What if old people complain about worship being "too loud"?

[tpk]

Good info, bro, and welcome to the forum!

@ jessiemusical: We do, however, need to consider those who have sensitive hearing and such. For instance, one of the adult helpers in my previous youth group had tunitis (not sure on the spelling, but that's how it's pronounced) which is a severe ringing in the ear caused by a certain pitch or pitches being played, and according to him it hurts if it's loud enough. That's just one example, but I get what you mean by needing to tell the world the Jesus lives.

 

[Audiomatic]

Right TPK!

We have a Deacon in our church who has tinitus. When sound gets too loud, he describes it as though his head is a tin can with a rock rattling around inside. It took a while for him to realize that the Worship Team drives the service, and the Worship Team needs to be louder than the person singing next to you in the congregation. And he appreciates that we've contributed to the growth of the church. Funny thing is, he still attends the service. Maybe he's wearing ear plugs?

P.S. Nobody on our Worship Team is willing to wear in-ear monitors because they feel isolated/disconnected from the congregation. One solution is to mic the congregation and feed some of that into the in-ear monitors, but we haven't figured out how to do that unobtrusively.

KEEP ON ROCKING (but run it through a compressor!)

 

[Tking641]

I completely agree with myutmost4him. The problem is that you can't please everybody, and that is not what leading worship is about. It is about pleasing the Lord. I am a worship leader and have had this problem. It is of most importance to treat EVERYONE with respect. Even when suggestions seem to contradict each other. I also take a sunday and just worship in the congregation, with out leading, to get a feel of what is happening from there perspective. This is very helpful not only for getting the Loudness softness bugs out, but also for finding things that are distracting and removing them.

 

[tpk]

tking641: good idea to take a sunday in the audience, but realize that by not leading you are removing one aspect, so you might not get an accurate feel of what's going on when you are leading. one thing I do suggest is recording the service (or at least the worship time) either straight from the sound board or from a mic placed in some strategic location (usually in the rear center of the sanctuary where you get the most mixed sound). That way you can hear what's going on and how to fix it. of course this is all just a suggestion and if you have a better way, then cool beans.

 

[rocket955]

Some time an old lady may have just a
bad day!
In that case all she needs
is for someone to be kind and compassionate
with her, and listen to her complains with kindness.

On the other hand if the church has a
kind of music worship she cannot
cope with, may be the best solutions
is that she moves to another church
with a different kind of "worship"!

I agree, the churches have become a little too "seeker friendly".If we acted on complaints we would be too loud, too quiet, only hymns, only contempary, no music, only music, and on and on.

 

[tpk]

agreed. you can't please everyone. stick with your style. if it's just one person that is complaining then it's their problem. but if a lot of people complain it's something you actually need to change.

 

[TheZach]

Ask God if your too loud.

And yes, I'm serious.

 

[blackbyrd]

I am a drummer....yep we hear it all the time LOL in fact that is one of the things that I addressed when stepped back behind the kits on stage... I modified the kits by using remo muf'ls and got some hot rods and brushes for quieter songs....I also play behind a fishbowl now. Our church has graet acoustics and the drums do not have to be miked.

While I would love to tell those in the audience if its too loud move back...I must remember that While I am aiding the leading of worship I must not be a hinderance . Paul wrote about this when talks about letting our liberty being a stumbling block.....when i worked on the tone controls it forced me to develop as a musician and now when I do turn it loose no one complains

 

[Irrkunst]

To me a house of God is a place for quite contemplation and prayer. I don't understand the need for so much jumping around and yelling that seems to be popular with "charismatic" churches. I can't think in a place like that. What's wrong with a nice piano or organ with choir?

 

[DeleseRose]

Al Bundy, you sound so much like the folks I have had to deal with as a Worship leader. It's a tough subject indeed. It's funny to come to the realization that the folks that complain the most have a very stagnant life as a Christian and they have little joy. The tough question is this "do you cater to the ones that are closer to the grave or do you minister to the ones that are at the age that there is abundant strength to work for the kingdom?" Hmmmmm

 

[DeleseRose]

We go to Baseball games of some sort of sport and we can make alot of noise but we in church and we(well not me, I'm just being inclusive) can't say thank you Lord higher than a whisper if at all we even open our mouths to do that. Why can't you shout to the Lord? The bible says Shout. Check out the amount of instruments they had in the temple back in the days, I might be wrong but I thing that it would be very had to be quiet.

 

[Irrkunst]

Al Bundy, you sound so much like the folks I have had to deal with as a Worship leader. It's a tough subject indeed. It's funny to come to the realization that the folks that complain the most have a very stagnant life as a Christian and they have little joy. The tough question is this "do you cater to the ones that are closer to the grave or do you minister to the ones that are at the age that there is abundant strength to work for the kingdom?" Hmmmmm

I don't think this is an age issue. It is more of a preferred worship style issue. I don't care for the bombastic style of worship that the charismatics churches use. I don't mean just the music though. The whole idea of jumping up and down, screaming for no reason, etc., that you have in those kinds of churches is offensive to me. Your mileage my vary, of course.

 

[tpk]

I don't think this is an age issue. It is more of a preferred worship style issue. I don't care for the bombastic style of worship that the charismatics churches use. I don't mean just the music though. The whole idea of jumping up and down, screaming for no reason, etc., that you have in those kinds of churches is offensive to me. Your mileage my vary, of course.

Well, I wouldn't say that any of that is "for no reason". If a church is meeting "for no reason" then they shouldn't be meeting. But all of the people that I know that do some of those things (including myself on some occasions) are doing it in order to glorify God.

As far as the style of worship, everyone worships differently. But think of it this way: What if your style of worship (not entirely sure what it is except that it's evident that you don't like loud, jumpy, excitement) offends me because I think you're not putting your heart into it?

In the end, it's not our place to judge each other based on how we worship. It's between us individually and God. In my opinion, if you want to scream and shout praises to God, go for it. If you want to raise your hands as if embracing and reaching for him, go all out. If you want to stand still with your eyes closed and hands at your side, sure. Or maybe just close your eyes. Whatever you do to worship God is worship.

Anyway, my point is, it's not our place to decide how our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ worship, but rather ensure that we do spend some time with the One who created us.

God bless!

 

[blackbyrd]

a preacher friend of mine said while ministering one night " I dont care HOW you worship....I just care THAT you worship"

 

[tpk]

exactly, blackbyrd. method isn't necessarily important. some people dance. some shout. some raise their hands. some do any combination of those and other things. some just chill. but to God it's still worship as long as your heart is in the right place.

 

[blackbyrd]

The Lord moved on our worship leader to focus on slower songs for now...about the fastest we are singing are "How great is our God" and "There is a river". one thing it does is make you question within yourself....am i worshipping cause its "my style" or am i pouring every essence of my being out before my creator and Lord to show my love to Him.....

 

[DeleseRose]

Al Bundy, you lost me on mileage. Please explain. I don't want GOD to use rocks in my place, when he has given me breath and strength to use it for him. Shout to the LORD all the EARTH and while I have strength, I will pour myself out before the one who it comes from and the one who can replenish.

 

[SilverFire]

I'm going to say this: I loathe most modern praise and worship music, and I have since the time I first laid ears on it back in the middle 90's. I find that most church services that utilize p&w music are not worshipful At All, but rather interested more in playing whatever the latest Christian music is on the radio, regardless of whether it actually worships. There is a lot of seeking after "cultural relevance" or "keeping up". I have played in p&w bands and I have heard this sentiment more than once: "Chris Tomlin [or someone else] has a new album out. Cool! Let's go learn all the songs!"

See, the thing is that the contemplative, meditative, still-time of quiet peace -- which to me and many others throughout history -- is worship, is usually lost when you're rocking at 98 db. My soul hungers for that and I know that I have virtually zero chance of finding that in any "contemporary worship" service.

Instead, all I'll find are the same kinds of songs: four chords and littered with stale Christian shibboleths that serve as nothing more than cheerleading sessions for people to recite words but never incline their hearts towards God.

 

[Audiomatic]

See, the thing is that the contemplative, meditative, still-time of quiet peace -- which to me and many others throughout history -- is worship, is usually lost when you're rocking at 98 db.

For historical reference about what may be pleasing to God, consider Psalm 149 and Psalm 150.

Worship is defined as "worthiness, repute, respect, reverence paid to a divine being. To regard with great, even extravagant respect, honor or devotion." There's no definition of worship that mentions meditation.

 

[donrobert]

you respect their opinion because they are part of your congregation...