The Importance Of Godly Communication & 5 Communication Killers - Part 2

March 20, 2025•5 min read

“As we make the time and effort to communicate well, our relationships will become stronger, the more people will know where they stand, and the less difficult situations we will find ourselves in. Also, we will gain the trust of others more; and that’s important, especially when you are serving others in a local church context.”

As we continue to examine how godly communication affects our role as church piano players, we will be covering the last three points and then briefly look at five communication killers related to this subject.

So to continue...

Fourth - Good communication helps people know where they stand

When we communicate this way, it gives us an opportunity to serve and show love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. This means that they’re not left wondering if they upset or offended you because of the lack of communication from your side, or whether you wanted them to do something or not but you failed to be clear about it.

In the church music context, this might play out in the relationships you have with fellow members in a music team or with your leaders. So, just make sure you communicate enough that people aren’t needing to second guess what you really think or mean; and it really will be a loving service to others.

Fifth - Good communication builds trust

While this should go without saying, I thought it was important to still mention it.

As we make the time and effort to communicate well, our relationships will become stronger, the more people will know where they stand, and the less difficult situations we will find ourselves in. Also, we will gain the trust of others more; and that’s important, especially when you are serving others in a local church context.

You don’t want people to keep their distance from you because you are impossible to communicate with or because you too easily get offended. So do all you can to build trust through good communication.

Sixth - Good communication encourages the presence of Christ

I’ll try to explain this so you don’t misunderstand what I’m saying, which I guess means I need to communicate well, doesn’t it!

When we communicate well with godly communication, it means that in the comings and goings of church life, during the corporate service, before and after that service, our loving, truthful, gracious, kind communication manifests the life and character of Christ towards our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you think about it, one of the great wonders of the church, and those who follow Christ, is that practically speaking, the only way Christ’s character is actually demonstrated to others is through His people.

By way of contrast, when someone who is seeking to be in an attitude of worship with their focus and affections upon Christ gets a harsh, unkind, or angry word spoken to them, think how that can throw them and really rob them of their joy in being in the house of God.

So I hope that helps to explain what I meant by this point.

Hopefully, from going through these points, you can see how in our role as church piano players there are so many interactions we have with people that require us to have good communication skills. Whether it’s talking to the pastor about the songs we’re using or various dynamics of the church service, or speaking with fellow church members when they comment on the music or even bring constructive criticism, it all requires good godly communication.

So let me just recap those points again…

Good communication is godly communication.
Good communication is a lifeline to good relationships.
Good communication now can prevent a bad situation later.
Good communication helps people know where they stand.
Good communication builds trust.
Good communication encourages the presence of Christ.

Now, I'm going to briefly list 5 communication killers, and these are things that, if used, really hinder good communication, and as a result can greatly harm our relationships. I’m not going to elaborate on this as they are pretty self explanatory…

Interrupt the other person mid sentence
Presume you understand what the other person is saying when you actually don’t
Focus on winning, instead of listening
Blame, instead of taking responsibility
Give the silent treatment

These 5 points are actually from an excellent book I want to recommend to you, which is "When Talking Get's Tough: How To Have Important Conversations" published by Scott Brown from Church and Family Life.

I’ve read this book, and found it both incredibly helpful and challenging. While not very long, it’s a comprehensive and very practical look at a subject that not a lot of people have covered in Christian literature.

The book contains 19 points on this topic of communication killers so I highly encourage you to check it out if you can as good communication and knowing how to have difficult conversations is definitely a skill you will need as a church musician.

May it be our prayer that our communication would be Christ-honoring, building up instead of tearing down, and a witness to those around us, for His glory.

[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 from 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.