Bring Down That Wall
How can we lower the barrier between pastors and musicians?
Nancy Beach
January 1, 2005
In too many of our churches, there is a wall, not made of brick and mortar, or even drywall, but just as real. Although rarely acknowledged, this wall effectively divides musicians and other artists from pastors and teachers. In most cases, the wall is not erected intentionally or maliciously, yet it blocks vital communication and damages Sunday services more than we know. Even if they can't identify it, those who attend our churches sense the wall's existence—largely because the hour on Sunday feels disjointed or inexplicably "off" somehow. Instead of experiencing an integrated service that takes them on a spiritual journey, our congregations get a jerky shift from part one of the service to part two. My ministry requires me to span two worlds: the world of teaching pastors and the world of artists. Because I function in both worlds, I have a front row seat when it comes to the challenges on each side of the wall. Generally speaking, pastors/ teachers and artists are wired differently. They may not naturally choose one another as close friends. Yet the first step toward creative collaboration is building a relationship. Pastors and artists need to understand one another better if they are going to work together for the good of the church. Bringing down the wall and building trust requires sacrifice. Perhaps the biggest sacrifice of all is time, arguably our most precious commodity. But I can't imagine a better use of a pastor's time, if the hope is that Sunday morning would reach its full potential for transformation and wonder. So here's my challenge to pastors: take an artist to lunch! Pastors should make the first move. The artists in our churches may be too tentative to ask the pastor to lunch, and they may even be shocked ...
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