Rehearsal last night

The praise band had a really good rehearsal last night. There are a couple of things that happened in the rehearsal that I think may serve as a pretty good metaphor.

First, there's going to be a wedding in the Sanctuary this weekend. As such, the Sanctuary is set up a little differently than usual. For me this is only a slight aesthetic change that is easily ignored. But some of our ladies noticed something that was, to them, a far greater concern. There were a few places near the stage where they felt that a high heel might get caught. I, perhaps a little too dismissively, suggested that this might be a good week to wear flats, then. Every one of them shot me the same look that I get from my daughter when I say something inexplicably stupid. Clearly I do not understand their perspective on footwear.

I plan the music for the Contemporary service every week, usually by myself. Sometimes other people will make suggestions but predominantly it's a solitary endeavor. I'm not opposed to other people's feedback but I don't exactly solicit it, either. I try to plan the music to have a certain flow to it and to also tie in to other aspects of the service. I'll have the scripture for the week in front of me when I plan it as well as the sermon title and the hymns from the other services. The planning is fairly deliberate and if we're doing a song this week there's usually a reason we're doing it, even if that reason is only known to me.

This week during rehearsal we got to a particular song and Judy groaned. She didn't want to do that song. She wasn't mean about it. She just didn't think that song was a good one to do. When I planned the music I put that song in rather deliberately and I could have been pretty put out that someone didn't agree with me. There have been some weeks when I would have been put out. I could have just put my foot down, declared we were doing that song, explained why I picked it, and rested on my own authority.

I didn't do that. I listened to Judy. And a voice in the back of my head even started bugging me that Judy might be on to something. And then the entire group got involved, another song was selected, and it worked much, MUCH better. So well, in fact, that even though it was just rehearsal I got goose bumps.

So, what's the metaphor, genius? I thought you said there was a metaphor.

Maybe that was a bad word. Maybe there's just a lesson. Or maybe these events stand in as something a little larger than they really are. I just think that we get so tied up by our own perspective. I don't get women's shoes. I just don't. There's a lot of things I don't get and I just don't value. And yet every time I break out of my own perspective and try to see others' points of view I find that is rewarded.

Maybe we shouldn't bury our heads metaphorically in the sand of our own perspective. Maybe we should work harder to value that which we don't bring to the table and encourage greater participation from others in what we do.