Hello, I am seeking perspective from those that intentionally choose to volunteer their time to church choirs. I am experiencing a bit of a dilemma as I have been volunteering for a few months but have noticed that the church I go to has a quite "professionalized" choir where the culture feels, to be frank, very "corporate" and transactional. The choir is a hybrid that uses mostly paid singers that are very talented, professionals. However, I'm not sure if its due to low pay or the church culture, these singers are very burned out and complain a lot. I think they complain because the culture is a bit toxic in the sense that it's very bureaucratic (3 directors for 10 singers, along with the Pastor chiming in and giving directions). This is just a guess. I think they also might complain because they are given a stipend, but with that comes the expectation to participate in the church outside of what they are paid.
However, the point of my post is this; I personally volunteer in the choir because I enjoy it and I see it as a service to the church. But my desire to serve in a non-transactional way gets muddied by those who are there to collect a paycheck. Has anyone experienced this while volunteering? I volunteer as a service to the community but also because it is rewarding for me. Has anyone noticed the volunteer dynamic gets affected when there are others doing the same work for a check? How does it make you feel? Am I wrong to yearn for a choir that is volunteer based and not transactional, to yearn for an experience where people do it for the love of the art? I understand that may not be realistic, but is it wrong to yearn for that?