Music Matters to Pastors-Part-9

Music Matters to Pastors-Part-9

            Pastors should assist the musicians in their selection of proper music for the service by first of all telling the worship team leader where the service is intended to go.  What are the immediate goals of the service?  What is the topic and text of the sermon?  Should the organist player or not play during prayer?  What atmosphere and mood should be set by the instrumental prelude?  Should the choir sing before or after the message or both times?  Do you plan to invite people to pray at the altar after the message?  Will the call to prayer be aimed at saints or the unsaved?  Will the appeal be to sinners to come to repentance or to Christians to greater Christian’s commitment?  Do you have a particular song that you wish to be sung at the end of the service?  Do you want the minister of music to sing an invitation hymn?  Do you want the congregation to sing with the minister of music or stand quietly while he or she sings alone?  Would you prefer that the musicians play softly with no singing at all?

            The musicians including the song leader, minister of music, organist, pianist, praise team leader, keyboard player and perhaps some key instrumentalists should be called together with the pastor for a face to face meeting before the service begins.   All of the musical personnel need to know the pastor’s goals for the service in question before it begins.