Everyone agreed it would increase the impact of our choir in our "best of blend" approach to Sunday morning worship. The choir would be more involved as worship leaders. They would lead congregational singing as well as sing anthems.

To accomplish this, we started doing things we'd never done. We required auditions to discern both the spirit and the talent of choir members. Rehearsals were extended to include time for worship and small group prayer. The workload increased.

The vision was great, but when the changes started so did the resistance. Several long-term choir members dropped out; in one section it was near mutiny. Others pointed fingers at certain staff members, accusing them of exerting excessive power. Some painted it as a philosophical shift: "We're becoming just like the Saturday night service." It was painful to hear our choir's contribution to greater depth in worship dismissed as, "They're just doing 'doo-wops' for the worship team."

Everyone had said the vision was great, ...