He's got a tough job.

Jonathan, Waynesville, NC  -  2013

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

This is my friend Jonathan. He's got one of the toughest jobs in town. He leads the music ministry at my church.

Sound like a cush position to you? Think about it. Everybody has an opinion about music. Folks who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket are experts on what they like and don't like. The older folks like traditional hymns and southern Gospel. The younger ones like more contemporary tunes. There's a big group in the middle who like different ratios of both. And all can be quite vocal when they feel that their preferences are being ignored. How do you keep everybody happy? You can't, not all the time. See what I mean? Leading music at a church just might be the toughest job in town.

What I appreciate about Jonathan is that he pays attention to the lyrics. Traditional or contemporary, not all "Gospel" music is Biblically sound. Some of the songs in the Baptist Hymnal are a theological dumpster fire. A good bit of contemporary music is even worse. Jonathan does a good job of sorting out the confusion, most of the time anyway. Jesus loves me "like a hurricane"? As someone who grew up in hurricane plagued Louisiana, I have no idea what that lyric could possibly mean. See what I'm saying? I think Jonathan does a great job, and even I have a gripe now and then. Toughest job in town, no doubt about it.