Six Questions I’m Asked Every Sunday
Pastoral | September 18, 2025 | By: Derek Brandt
Suggested Listening: Preference by Rachel Morley
In my early 20s, I was in a residency program learning to become what we often call in the church a “worship pastor.” This title can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, but in this particular program, that title was describing someone who thought about the spiritual formation in the gathered church. In that season, as I looked forward and dreamt about the ministry God might call me to and what my day-to-day would look like serving inside a local congregation, I reflected on questions I thought (or hoped) I might get asked regularly.
I imagined hearing things like, “Can you walk me through the process of using more songs in my personal devotional life?” or “How can I better use my artistic abilities to serve the church?” or maybe, “Would you pray with me?” Now, with more than 15 years of pastoral ministry behind me, 11 of them at Scottsdale Bible Church, I find I get asked the same six questions multiple times every week. If you’ll indulge me, I will list them here now. These are the most common questions I get asked about any given Sunday:
Why are the lights so bright in here?
Why are the lights so dim in here?
Why is the music so quiet in here?
Why is the music so loud in here?
Why do we choose so many traditional songs?
Why don’t we choose more traditional songs?
Your eyes and brain are not deceiving you. Those are the six most common questions I get asked—from multiple people experiencing the EXACT same service—same hour, same week, same campus, week in and week out…for 15 years. I should say—I truly love my job, and I value the heart behind these questions. For every one of them, there is a passion for seeing to it that the worship of the church is reflective of the life God calls us to. These are being asked by people who are at least curious—and many who feel strongly that the things that have ministered to them in the past will continue to minister to them…and will likely minister to scores of other people in a way that is meaningful and transformative. I have come to not only expect, but to love these questions.
Behind each question is a passion to see the worship of the church reflect the life God calls us to.
The primary reason I love these questions is that they generally lead to a discussion about the rich process of prayer, reflection, study, collaboration, more prayer and execution behind the process of worship planning. The conversation so often ends with one of the most common phrases I hear as a worship pastor: “Huh…I thought you guys just picked songs and played ‘em.” The reality is that the worship leadership of your church spiritually and thoughtfully engages with the content and environment for every service for weeks on end. We talk, pray, program, edit, talk, pray, inform, communicate, pray, practice, practice, pray (and intentionally hand it all over to the Lord) and only then do we step onto the platforms with our teams and invite you to join us in the work that has been prepared for the worshipping church at Scottsdale Bible. This process is done with accountability and visibility across multiple pastoral teams at our church and always with a fervent invitation for the Holy Spirit to accomplish HIS purposes through this work.
With that as a backdrop, let me pose this to you: We all bring preferences with us into worship, and the world encourages us to respond to those preferences. Our culture makes it easy to curate life exactly to our liking. Don’t prefer what’s on the radio? Open your favorite streaming platform and instantly play ANY song that suits your mood. Bad experience with a checkout person at the grocery store? Stop going to that store and pick a spot where you feel more respected. Not happy with the weather today? Turn on your AC and regain comfort.
Our culture is so effective at telling us that we should curate our experiences to fit exactly within our preferences. But God’s Church is different—it’s meant to form us into people who look like Jesus—a decidedly different and holy calling. Sometimes that means stepping outside what feels comfortable.
Our culture makes it easy to curate life exactly to our liking…but God’s Church is different.
Jesus once said to His disciples and followers, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). Often, we think this applies to the big uncomfortable sufferings God works through—pain, death, marital strife, job loss—and He is powerful enough to use those things for our good (Romans 8:28). But this call to self-denial can also be lived out in smaller ways—and church is a wonderful place to practice this.
What would it look like this Sunday if thousands of people gathered at the campuses of Scottsdale Bible Church and, instead of living by that unconscious, culturally driven question we ask so often, “What do I prefer?” we asked, “What part of my self is God calling me to deny for the sake of contributing to the gathered body of Christ?” To put it another way: anyone is capable of singing joyfully when they love the song and the environment. It takes maturity, discipline and self-denial to offer up praises in the form of a song that doesn’t lyrically, musically, or environmentally fit neatly inside of our preferences.
So here’s the invitation: when you step into worship this Sunday, resist the urge to ask, “Is this what I prefer?” Instead, ask, “How can I join my voice, my heart, and my posture to what God is doing among His people right now?” Because the truth is, the songs that don’t sit inside our personal sweet spots may be the very ones that stretch our souls, form our hearts, and remind us that worship isn’t about what we like—it’s about who God is. And that, I promise you, is always worth singing about.
Derek Brandt
Pastor of Sunday Experience
Discover more about worship at Scottsdale Bible and opportunities to lead others into meaningful moments that draw them closer to God and declare His worth.
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