The Shocking Truth About Church Musicians

Church music INDUSTRY! That is the problem!

The church has been promoting talent over character for a long time, not just in worship. Mostly because it’s about the “performance” now. Not the lifestyle

I’ve been a worshipping drummer since 2006. I was self conscious in the beginning, but realized that my focus needed to be on worshipping The Lord. I’ve had the opportunity to share drum duties with players that had way better chops and music education than me. All I’ve tried to do is to learn from them and not make comparisons. They’re better than me, so what? Where’s my heart? On multiple occasions after a church service, I’d tell my drumming counterpart, “Hey, make sure to leave a little bit of that anointing on my drums so it’ll rub off on me when it’s my turn to play😉”. We’d both have a chuckle

I think the most dangerous thing for Church musicians today is to treat Church services/concert as replacement for vanity that they desire from secular music industry so to speak, like they knew they couldn't be a rockstar but in this Christian music platform they could be a CCM Rockstar so to speak

I had a disheartening experience years ago. My wife's grandmother passed away and she was a member of another church in our town. The family requested since I was a guitar player that I play a song and all the grandchildren sing it for the family. So some of them rarely sang in public I encouraged them to sing and to remember that we are singing this song to comfort the family and to remember that this was one of her favorites songs. So naturally the only one there who was close to being a professional musician and the rest were absolutely amateurs, as a group we did ok and they sang from the heart which helped to bring ministry to family but we by no means sounded like a professional group but we served our purpose. After we all sat down immediately the singer from their church got up and sang the very same song we just sang to show off how much better he could sing it. I felt like he just slapped us across the face by showing off how much better he was as a singer then our whole little choir was. I lost a lot of respect for that church that day. Everyone there noticed what he did and wasn't impressed and actually made the service worse for doing it. Many years later we had a special event at our church and our choir was practiced up for it and had several songs we were going to sing and we had guest singers come up and play and sing and one little group sang one of the songs that we were planning on singing.. What did we do? We scrubbed that song from our list immediately and did another song. That is what they should have done instead of trying to show off.

Wow. All of these sound so foreign to me. All the musicians I surrendered myself in our church are awesome, kind people. I know I am the weakest musician there but I feel the love and encouragement from my team.

that is why every church musician needs to be rooted in the word of God so we know what humbleness is and a lot more...we are not there just to play but to serve others

I was a church musician for years and the disrespect and aggressive behavior was everywhere. It’s amazing how supportive the rest of the musical world is compared to church.

Great news for you brother!! Not all churches and church musicians have been invaded with those kind of spirits. I’m on the Worship team at The Bridge in Warrenton, VA and we’ve never had any of that , even in minuscule amounts. Come worship with us!

5:45 - Oh there is a reason these things run rampant in the "church music industry". It's mostly because many churches hire musicians who play christian music instead of having Christians who play music. As a Music Ministry leader, my walk with God comes before my musical skill. We have had many instances of people offering their services to play at our church and we said no every time. All of our singers and musicians come from our congregation so we know what they believe in and where they stand with God. Singing and playing with my team and those from our sister churches is a wonderful experience because we all put God first. Pretty simple concept.

Now this was not what I expected from the video title. This was a blessing. Thank you. I’m old and experienced enough not to suffer from these issues (mostly. Still human and a sinner) but I can see this happening since it is a real problem in secular music. When I started playing worship music again, my goal was and continues to be simple - that I use the talent God gave me to reach one person and open their hearts to His glory. My hands and heart, His melodies…

You are 100% accurate. I dealt with all that jealousy and aggressive, bad behavior from 1988 to 2020. In 2020, I got out of it and we have watched church online since. After having countless people tell me I was very talented, I got tired of coming home brain stressed and having to pull the daggers out of my back (figuratively).

Bro you have take a page out of my life right there. I started early using hardware sequencing and played a lot of the parts in the sequencer but played only the main piano parts or Rhodes parts to the point it sounded very close to the records. My strong points were not Hammond B3 or lush chords but I did try to minister without fear to my own strengths. I ran across the cocky types that I would ask to show me their chords or techniques but they wouldn’t. These were the pre laptop days for sounds and sequences. I just stayed in my lane and developed what God had given me. Great video!!!

No matter how much work you put into your musicianship, there will always be people who think you suck and yes, it is much more important to not take yourself seriously as person and as a musician while striving to improve on what you currently have. Just my two cents. I appreciate the fact that you came out with this.

I appreciate what you shared here. What I grew up with was musicians watching and listening to each other, respecting what each other was doing. The “performance” mindset is destroying many ministries. The focus should be on ministering, engaging the people with the Word of God.

As an atheist who used to be a regular Sunday church keyboardist, I've never seen the behavior you described. In fact, its always been a joy to watch other people play on my gear, many of them possessing superior skills. I left the church gigs because I didn't like adapting to the whole belief thing. But hands down, Gospel music is some of best music and fun to play.

Love your approach and presentation. It is awesome that you not only take what you play...but the heart with how you play it into consideration.

Thank you for posting this. I feel it completely. I got my start playing both in church and in jazz bands. It's tough because, in both cases, the bar is high and you have to find ways to play with good players (often who aren't incredibly respectful or socially graceful) so you can "learn the lesson" to improve. I think there's something to that though, ultimately, I realized that doing anything with people who aren't respectful, who aren't caring, who aren't able to be patient with other skill levels isn't sustainable. Perfection is not the expectation here, though I've often seen players that use the social dynamics of music to really be horrible to others, to be dismissive of other's work, to be invasive about their expectation in a really weird way. For me, the ONLY way I know how to do music and be happy is to be super choosey about who I play with. I play solo a lot with a looper though when I'm leading on the bandstand I choose cats that I love them, love their playing, and trust them. I also push HARD to make sure that I'm articulating my vision directly though as respectful as I know how, also making sure that money made is split evenly. I want to be an example and I take pride that no one can say I owe them money or screwed them over. To me this is THE only way to make music - with people you love because, like cooking, or anything activities done with love make for a better result. I appreciate what you're saying and I hope that musicians find ways to make music with passion, joy, respect both for the music though for the musicians and audience. It has to be there or it isn't worth doing.

This issue is not only in the church but in the secular world as well -- better known as 'ego'. Having an unbalanced ego is obvious and word gets around quick, resulting in fewer and fewer gigs. The sad part is -- when you're known as someone with ego issues -- you're 'blackballed' in the community. Having a mature balanced outlook is important, because it's all about what makes the band / team sound good. There's a flow and a feeling of comradeship. Everyone walks away feeling energized and congratulatory. Being in a band, everyone plays a part for the overall sound. There are no stars. Another thing: those who have a mature and humble approach are generally 'monster' players. These type have already worked out their personal feelings of inadequacy or superiority, with a settled sense of their prowess, and feel that trying to prove something is not only a waste of time, but creates strife and competition. They are humble because they are realistic about their limitations -- although they may be as good as the best out there. It's all no big deal to them. It's a matter of "Let's jam!" These are what is known as 'the professionals'. When it stops being fun, it's time to pack up. And believe me it shows in the overall sound. Always remember: there is ALWAYS someone else who can do the job better. Give it your best and be known as a fun person to work with. You get a LOT further that way, and get hired over the one with all the chops -- because you are nice, and deliver the adequate element that makes the band sound better. That's the goal. BTW I am a former Nashville session player and producer for 35 years. I've worked with the best, and I've found that all the WORKING players have this attitude. Church has to play it careful so as to not offend anyone. Session folk focus on professionalism, maturity, and great chops. Sure would be nice to see the church crowd rise up to the level of real pros.

Sound advice and information Terence, well done! Have a fantastic week my friend!🎷🎷