The Truth About Music Ministry

Okay, let's get right down to it. My name is Joshua. I'm a Music Minister/Director of Choirs at a church ministry in Atlanta, GA. I’ve worked in several small churches, (membership is between 50-95) as a music minister/choir director, for more than 6 years, and each time I’ve encountered many problems from the so called “core members” of the church; they’re usually the biggest financiers in the church, and they feel like, because they give the most money, they have complete control over who does what, and how the church is ran. In most of these churches, there’re usually 3 to 5-families that have been members for 5-25 years or more; they’re so deeply set in their ways, it’s virtually impossible to usher in change, or any new ideas that have the potential to grow their choirs, membership, and their ability to minister to the 12-19 year old age-group. I’ve learned that, most churches don’t want to change from “the-way-we-used-to-do-it.” Most of the problems in the churches today, happens in their choirs; there’s no anointing; no power in the lyrics of the songs they’re singing; no happiness, no smiling faces; and the choir members themselves actually have no idea of how to worship; even their “praise-team” looks like they truly don’t want to be there.

Which brings us to the questions; Are most churches more like an Exclusive-Club, rather than a place of worship ? There are so many cliques in today’s churches, it’s pathetic. Just yesterday, someone asked me, “Why aren’t all churches like Creflo’s, T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, and Bishops Paul Morton & Eddie Long’s church ? Why don’t the smaller church ministries make visitors feel welcomed, like these BIG MEGA-CHURCHES ? Why are the churches with 500+ members so strong, yet, the smaller ministries, seemingly don’t care about REAL teaching, REAL growth, or operating in REAL LOVE ?”

Personally, I think smaller churches (who’s membership is between 50-95), get so caught up in the “status-quo” of their own little circle, that it becomes the “norm” for them to become a clique; I find that, most of them want it that way, and will usually fight you for creative control, just to keep it that way; they’ve gotten comfortable with their way of “doing” church, and have accepted it for so many years, until they’ve grown stale & stagnated. There’s no real power of God, operating in the church; I’m talking about that Burden-Removing, Yoke-Destroying, Power of the Holy Ghost and the Anointing. I guess we’ll always have these small, hick-town, dead & powerless churches that are good for nothing but an exclusive 3-hour club meeting on Sundays, for it’s long-time members, and the occasional new convert who is oblivious to the well organized machine, stealthily operating behind the scenes, all covered with the feel-good illusion of religion that’s “good for a limited time only.” What Do You Think…???