At the church I serve, we are currently in the midst of a discernment process to find a new worship leader. As I write this, I've just come from a rehearsal with the latest candidate. As we worked through the set, it became clear again, that every congregation sings it's "song" (and particularly it's "new song") a bit differently. Although the congregation will know all the tunes we are doing on Sunday, some things, like tempos, or feel, or even melodies are slightly different than what this congregation "knows."
This is not the begining of a rant. Far from it. Instead, my point is that when one "guests" or when one accepts a new call, one of the smartest things you can do is to listen, particularly to people that have some musical (or relational) sensibilities, before you impose your will on the congregation. Even a timeless "classic" is subject to the corporate DNA of any given congregation.
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