music minister or worship leader?

Creepy (and manipulative). Our music director's title is "Music Director" and he is a non-ordained staff member. Our pastor is the worship leader.

I agree -- if the title is going to be Worship Leader, then it is an ordained position.

 

I've told this story before, but it fits here. I attended a service at a charismatic church with a friend (and even sang a solo). At the beginning of the service, the instrumentalists began some up-tempo music, heavy drumbeat, and the worship leader stood up and began clapping his hands. That was the signal for all to start clapping, and everybody stood up.

Apparently it wasn't enough, for the worship leader shouted, "C'mon, we've got to get in the spirit!" He became more animated, clapping more insistently. It worked. People started dancing, raising hands, more clapping.

Now, to be sure, clapping, raised hands, even some dancing are not necessarily bad in themselves. But the worship leader made it clear that in this instance, they were all associated with "getting in the Spirit." Not the result of worshiping in the Spirit, but a means of getting there.

I've been in the part-time music ministry for 56 years. I know all the tricks. In my younger days, I did some things for the simple reason that I thought that was the way they were done, and didn't know any better.

It took me a while, but finally learned that the Holy Spirit is poured out, not worked up.

 

One other thought. Calling someone "worship leader" implies to me that the worship ends when the music ends. That's why it's called "worship music," you see.

What you you think? Do we really quit worshiping when the preacher stands up to preach?

 

To me , as well.

Now I wonder if I will forever be looking for a hidden agenda in the music.

I don't like being manipulated.

 

I have to admit I'm prejudiced. My father worked for 25 years in the Music Department of the Baptist Sunday School Board. He retired as the head of the department. In 1980, he and my mother moved to Fort Worth where he joined the music faculty of the school of church music at Southwestern Baptist Seminary. He retired again in 1998 (at the age of 78), but he taught two more years as adjunct. His work at the BSSB involved supporting the music programs in local churches. These programs included adult choirs, youth choirs, children's choirs, instrumental groups, organists, pianists, etc. They produced music for all age groups and programs. He was the general editor for the 1975 Baptist Hymnal, and he served on the committees for the 1956 and 1991 Baptist Hymnal. When he went to the seminary he was training students so that they would be prepared to take over a church music program in a local church.

At some point after they had been in Fort Worth several years, their church hired a music leader that did not have a music degree. My parents talked to the pastor, but their concerns fell on deaf ears. So, they changed churches.

I think that the state of church music has deteriorated over the last 10 to 20 years. Too many churches have settled for a watered-down and dumbed-down music program. They have lost sight of the proper role of music in a worship service. Someone on this thread mentioned the idea that worship stops when the music stops. I know one preacher who takes it the other way. He believes that worship happens only during the preaching. Everything else in the service is either preparation for or response to the worship that occurs during the sermon.

I think I have vented enough.

Tim Reynolds

 

Tim, your father was one of the good guys. As a young minister of music who relied on the BSSB for music for the choir and other groups, there was no way one could not be influenced by your father. He was a prolific writer, and was constantly offering ideas on how to enhance worship, and not just with the music.

One of the things I gleaned from his instruction was, when looking for new music, first examine the text. It must line up with scripture. No matter how appealing the tune, the message of the text must be clear and Biblical.

The Holy Spirit does not require manipulation or tricks to make the music enhance worship. We know that the music and our emotions are connected, but we also know that the goal is worship, not an emotional high.

 

Tim's comments also triggered a memory of an assocational annual meeting a few years ago.

The host church's minister of music was in charge of the music for the meeting. At the point where singing was called for in the program, he stood up, the screen came down, words projected on the screen, and began to lead the crowd in a series of contemporary choruses.

I was sitting near the back, and as I looked out over the crowd, I noticed that the majority were older adults, with lots of gray heads. Few of them knew the choruses. Seeing the words doesn't help if you don't know the tune. Of course, the tune repeated itself over and over. The people were doing the best they could, but a lot of them simply did not participate.

There was nothing wrong with the choruses, nor with the text. But it was obvious the young MM did not know his audience, and left some doubt in my mind if he knew many traditional hymns. He certainly didn't use any of them.

Now, I have to admit, that I'm pretty traditional, and am not oriented to contemporary Christian music. It all sounds alike to me (with some exceptions, of course). My own church is a graying church, and it doesn't relate to CCM at all. I could do it, but won't because of the congregation's makeup.

If you have a pretty good-sized church, with both young and old, I don't envy a MM's efforts to accommodate varying tastes in music. But that's another subject.

 

I have served in 5 different churches in my time in vocational ministry. For four of those, I have been both licensed and ordained. I have served as a Minister of Music, Worship Leader, Worship Pastor, Lead Worshipper, and Song Leader. I have approached each position exactly the same, done most of the same things in each, and I believe the only differences for most churches is what the congregation and pastor are comfy calling the person leading the sangin'. In my experience, its mostly semantics, and I would do what I'm called to do even if they called me "Music Janitor" or nothing at all.

 

I know of and have heard preachers who have the same ability! :tear:

 

I'm sure a lot of the training (or lack of) depends on so many things, including ---

the size of the church
the responsibilities of the position
full time or part time position
the gifts of the individual

While I'm sure that this isn't always true (as there are always exceptions), my experience is that the larger the church, the higher percentage that this is a full time position, & the more qualified the individual.

 

Yeah, I've never understood the purpose of a "worship leader". I used to go to a church that had a rock band and a worship leader and a lot of it had more to do with group emotional manipulation than actual worship.