I'm just curious, because later I wanted to be able to post some questions about working with a choir, accompanying a congregation, etc.

Treat the choir like babies--as gently as possible. It tends to only be the top professional choirs that can take any less than constant ego-stroking. It's sad but true. I've seen singers crying backstage at symphony rehearsals because they weren't handled delicately enough.

Open rehearsal with prayer. And accept that you are only going to be able to use the tools you are given. If you have some lackluster team members you'll just have to figure out how to work to their strengths. It's not like a secular gig where you can just have a brawl in the parking lot and then fire the drummer, and call it a rehearsal. People who aren't accustomed to the way musicians treat one another at times can be a bit put off by the whole process. And then close the rehearsal with prayer. Make sure you include time in the rehearsal for a bit of fellowship.

And remember if God intended for churches to put on professional musical productions he'd see to it that there was a whole lot more money in the gig.

> ... about working with a choir, accompanying a congregation, etc.

I've found that working with a choir requires more give & take, more flexibility
and teamwork (for want of a better term) whilst a congregation needs to be led
more firmly along the way (though 'herded' may be a closer in some cases).



(I'm not claiming to be any form of expert in this BTW, just have had some
experience over the years.)

I know that should be counter intuitive...working for a church shouldn't be stressful, right. But, it seems like stressful work. I have often been with choirs that didn't want to practice. But, then they want to sing difficult songs. I'm talking practice once every blue moon. Or worse, practice a song for the first time on Saturday...sing it on Sunday. In larger churches with a large pool of wonderful voices, maybe this isn't a problem. But, I'm just often surprised at the lack of dedication...and the willingness to sound..."iffy".

People think because they sing in the shower, or in my case in the car, they will sound good with no rehearsal time. It's always a huge problem when someone demands they put their best forward as an offering to God. We all want to keep the best for ourselves, don't we? That's a story as old as Cain and Abel.

Ministry will burn you out. Music ministry involves working with volunteers and it's just pure aggravation at times. You wind up putting up with stuff from musicians that would get them fired on the spot in a secular gig. Just coordinating a rehearsal to fit around everyone's too busy lives can be an exercise in futility.

I've been filling in as worship leader for a few weeks and am about to be demoted back to rhythm guitar. Can't be too soon for me.

There are some great web sites out there devoted to church musicians and some of the challenges we face.