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Music ministry: the clash of expectations
Where do you get your expectations for what music at church should be like? I don't know about you, I'm always comparing my little music team with larger church bands, or what I heard on the latest major worship CD. The members of the music team always have a few opinions about how things should be done. Then there are the expectations of congregation members the senior pastor.
But what are God’s expectations?
God loves music. He loves it when his people sing, and he loves to sing himself! In Zephaniah 3:17, the prophet tells us that God sings as he rejoices in the salvation of his people:
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love
he will exult over you with loud singing.
God is a jealous God who requires our complete devotion, not just with our lips as we sing, but also with our hearts. In Isaiah 29:13, this was his complaint against Israel:
This people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.
God’s expectation is that in all things at church, his people will be faithful.