While I agree it is not needed, it is also not necessarily wrong to do it that way, but it does tend to make people focus on the people up there (having been up there regularly myself all my life, pretty much) - and be distracted by what they personally know about those people, or whatever rumors may be flying about them. That congregation should be reminded of that error regularly so they can be responsible in their own hearts to avoid it... but I've never seen it done very well. I read a great article yesterday on contemporary music in the church by Scott Macintyre at woodandsteel.net. He has some very gently written and very rational explanations of why the purpose driven movement is unscriptural and draws very clear lines on the fallacies and distractions in both sides of the argument. I heartily recommend his site. Hopefully I won't crash it by doing this. :-)
Here is the one on worship music:
Contemporary Music in the Church - Culprit, Symptom, or Innocent Bystander?
Incidentally, I'm not terribly fond of the level of professionalism at Saddleback either. Sometimes the off-pitch makes me cringe and distracts me
[aside: yes, I can hear it quite often, even if others can't, I have a piano tuner's ear, and tune my own piano because I can't bear to shell out money for a mediocre job. Of course, that means I rarely have time to have a quiet enough house to do it myself anyway! But at least we aren't spending the money < smile > and I am not saying that I never sing off-pitch, especially when the balance is off and I can't hear the instruments.]
But as I say, that is irrelevant to me, if I am in a church where the truth is foremost. The only reason I pick on it is because they consider it so important. My point is, they are just as imperfect as everyone else and there are those of us that hear and see that it's mostly smoke and mirrors.
See, the worship is FOR God. Not for us.
We don't need people up there "leading us." We don't need performances.
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.