What is a church musician? After being in this position for
several years I have come to my own conclusions as to what this
title means and is all about. First let me say that I think a
lot of church musicians make the mistake of using this as a
means satisfy their own needs. A need to be up front, to
perform, to show off their musical talent etc. But being a
Christian is all about sacrificing self. This does not have to
be a negative thing and in fact can be quite rewarding.
Let's look at some scripture about this. In the Bible we are
commanded to "Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a
loud noise." Psalm 33:3 KJV. In first Samuel we see what a
musician can do for a man tormented. "Let our lord now command
thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a
cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the
evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his
hand, and thou shalt be well." 1 Samuel 16:16, KJV. You see as a
musician, a church musician, a Christian musician, your job is
to minister. And in order to be able to minister effectively
your heart needs to be in the right place. Not on "Man wait
until people hear these far out chords I've been jamming on!"
but more like, "Praise the Lord. He is worthy. Lord I worship
You." I don't know about you but I would rather hear, "Thank you
sister, that song really ministered to my hurting heart this
morning (evening, afternoon)." Than about how cool I sounded up
there on the piano with that new chord progression. I'm not
saying I don't use chord progressions but I'm saying keep the
playing in perspective.
Try playing as unto the Lord sometime. Not for the Lord like you
have yet another adoring audience but as a means of worship. In
the same way you lift your hands and offer praise, lift your
fingers and offer the praise across the piano, guitar strings,
or whatever musical instrument you play.
Okay so a church musician, in my words, is a servant of the Lord
who offers praise through the musical instrument sometimes in
accompaniment to the people. You (we) are actually not
indispensable and the people can still praise and worship the
Lord without you. Sometimes, or many times if you are seeking
guidance to your playing, the Lord can and will use you to
minister unto some of His flock. Praise the Lord!
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