[MusicTlk] Desperetly could use some gentle, but canded advice/input

[Christopher Gilland]

Please be gentle here with your responses. I'd be greatful for anyone 
whosoever to respond to this, however, if you have ever lead worship in 
a church not just once or twice a year, or every few months sang on the 
praise team, but I mean, like literally for an ongoing period of time 
consistently played on a worship team, more specifically led the team as 
a leader, not a member, then I even more so want to hear from you guys 
on this. Again though anyone is welcome to respond regardless. That 
would be an added bonus though.


So, I just started recently going into my roll of being a worship 
leader. I'm at a tough spot though because my boss doesn't really get 
this no matter how much I try telling him...


What do you do when members of your congrigation ask you to consider a 
particular song, and your boss even agrees you need to do it, but you're 
only given a week to learn the song, learn the words, teach it to the 
rest of your worship team, rehurse it, and even get the accompaniment 
music multi-tracked as needed that one week prior to the service, but 
the issue is, number 1, you don't, putting it bluntly, feel it's where 
God is leading you and the rest of the team, but 2, despite that fact, 
you try and try and try and try to get the song polished and down pat, 
but try as you may, it's just! not, working, yet you tell your boss 
this, and they keep saying, you need to do the song.


It's like, dad gummit? Do you not get it? We tried. It's just not happening.


I don't wanna be rude to anyone here at my worship group/church, but 
regardless a church setting or not, for most of you who don't just do 
music for fun, but actually do this as a full professional setting, at 
what criteria do you all determine, like it or not, people are just 
gonna have to get over it. This is just not gonna work. It may later in 
the future, but for right now, you are not ready to perform X song, end 
of discussion, this is not open for debating.


In other words, when do you cross the line between, maybe I just need to 
practice and work more through this, vs when do you say, I've given this 
my absolute best shot, but even after putting in the effort to try, it's 
still just not coming, therefore we need to do something else.


I don't wanna make people mad, but myself and the rest of my team feels 
like we are just not ready to perform this song which was asked. I 
understand there are times when ready or not, you just get through it. 
For example, if a family of someone deceased wants a song done at the 
funeral, obviously, at all cause, that needs to be honored out of 
respect to the family, and the loved one, but when it's just a normal 
day performance, that's another thing altogether.


Has anyone been put in a similar situation to this, and if so, how did 
you handle saying, no means no. You've tried, but even after initially 
saying I don't feel comfortable performing this, others just keep 
pushing and pushing and pushing putting more pressure on you, to the 
point you're about ready to scream.


Chris.