Another post from a FB message I added my thoughts to. Speaking about the issue of older worship leaders who are being replaced by pastors in the pursuit of "youth"!

Wow… one of my current pet peeves.. Thanks for posting. I really liked the link that was posted as well.

As an… “Older” on again – off again leader I can tell you this is a real issue for the church today. The impact can be felt in a lot of ways and not just to the older worship leaders who are being passed by or turned away due to age either. There is a connectedness to a generation that is being lost in pursuit of the “youth at any cost” mindset in some churches.

As a father of 2 young adults and one teenager I understand the desire on a churches (or pastors) part to have someone at the mic that is closer in age than the younger crowd, but are we counting the cost to those who also want to be related too? And when did the idea of attracting youth trump the movement of the Holy Spirit?

I recently guested at a church that was in search of a permanent WL. The pastor did not say anything about seeking a younger WL but a lot of conversation was about relating to the youth and playing music a little louder and more assertive. I should have known there was an issue when the pastor (who was probably 10 years older than me) wanted the service louder! They eventually went with a young WL and the pastor told me they went with him even though he could not relate to the older crowd. Then… gulp, he asked if I might be interested in leading the classic service. Ouch!

I have two challenges with pastors or churches who seek out younger leaders.

1. How old is the pastor and are they ready to replace themselves to be relevant to a younger audience?
2. Is this what happens when a church or pastor looks at worship as the “candy to get them in door” rather than as an integral part of the larger movement of bringing people to a place where they can drop pretences and hang-ups and possibly live out a worshipful moment before being taught from the Word.

I am sure there is a history to why the churches are now calling everything worship, worship in song, worship in the message, worship in the offering and worship in the closing… but maybe it’s a little safer that way. No one gets to say one person’s contribution (the WL) is more important than another? And for the record… the most important thing happening in church on a Sunday morning is God’s Word being preached. He does not say “Worship songs will not return void”… He says His Word.. will not return void.

I think a church can miss the chance to have the worship portion of the service gird that message and bring all believers together.

And this is not to say people who want a certain style or temp or type of worship are all right either… it’s like we are family on a long car ride and we all have to figure out what station to listen to that will keep most of us happy.

Or, we can do what modern family’s do and everyone puts on their headphones with their Ipod and we all stop talking to one another till the trip ends.

Shared some thoughts on a recent post in FB on worship leaders and the challenge with leadership.

In real life (The one that pays the bills) I am a manager of others. I am also an artist (well, a guitar player) and I am of the belief that the gap between the artist and those in leadership (mostly pastors) can be wide simply because we look at so many things in a different manner.

I think the hurt sometimes comes from a naive believe that just because we might want the same outcome, we should all get along and see the path the same way.

But that is not what happens.

Artists are more sensitive to criticism in a lot of ways because we are the ones baring our emotions and our abilities on the platform so when someone says something that might offend us, deep inside we are incensed because that the person has no clue to the work that went into learning our craft and developing the ability to play an instrument or sing, or the work that went into the service set and all the hours it takes to make it seem “effortless”.

There may be something deep inside that says “How dare they…” or “How could you say that?” or possibly “Why don’t you lead?”… But we keep that inside.

We all want to profess humbleness in these roles, because we are called to be humble, not because it comes naturally. If it did, God would not call that out on us.

So maybe we need to build a better bridge to the people we work for, and those we serve. I can’t think of too many people that are called by a pastor to “come and lead worship how you feel it should be led, even to the point of disregarding what the body of believers who have been going here for years feel about it”. That would be silly… and too may WLs think they can come in and do some quick paradigm shifts with the body and they will eventually get it.

I have a friend who worked several years at slowly changing the culture of how the body worships and it is still not a place where people get the heart of matter. Or maybe they do and it’s a different way of worshiping than what is going on around them.

No easy answers on any of this… it will always have an element of artists “creativity” meeting lay people’s established expectations.

I suppose the answer might be a church filled with musicians and artists!

Wow, what a miserable place that would be… 500 people sitting in the body watching 5 people play on a Sunday and all of them thinking “Why that version?” or “That key is to high” or “That drummer can’t buy a beat” or “My grandma plays a better electric guitar” etc.

There is a creative outlet, and there is a servants duty… how blessed musicians are when these two align (which is not that often sad to say). Until then, press on…