Senior Female Saints who are territorial.

[Van]

With the dearth of information provided, lets assume your agenda is to better adorn the gospel of Christ for the cultural norm in your local. To become all things so that you might win some.

Thus, meet with the lady and develop a common plan toward a shared goal. We will do this, and evaluate in say 6 months. Our church had a battle over what kind of music, with old folks wanting hymns and younger folks (our young pastor) wanting contemporary music. So our first service stuck with traditional, but the second service shifted to contemporary. After one year, attendance at the first service was flat line, but attendance at the second service had nearly doubled. When faced with this evidence, even the old geezers like me voted to change the music in the first service so we too might win some.

 

[nodak]

Not all change is evil, and not all change is good.

I've watched pastors come into a church with the idea all the young folks want contemporary when in fact it was an area where the younger adults wanted the senior boomers to can the contemporary and go back to hymns.

I've watched pastors come into a dispensational church claiming to be dispensationalists, but they were only that in matters of the end times. Rest of their theology was not free grace but rather TULIP.

I've watched pastors come in wanting to find out what the local lost would like church to be, change to that, and kill the church. The lost still were not interested in attending and the saints found a church that fed them.

So some change is bad.

I've also watched savvy pastors come in open and honest, letting a congregation know before they accepted a call what changes they wanted to make and why. Sometimes they were hired and allowed to make the changes. Some of those changes were excellent.

Sometimes the church had already tried those changes and they failed. Or considered them and for theological reasons, or yes, even personal taste, refused them. There is nothing wrong with being willing to be a small church that ministers to a specific demographic. If someone cannot--truly cannot--worship except with hymns, most towns today they have a problem finding a place to attend. If they gather 9 like minded Christians and form a church, who says they are dead or dying? What if God called them to do just that so 1 lost person who also hates contemporary music will hear the gospel and be saved?

The key is not to accept a call to church planning to turn it inside out and upside down unless you are open about that during the interview process. And if they let you know they flat out are not going to change, either do it their way or do not accept the job.

If you are already on the job, listen to that senior lady. Find out her reasons. Find out what she may know about the community that you don't know. Honestly consider her point of view might be right. Open your heart as to why you seek the changes. Enlist her to explain her reasons to the church, and you do the same. And then let the church decide.

You are a servant leader, but it is not your job to be a ruler.

From a seasoned senior saint lady who has seen methods fads come and go, embraced most of them, and now prays for a return to a more regulative principle of worship.

 

[T Alan]

Not all change is evil, and not all change is good.

I've watched pastors come into a church with the idea all the young folks want contemporary when in fact it was an area where the younger adults wanted the senior boomers to can the contemporary and go back to hymns.

I've watched pastors come into a dispensational church claiming to be dispensationalists, but they were only that in matters of the end times. Rest of their theology was not free grace but rather TULIP.

I've watched pastors come in wanting to find out what the local lost would like church to be, change to that, and kill the church. The lost still were not interested in attending and the saints found a church that fed them.

So some change is bad.

I've also watched savvy pastors come in open and honest, letting a congregation know before they accepted a call what changes they wanted to make and why. Sometimes they were hired and allowed to make the changes. Some of those changes were excellent.

Sometimes the church had already tried those changes and they failed. Or considered them and for theological reasons, or yes, even personal taste, refused them. There is nothing wrong with being willing to be a small church that ministers to a specific demographic. If someone cannot--truly cannot--worship except with hymns, most towns today they have a problem finding a place to attend. If they gather 9 like minded Christians and form a church, who says they are dead or dying? What if God called them to do just that so 1 lost person who also hates contemporary music will hear the gospel and be saved?

The key is not to accept a call to church planning to turn it inside out and upside down unless you are open about that during the interview process. And if they let you know they flat out are not going to change, either do it their way or do not accept the job.

If you are already on the job, listen to that senior lady. Find out her reasons. Find out what she may know about the community that you don't know. Honestly consider her point of view might be right. Open your heart as to why you seek the changes. Enlist her to explain her reasons to the church, and you do the same. And then let the church decide.

You are a servant leader, but it is not your job to be a ruler.

From a seasoned senior saint lady who has seen methods fads come and go, embraced most of them, and now prays for a return to a more regulative principle of worship.

Wow, you've seen a lot over the years. Kinda the best of the worst. Thanks for sharing your insights. God Bless you as we remember, He works good of all things for those that love Him and are the called according to His purpose. BTW, Have you seen my thread in 'Other Discussions"
http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=97266