When Dissonance Finds Resolution:
Healing and Strengthening Clergy–Musician Partnerships in the Church
by William C. Whittington, M.M.
Introduction: The Organ Loft and the Pulpit
Church musicians live at the intersection of art, theology, and community life. In that space, we find the potential for breathtaking harmony, and at times, painful dissonance. The organist or choirmaster is not merely a “performer,” but a pastoral leader entrusted with shaping the congregation’s sung prayer.i Yet the way that trust is earned depends largely on the quality of the relationship between clergy and musician.
My own journey has included seasons of collaboration that breathed new life into worship, and seasons of deep strain that left me questioning both vocation and identity. Each pastor–musician partnership has revealed not only the dynamics of personality and leadership style, but also the theological underpinnings of ministry itself.
Strained Partnership
At one point in my career, I served under a pastor who consistently undermined the work of staff and volunteers alike. Rather than supporting or amplifying the gifts of others, this leader introduced an atmosphere of authoritarianism, suspicion, and even dismissal. Grounding decisions in the governing documents was not welcomed as responsible stewardship, but instead was treated as a direct challenge to authority. Gaslighting became a common tactic: moments of genuine confusion or difference were reframed as personal failings on my part, while those who raised concerns were subtly marginalized. For me, the deepest wound was not a matter of professional disagreement, but the erosion of pastoral trust. Music ministry thrives on transparency, shared vision, and a willingness to be mutually accountable to the church’s polity.[ii] Without those foundations, both choir loft and pulpit become isolated “silos,” unable to serve the congregation in unity.
Soon after their arrival, the pastor began making changes to the order of worship without consultation from the appropriate committees, despite governing documents clearly stating that such decisions are to be made collaboratively. Changes were introduced during staff meetings, long after I had already completed the study, research, and careful planning that shaped each service. Hymns and musical selections were cut on a whim, not because of theological or pastoral necessity, but seemingly to assert control. This disregard not only unraveled weeks of preparation but also signaled to the musical ensembles that their investment of time and spirit was dispensable. The impact on the music ministry was profound: what had once been an atmosphere of anticipation and trust quickly gave way to frustration, discouragement, and diminished joy in offering our gifts.
This experience taught me, painfully, how fragile the relationship between clergy and musicians can become when insecurity or fear replaces mutual respect. As Eileen Guenther observes in her article “Forging More Collaborative Relationships between Clergy and Musicians,” many of these conflicts stem not only from personality but from deeper misunderstandings about authority, communication, and shared purpose.[iii]
A Mirror Held Up
Another season of ministry revealed a different kind of challenge, one less about malice and more about my own blind spots. I was young, ambitious, and eager to demonstrate both musical and theological competence. What I did not realize was how easily my directness came across as forcefulness or even disrespect. At the time, I attributed much of that directness to having just left the corporate world to serve in a parish church, where my communication style did not always translate well into the rhythms of pastoral ministry.
The pastor in that setting offered me the gift of honest feedback. Through those conversations, I began to see how advocacy for the music ministry must always be tempered with pastoral sensitivity. It is one thing to argue persuasively for hymn selection, choral repertoire, or liturgical shape; it is another to do so in a way that honors the broader responsibilities borne by clergy. In short, I had to learn that truth without grace can wound as deeply as silence.
I still wince when I think back to a private meeting with this pastor, when I passionately, and perhaps too bluntly, defended the inclusion of a new hymn. Though my arguments were musically sound, my tone and intensity had the opposite effect, alienating someone who might otherwise have supported me. The secretary, just outside the office door, later remarked that the exchange had been difficult to overhear. In the aftermath, the pastor offered candid feedback that made me realize how my zeal for the music needed to be matched by an equally evident care for the people. That moment reshaped my ministry as much as any conducting class or theology seminar.
Paul Westermeyer reminds us that the vocation of the church musician is “one of ministry, not utility.”[iv] But ministry requires humility—the recognition that we serve alongside, not above, our pastoral partners. This realization transformed my approach, teaching me to listen more deeply and to articulate concerns in ways that invite collaboration rather than competition.
A Model of Collaboration
Finally, I have also been blessed with experiences of exemplary partnership. In one congregation, the pastor made clear from the beginning that our shared goal was not personal preference, but the flourishing of the congregation’s worship life. Every conversation began with an assumption of good intent: I was not “angling” for power, nor was the pulpit being “guarded” against intrusion. We were partners seeking the Spirit’s guidance.
This colleague also encouraged serious engagement with the PC(USA) governing documents, reminding both staff and laity that polity is not bureaucracy for its own sake, but a framework for ensuring equity, accountability, and theological integrity. Where others had seen polity as a threat, this leader saw it as a gift. At the same time, there was never confusion about priority. Serving the congregation faithfully always came first, and the governing documents existed to support, not overshadow, that mission.
Practically speaking, this meant energetic support for music ministry initiatives, from new hymn introductions to large-scale choral projects. It also meant an openness to dialogue: disagreements were aired honestly, prayed over, and resolved with a sense of shared purpose. In such a climate, choirs sang with freedom, congregations engaged worship with joy, and the boundary between organ loft and pulpit dissolved into a shared proclamation of the gospel.
Theological Reflections on Partnership
At its heart, the partnership between clergy and musicians is not merely pragmatic, but profoundly theological. Scripture consistently frames the act of music‑making as ministry: the psalmist exhorts us to “sing to the Lord a new song” (Psalm 96:1), and Paul reminds the Colossians to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God” (Colossians 3:16).
William Bradley Roberts opines that music is indispensable to the vitality of congregational life, not an ornamental addition.[v] He notes that when musicians approach their work as ministry rather than function, the congregation experiences music as a vital force for spiritual growth. This reframing strengthens collaboration with clergy by placing music at the heart of the church’s mission.
I’ve experienced firsthand that when clergy regard musicians not merely as staff but as pastoral partners, the tenor of planning and worship deepens. In early roles, I sometimes framed my work in purely technical terms, which resulted only in frustration on both sides. But when I embraced a posture of ministry, recognizing the musician’s calling as one of shared leadership, everything changed.
Echoing this, Guenther observes that “mutual respect … when you respect each other, you work together, you talk together, you care about each other, you appreciate each other’s discipline.”[vi] That respect, I’ve found, is the engine of creative, constructive collaboration.
Further, Guenther asserts that “developing a collaborative, trusting relationship between clergy and musician is essential to creating meaningful worship and maximizing a congregation’s ministry.”[vii] Those words resonate deeply with my experience: worship flourishes when neither party sees worship music as resource or rubric, but rather as a shared spiritual vocation. In such relationships, humility rather than hierarchy shapes the space, and mutual accountability becomes a path toward richer communal praise.
In time, these partnerships become a living metaphor for the Body of Christ, where different gifts converge not in competition but in harmony, each distinct voice contributing to the integrality of worship.
Lessons Learned
Looking back across these varied relationships, I see several themes:
- Polity as Protection. Engagement with governing documents is not “legalism” but an act of stewardship, ensuring fairness and shared accountability. Where clergy encouraged this, ministry thrived. Where it was resisted, distrust multiplied.
- Humility as Key Virtue. My own missteps remind me that conviction must be expressed with pastoral sensitivity. Humility is not weakness, but the willingness to recognize one’s blind spots. I have learned that a well-placed apology can sometimes be the most pastoral act of all.
- Trust as Catalyst. When trust is present, collaboration can flourish into joyful creativity. When absent, even the most gifted musician or preacher cannot carry the weight alone. A member of our congregation once told me after a particularly moving service, “I could see that you and the pastor were on the same page.” Their words underscored how visible and contagious such trust can be.
- Music as Proclamation. We must reclaim the theological truth that music is not adornment but proclamation. This reorientation shifts clergy–musician relationships from rivalry to mutual mission.
Conclusion: From Dissonance to Resolution
The history of the church is filled with stories of clergy and musicians at odds as well as stories of clergy and musicians in harmony. Both are part of the reality of ministry. Yet the vocation of the church musician is fundamentally pastoral, and music itself carries profound theological weight. To ignore these truths is to risk impoverishing the church’s witness.
My own path has carried me through dissonance and resolution, through painful conflict and joyful collaboration. What I carry forward is the conviction that clergy–musician partnerships are not optional, but essential; not ancillary, but central to the church’s proclamation.
For those of us entrusted with these relationships, may we enter them with humility, courage, and faith, always listening for the One whose voice resounds through Word and song alike.
Acknowledgements
I wish to express my gratitude to the many clergy, mentors, and colleagues who have shaped my understanding of music as pastoral ministry and who have modeled healthy collaboration across the years. In particular, I am indebted to Mr. Bill Anderson, Rev. Chris Jenkins, Rev. Diane Tomlinson, Rev. Dr. H. Powell Dew, Rev. Dr. John Tittle, Rev. Bart Smith, Mr. Andrew Scanlon, Mrs. Kate Kelly, and Ms. Kris Goorsky for their wisdom, guidance, and counsel throughout my career. Their examples of integrity, creativity, and faithful leadership continue to inspire my own work at the intersection of word and song.
[i] Paul Westermeyer, The Church Musician (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1997), 13.
[ii] Eileen Guenther, Rivals or a Team? Clergy–Musician Relationships in the Twenty-First Century (St. Louis: MorningStar, 2012), 13.
[iii] Eileen Guenther, “Forging More Collaborative Relationships between Clergy and Musicians,” Leading Ideas, Lewis Center for Church Leadership, August 29, 2012, https://www.churchleadership.com/leading-ideas/forging-more-collaborative-relationships-between-clergy-and-musicians/.
[iv] Westermeyer, The Church Musician, 16.
[v] William Bradley Roberts, Music and Vital Congregations (Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2009), 5.
[vi] Eileen Guenther, interview in Sojourners, “Ministers and Musicians: Allies or Rivals?” by Adelle M. Banks, October 11, 2012
[vii] Eileen Guenther, “Forging More Collaborative Relationships.”
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