The more the merrier!

It seems like just yesterday we stood around asking things like: "who do you know that plays guitar? Bass? Drums? Keys?"
It really is not very far from yesterday. One year ago, roughly, we had our first, very own, KP band playing at church. We had found a drummer, a bass player, a keyboardist, and we were ready to rock.
Not long after that we had nearly enough to have two bands. We couldn't believe it.
Today we have enough for well more than two bands, although not enough for three completely different ones.
The reason I'm remembering this journey is because this Thursday we are auditioning at least one person, and maybe two, a guitarist and a vocalist. By the end of the year, as many as three other folks will be getting involved in the music ministry of KP. That's five new people in a matter of two months. My guess is that pattern is going to continue as more people get involved at KP and want to use their gifts for the Kingdom.
This is all so exciting!
But there's a part of me that's sad and even scared.

Could we have dreamed that after just a few months we'd have two bands? No way! On the other hand, could we have dreamed that in one year we might not have enough room for everyone to play and sing? I don't think we gave that possibility too many thoughts; partly because we were afraid of what that would mean.

That brings me to what is now an age-old dialogue: how do you decide who gets to play and sing and who doesn't?

People have debated this for some time, and the discussion has raged in my own heart for a while now. On the one hand you want to get as many people involved as possible; you want people to feel welcomed and valued. On the back side of that hand (because it's not a different hand for sure) is the fear of hurting people's feelings, of leaving them out, of having to tell them that's not actually their strongest gift, and they would better serve the Kingdom elsewhere. That fear contributes to the idea we should just let everyone who wants to, participate.

On the other hand, you have the idea that the work of the Kingdom is of such importance that it must be done to the best of our ability; that to offer anything else is to undermine God's work in His church. On the back side of that hand is the idea that there are right and wrong ways to do artistic expressions. There are, at least in the music of our church, right and wrong ways to use the art form, good expression and bad ones.

So what is the church's calling when it comes to the arts and people's involvement. I don't know the answer to that, but my guess is that it involves both hands.

The church has to be inclusive; a place where people can easily get involved; an organism where people can put their God-given gifts to use. At the same time, the church is called to serve God with our whole heart, and to offer our service to God "skillfully" as the Psalmist would say (Ps. 33:3). We have to reach our culture with the message of Grace in a relevant, authentic and powerful way.

So I think that if we're going to use art to do that, in this case music and visuals, we should do the best job we can do, and when there are lots of folks around who want to do it, our job is to pick the ones that better fit the art form.

Unfortunately for me that means that dreaded, dirty word: auditions! For many it's a word that does not belong in the vocabulary of the church. I think it does belong, and in some cases it's absolutely essential. You wouldn't want someone teaching kids who did not have the right gifts and skills for it. You won't attend a church where the preacher was an ineffective and boring communicator (at least not for long).

It's just a fact of ministry. We have to be wise with the gifts God has entrusted to us. Plus, in a church like KP, there are countless things that someone can do to participate in the work of the Kingdom there; things that don't all require a very specific gift but that are just as important to the work.

So I don't feel badly about raising the bar. We'll try to keep lots of folks involved, but we'll chose the ones that fit better according to where we feel God is calling us to go. We'll offer everyone a place to serve and even challenge them to do so.

Some times we may be disappointed at the outcome, but as Marc James wrote "I Surrender all to You."

If you're thinking about auditioning at KP for a spot on the music team, by all means please pursue that. You're not going to get American Idol treatment. We deal in the currency of Grace and a Kingdom mindset. Visit www.kawprairie.org/music to download our forms and questionnaire.