When I was in seminary, we had chapel four days a week: Tuesdays through Fridays. (The school was closed on Mondays because most pastors took Monday off after a grueling Sunday.)
I attended chapels on all those days, and sat in the very back row with my friend Dave. (We both had to leave after chapel ended to go to work.)
While sitting there, I sometimes dreamed about being asked to speak in chapel.
What would I talk about if I had only one shot?
Hypercriticism among Christians.
Let me share three types of legitimate criticism that Christians engage in, and then deal with hypercriticism in my next article.
First, Christians must think critically. We can’t believe everything a president, journalist, televangelist, or pastor tells us. We have to test a person’s words both with biblical truth and with reality.
While discussing spiritual gifts – and tongue-speaking in particular – Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking, be adults” (1 Corinthians 14:20).
And John writes, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Just because you like a Christian leader or a pastor doesn’t mean they’re always accurate in their teaching. All teachers – however eloquent they may be – toy with heresy at times … or ride certain hobby horses into the ground.
We have to learn how to discern truth from falsehood and right from wrong.
This is why I always discuss a pastor’s sermon with my wife after I’ve heard it.
Much of the time, I agree with everything the pastor says. (My current pastor is right on the money most of the time, which is why I’ve chosen him as my pastor.)
Occasionally, I’ll disagree with his interpretation of a biblical passage or hear a misstated fact.
But there are times when I hear someone preach and my mind is troubled by what I’ve just heard.
Last summer, a staff pastor at my church gave a disjointed message. He was supposed to preach on a parable of Jesus, but he only spent five minutes on that text. Instead, he went off on tangents both before and after discussing the parable. While he was speaking, I told my wife, “Something’s wrong with him. I have a feeling this may be his last message.”
As it turned out, I was right – and needed to cut him some slack for that reason.
It’s appropriate for churchgoers to discuss a pastor’s message after he preaches. In fact, I still think every church in America should set up microphones after the message and let people ask questions of the speaker. Shouldn’t communication in our day be less one-way and more two-way? And wouldn’t we learn a lot more?
Second, Christians need to critique the culture. Years ago, somebody taught me that whenever I see a movie, I need to discuss it with someone afterward.
Did I understand the filmmaker’s message? Was it consistent with Christian values?
Back in the 1970s, some Christian films were released into theatres. Most of these films were preachy, poorly-acted, and had plot holes the size of the Arizona Meteor Crater. While they worked on a certain level, they were multiple levels beneath the filmmaking done in Hollywood.
Then along came “Chariots of Fire” in 1981. That Oscar-winning film raised the bar considerably for films of faith.
I probably see two movies a month in a theater. The last film I saw was “The Vow.” Before seeing it, I didn’t know the story was based on real events in the lives of a Christian couple.
For the most part, the film presented the upside of commitment and was consistent with biblical values.
But I thought the film was plodding and plotless much of the time. My wife liked it more than I did – but we discussed it all the way home.
When we see movies or TV shows or hear music, we need to critique both the message and the methodology involved.
(Someday, if you want to discuss the biblical references in the music of Bob Dylan or U2, let me know.)
Third, Christians may need to be critical when we confront someone. Jesus was critical of His disicples at times. Paul was critical of the behavior at the church in Corinth and the doctrine of the church in Galatia.
It’s tough to say to someone you care about, “I’ve been detecting a pattern in your life recently. I hope I’m wrong, but this is what I’ve seen and heard. Can you shed some light on this for me?”
When we criticize someone in this manner, we need to make sure our motives are pure. Galatians 6:1 says that only “you who are spiritual” should engage in this kind of confrontation, watching yourself in the process “or you also may be tempted.”
And we need to make sure that we’re trying to “restore him gently” rather than bulldozing the person with our criticism.
Because although we may feel our motives in a confrontation are pure, the person receiving our criticism may disagree … and we may lose that friend forever.
God gave His people minds, and we need to use them constantly. (Symbolically, our heads tower over our hearts.) We’ll need to exercise discernment while listening to sermons, watching movies, or confronting sin in a fellow believer’s life.
This kind of criticism is necessary, healthy, and spiritual.
But hypercriticism is a completely different matter. Let’s look at that issue next time.
Restoring Kingdom Builders 
Conflicted About Church Music Personnel
Posted in Christian Music, Church Conflict, Current Church Issues, Please Comment!, tagged music director, simon cowell, worship music on January 25, 2012| 1 Comment »
Pretend you’re the pastor of a new church plant.
You have the funds to hire one part-time staff member.
Who would you hire first?
Some might say, “An office manager.”
But right now, the church office is in your home. I’d hire her second.
Others might say, “A youth pastor.”
But you don’t yet have any youth, and besides, I’d hire the youth person fifth.
How about a children’s director?
I’d hire him or her (probably her) third.
My first choice?
A worship/music director.
Why? Because people in our day expect good music on a Sunday. If the music makes people cringe – even if the message is a home run – many people won’t come back, and they’ll encourage their friends not to attend.
But if the music is great, you’ll start attracting people more rapidly. Great Music + Great Message = Growing Church
If the Sunday service is all you’ve got when you start, make it as good as possible.
But part-time worship directors are not easy to find.
As a pastor, you want a strong believer in that role, someone who professes what they perform.
That rules out the leader of the neighborhood garage band.
You also want someone who is musically competent, who plays and sings skillfully.
That rules out many church volunteers … and most of them will run when there’s a conflict.
You want someone who can recruit musicians and vocalists, or else it’s going to be a one-man/woman show each week.
Because the more gifted the leader, the higher quality people he/she can attract.
You want someone who gets along with people, because musicians and vocalists tend to be perfectionists.
So you can’t hire a Simon Cowell clone for the job.
And you want someone who performs in the style of your target …
which eliminates Dino and George Beverly Shea (much as I appreciate GBS; Dino is another matter).
And you especially want someone who gets along with you as pastor.
Because if the two of you constantly disagree, guess who’s leaving?
But because you’ve hired a part-timer … they may already have a full-time job, and there’s always the danger their job will intrude on the music ministry or they’ll have to move away.
So let’s say that you as pastor have hired this person, and he begins to recruit others onto the team.
What about the spiritual lives of prospective musicians and vocalists?
Can any be unbelievers? What about someone guilty of immorality? What if a gifted guitar player isn’t a team player? What if someone on the team knows about another person’s sordid past?
Your new worship director may be competent musically, but how strong are their leadership skills?
Because if they can’t handle some of the above situations, they’ll revert to you as pastor … and the sparks will start to fly.
The key to everything is the relationship between the pastor and the worship director.
They must get along both personally and professionally.
They must agree on the kinds of people who can sing and play on the team.
They must agree on the predominant style of music for weekend services.
They must clarify these decisions by putting them in writing.
They must learn to trust and support each other in public, even if they’re negotiating in private.
The music director has to handle these kinds of complaints from team members:
“Why does he get to play a guitar solo on his second Sunday when I’ve been in the band for two years?”
“How can you let her sing onstage when she’s obviously a prima donna?”
“How come I can’t sing on the worship team? My parents say I have a great voice.”
“Why is he allowed to play on Sunday when he missed rehearsal? I was there!”
Then there are complaints from people in the congregation:
“The music was way too loud last Sunday. Can’t you turn it down?”
“I tried but couldn’t make out the words to the performance song, so I thought it was a waste of time.”
“Can we sing more hymns? The worship songs sound all the same.”
“The dress on the young woman who sang last Sunday was inappropriate for church. You need to talk to her!”
When I was a pastor, I had people tell me at times, “I wouldn’t want your job for anything.”
That’s how I feel about the job of a worship director. No wonder some people call music the War Department of the Church.
Everybody wants to look good and sound good, but they may not want to be good and do good.
For that reason, let me make three suggestions:
First, pray for your worship/music director(s) by name on a regular basis.
Second, thank them for their ministry when it really rings the bell for you. (I emailed a worship director from our church last year to thank the band for doing a U2 song, and he wrote back to thank me. I meant to do it two Sundays ago when the band performed Did You Hear the Mountains Tremble by Delirious?, but forgot.)
Finally, insist that those who criticize the worship director either (a) go to him directly, (b) stop griping, or (c) go somewhere else.
Being responsible for leading worship is a challenging task and not for the faint of heart.
So let’s cherish those who do a great job … and keep working through the inevitable conflicts.
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