Over the course of a few weeks, a feud began to develop between a pastor and his song leader.
It began one Sunday morning, when the Pastor preached a message on dedication to the Lord, and how we should allow Him to change what He wants in our lives. The song leader chose as the closing hymn, “I Shall Not Be Moved.”
The pastor thought it may have been a bit odd, but he just shrugged it off and focused on polishing his next message for the evening service, which was on how we can find joy in cheerfully giving to the church and God’s work. The song leader then lead the congregation in a chorus of “Jesus Paid it All”.
Well, the pastor began to sense something really brewing. He wanted to talk to the song leader about it, but was worried in case this might just be a misunderstanding. Come midweek service, he preached a sermon against murmuring, tale-bearing and gossiping. The pastor then confirmed his suspicions when the song leader announced the closing song, “I Love To Tell the Story”.
How could this be? The pastor called a deacons meeting (of which the song leader was a part) and discussed with his most trusted brethren that he did not want to promote strife in the church, and was considering resigning. At the end of the meeting, the assistant pastor suggested the group sing a song to get their minds of the heavy topic. Before the pastor could say anything, the song leader volunteered, “How about ‘Why Not Tonight?”
The pastor, feeling led by the Lord that he should go somewhere else to minister, announced his resignation after the next service, explaining that Jesus was the one who was directing his decision, and that Jesus was leading him in a different direction. It was no surprise to anyone when the song leader selected “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”