Know Your Place as a Church Musician
“When church musicians have an apathetic attitude towards all other aspects of the service, apart from the times they are leading the music, or when they seek to elevate the music above the preaching of God’s Word, almost as if they were in competition with it, that’s a symptom of an unsubmissive heart in someone who really doesn’t know their place. ”
By God's grace, I've had the privilege of being a pastor in three different churches, over twenty-six years. During much of that time, I've also had many opportunities to play, and lead worship from the piano.
One of the benefits of this has been the things I have learned (sometimes the hard way!) from “both sides of the piano”. Many dynamics relate to corporate worship, and the relationship between church musicians, the wider church, and it’s leadership.
So in this post, I want to talk about what it means to know your place as a church musician.
It’s so crucial as church musicians, to recognize that our role, is not isolated from the rest of the church as purely a “musical role”, but rather we are deeply immersed and connected with our brothers and sisters in Christ, as part of the local church.
I will assume that if you are a church musician, then that’s because you are a member of that church, and that it's a place which you would call “your church home”. I recognize there are times when church musicians help out other churches, but every church musician should to be part of a local church they attend regularly. We are Christians before we are musicians.
Here are four pastoral perspectives, that I hope will be helpful for us to consider as church musicians on the subject of knowing your place…
1. You Are a Follower of Christ
We have to start here because that’s who we are, first and foremost. We are new creations, and therefore everything in our life revolves around Him. We no longer live like we used to. Our relationship with Him is our greatest priority, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17…
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come". [2 Corinthians 5:17]
This helps us to see that any role we fulfil in the church, is to be an outflow from the relationship we have with Christ. That's why it’s so important for us to cultivate that personal relationship through prayer and the reading and study of God’s Word. It’s also a reminder that we are accountable to God, for our attitude, our actions, and how we use our gifts, and our time.
The second point on knowing your place is…
2. You Are Part of a Family
This is particularly relevant to those who are married, but it also applies to older teenagers who are still living at home. As mentioned above, our church responsibilities should not cause us to neglect our relationship with God. However, neither should they cause us to neglect our responsibilities as part of an earthly family.
If you have been a Christian for a few years and part of a church, you will know how easily people can get a little carried away in their “service for the Lord”. Sadly in some situations, a church demands too much from one person, and their family suffer as a result.
Listen to these words from Philippians 2:4…
"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others". [Philippians 2:4]
The third point is this…
3. You Are Part of a Church Family
Have you noticed that all these points, revolve around different relationships? With those relationships come various responsibilities.
As a church musician, we serve as a fellow member in that church, alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is important to acknowledge, as it helps us to not see ourselves as “above” others because we fulfil a certain role in the church. Remember, we are doing what we do to serve our church, and our brothers and sisters.
It’s easy to get resentful if people are critical. It’s easy to get irritated if people are talking to us when we need to get set up for the worship time. This is why we need to know our place, as a member of the church family, before we are a church musician.
Paul emphasises the responsibilities we have towards one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, in these verses from Ephesians chapter 4, verses 29-32 where he says…
"29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you". [Ephesians 4:29-32]
So let us be mindful of how we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ, even when they are critical, and even when they rub us up the wrong way, remembering the mercy that Christ has shown us.
The last point then, as we consider this subject of knowing our place, is this…
4. You Are Accountable To Your Leadership
When it comes to our role in the local church and the relationships that involves, we must recognize the place church leaders play in our lives.
If we cannot, or are not prepared to submit to the leadership in our church (and I mean in appropriate biblical ways, not heavy shepherding) then we’re going to have endless problems and conflict.
In Hebrews 13:17 we read these words…
"17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you". [Hebrews 13:17]
Some people get the wrong idea of what is being said here, but what stands out so clearly is that our leaders will have to give an account to God.
In other words, they have a greater level of responsibility and accountability, than we do.
There have been far too many incidents of a church musician or a worship leader, that has brought division into a church, or even split a church, and we want to have nothing to do with that.
As those verses say, our part is to do all we can to allow our leaders to carry out their role, with joy, not with groaning. If they can’t do this, it’s going to be of no advantage to us.
Remember, music is an important aspect of corporate worship, but it’s not the most important part.
When church musicians have an apathetic attitude towards all other aspects of the service, apart from the times they are leading the music, or when they seek to elevate the music above the preaching of God’s Word, almost as if they competed with it, that’s a symptom of an unsubmissive heart in someone who really doesn’t know their place.
The characteristics of humility, and being teachable go a long way into preventing any unnecessary conflict and discord. And the great thing is, when a church musician is seeking to honour their leaders, and genuinely wants to serve for God’s glory, they can be such a blessing to their church. Instead of being responsible for strife, you will be responsible for bringing much joy into your leader's lives, and your fellow church members.
Let's make sure we know our place as church musicans.
[Return to The Church Piano Player Website]
This blog post was written by pastor and pianist Kris Baines, from The Church Piano Player. Kris lives in the UK with his family, having recently moved back New Zealand where he worked as a pastor for the past 26 years (also leading worship/worship teams). Kris has also spent over 35 years writing, recording, and performing music and is now bringing all that combined experience together to help equip church piano/keyboard players.
Check out the church piano player website for more information on online courses by Kris Baines.
📧WANT TO RECEIVE NEW BLOG POSTS DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX?📧
SIGN UP BELOW
