simply isn’t good enough? I have had this very thing happen to me in the past year where I wanted to play my guitar and sing a special on Sunday Morning. After playing it for my Worship Leader, he proceeded to tell me that it wasn’t good enough. It didn’t matter how tactful he was with his words or the way he said it, I was hurt because I so much wanted to sing it and share a song with the church that had touched me.

Needless to say, it made me want to get better, and now I am part of a band in my church. Great news, but still I wrestle with the question of whether or not I’m ever going to be good enough for a special or anything else based on the Worship Leader’s standard.

I’m not saying this to complain or grumble by any means but simply to get some feedback and/or advice as to what to do.

I personally believe that if anyone’s motive for singing a special on Sunday Morning is to worship and glorify God with his or her best, even though they may not be as talented as I or the next person, they should never be told that they can’t. If that was the case, I never would have been given the chance to sing a special in church, because I stunk the first time I sang when I was 15.

This has been an ongoing issue in our church for several members of our choir/worship team when it comes to who sings solos/specials in services.

I know that I should probably go to him with others and let him know how we feel about it because it isn’t healthy to let the sore fester like this.

Any advice or help would be much appreciated.

Lord have mercy!!!

PS…is it any wonder the pop/rock secular world of music has much more of a following? They have more Charisma albiet Father’s gifts to them used to glorify self.

@ drewr :: Yeah, you make some really great points. I’ve been in a variety of scenarios myself… but for me, I think I see the most when I’m in the congregation and can sit back and pay attention to it all (in a discerning way). “…we need to remember how important the musical side is for some people.” - Amen to that!

@ Mom :: It is true that Amazing Grace on the bagpipes resonates well. I was at the Scottish games in Albany a few months ago and the pipe bands were incredible. I think the pipes are a moving instrument no matter what they play. Although for Amazing Grace, I personally am partial to Todd Agnew’s re-arrangement titled “Grace Like Rain”… we do that one all the time. We do a lot of the old hymns with current music arrangements (hymns with lyrics of unchanging objective theological truths, arranged with music that’s current to my generation and culture). I tried to Google that “I want to dance dance dance” song, but couldn’t find it.

@ John :: My only requirement I’ve given Tami for my funeral (whenever that may be) is to have bagpipes there. They should probably play Amazing Grace… and then maybe a few outlawed tunes.

there are without question, worship leaders out there who lead the way with more than just mediocrity, we all know at least one. having worked with both the completely unqualified and then the insanely over-qualified musical genius, i will say that we must bring our best to the Lord. i know there are instances when there may not be choices as you suggested above, but the point you made following was right on the mark, which was that a poor performance by a worship singer(s) or worship band actually detracts from why the congregation is there in the first place, which is to seek God privately and corporately.
and in that seeking we need to remember how important the musical side is for some people.

the fact is that music in worship services is how some goers connect in the first place. if there is no passion and right hearts among the musicians, trust me when i say it comes across to the congregation.

i stand up there most sundays as i have for many years and the first thing i bring to God is a heart of worship and a simple request, that He would find me worthy of singing His praises. that’s where it starts, then i practice twice a week and again prior to service so that the praises I sing are worthy to hear by the congregation. i wish everyone took it at least this seriously but i know there are times when it is just not possible, so it goes.

Ah, your question is a great one - “If music ministry keeps your mind on God and praising Him, hasn’t it served its purpose, no matter how humble or skilled the minister?” I would say yes AND no. Yes, IF the worship music ministry allows focus on God and facilitates praise to Him, then modestly skilled or not, it has (most likely) served its purpose… very good. But often times when skills are TOO modest it is very distracting (mistakes, off-pitch notes, band not playing together, music is bland) and it usually inhibits people’s minds being anywhere but the clock, and thus has not served its purpose.

I’m glad you like humming those 1700s songs throughout the week. I find myself humming them, too… but I DON’T like it! I get one of those things stuck in my head from my years of hymnal worship and I cannot get it out. I’ll start singing it out loud at my wife (who grew up on the same stuff) and although neither of us have may have sung it in 10 years we’ll be able to sing multiple verses together in 2-part harmony. Then we’ll sorta laugh about it. My brain has been permanently tattooed with 1700s organ music… indeed I am cursed among men.

@ Mike :: Exactly - “Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God.” That is the pithy and ultimate conclusion.

And you are right, the worship in the West has grown immensely, especially over the last 15 years. My letter to the editor probably brandished intensity more commensurate with the ratio of importance of skill over emphasis on skill, than to the ratio of expected skill over demonstrated skill.

I might add, too, that when I was in your neighborhood I saw a heavy pursuit of excellence. The musicians were some of the fastest learners I’ve ever seen and had a sincere desire for excellence clearly radiating from them. It was humbling.

It seems to me, in my far removed (geographical-speaking) observation, that the musical quality of public worship in America is much better than it was a generation ago, with noticeably less screeching. But maybe I am wrong.

@ Rachel :: Yeah, it’s a funny thing. And some of the same people that dismiss either skill or diligence in favor of “if it’s worth doing it’s worth doing poorly” may also be part of the crowd that disdains non-”business casual” attire in church - saying that we should “wear our best” for Christ. This is intensely humorous since “our best” would be (for guys) tuxes - not khakis and a blazer - so the very thing they profess to pursue excellence in is a miserably mediocre effort.

@ capo :: Oh boy! I can just imagine the looks you may have gotten from people who found out you were in a pub the night before. You probably would have gotten a milder response if you had said you have Ebola.

@ john3sobieski :: Yes, everyone participating in worship - whether singing, playing, being a doctor, being an electrician, or whatever - should do their best. That also includes church leaders who make choices about who will lead others in “worship”, and the head of surgery who makes decisions about which doctors will conduct which operations.

I feel your pain regarding certain styles of worship. I - personally - can’t really worship to old-style hymns… mostly because of the goofy 1700s music and organ/piano arrangements. However, take those same hymns (with their rich lyrical content) and rearrange with a band… now you’re talkin’.

on another note, I disdain “Black Baptist” type music, like in the Blues Brothers. They have a right to worship as they see fit, but I can’t stand it

What really gets my goat, though, is when the skill is there, but the diligence is not. And you’re right: even my doctors who have all the training they need to do their jobs will make sure that they review sufficiently before a tough procedure. They want to give their patients the best. Why not give God our best?