Pet peeves

So as a former PK, one of my biggest pet peeves are people who just don't understand what it takes to lead, grow and maintain a ministry. At times, my dad was executive pastor, worship leader, visitation pastor, men's pastor, youth pastor, Sunday School coordinator and office manager at the same time. It's tiring and you work hard to follow your calling.

When other people start criticizing their church leaders, I get very wary. First of all, is this complaint valid? Is it a moral failing? Something that doesn't please God? 99% of the time, it ends up being something stupid and that really bothers me.

The most common complaint (besides what the pastor and/or pastor's spouse wears) is the music. I'm sorry, but this is not an Ipod. This is church. The worship leader has been hired because she or he has felt God's calling on their life and had that calling confirmed by the church leadership. Are they perfect? No, of course not. But for goodness' sake, have you forgotten that you are supposed to be worshiping your Creator not satisfying your need for good song?

Yes, it's wonderful to get carried away by the music, but God asks for a worshipfilled heart and life, not a catchy tune. You can get that anywhere. What would happen if someone near you was totally out of tune? Would you still be able to worship or would you be resentful that the person was "ruining" worship time for you?

Worship isn't a feeling, it's a habit. You do it constantly, through everything you do. Music is just a fraction of the worship we give to God. Our everyday actions, words, and thoughts should consist of the majority of our worship. I have no formula, no ratio of how often you should read the Bible to how often you should pray. But if you're only "worshiping" on a Sunday with music you like that isn't really worship. It's singing along to a song. It might as well be the radio unless your heart and life reflect what is being sung.