Musicians Are Everywhere!
In a previous post, Oh Where, Oh Where Have the Musicians Gone?, we offered a glimpse at a growing issue within the Black Church. All across the country various houses of faith are lamenting, searching or assessing their present music ministry situation. Some have folks that they would love to invite to leave, many have folks who they wish would simply “fit in,” while most are seeking to recruit and hire musicians to fill current and in some cases, long-standing vacancies. The rumblings of rumors of a musician shortage continue to echo from coast-to-coast as many wonder is there a shortage of musicians in Zion?
Clearly, there is no shortage of musicians! Amongst the many genres of music composed, arranged, performed and recorded within the United States, the cadre of musicians continues to grow daily. Every spring, hundreds if not thousands of collegiate students matriculate from institutions of higher learning with exceptional musical training looking for opportunities to utilize their God-given gifts and well-developed skills. Numerous others who have been groomed by non-traditional or non-formal situations continue to flood the streets seeking to find places where their gifts, talents and skills might be utilized and appreciated. In fact, musicians are everywhere, except perhaps, the church.
Every city, suburb and rural area has local stories and nostalgic folklore of the great musicians who came from the area. Many of these great musicians ironically were trained in the church. Yet, the days of the Black Church as the major grooming field or training ground for musicians has greatly diminished over the years. The days of taking a risk on subsidizing musical lessons for young people who show a spark of talent, or giving the middle aged person who desires to return to their instrument after twenty years a chance are gone. In many situations the Black Church has lost its sense of nurturing and the responsibility of growing its own musicians. The effects of this demise are noticeable in all areas of the country. Although there are always exceptions to the rule, many churches now resort and rely on recorded music in order to overcome the perceived shortage of musicians. It is clear that churches (of all sizes) that are able to overcome the perceived shortage of musicians have benefited from strategic and intentional intervention and/ or visionary prioritization of their music ministries. According to our research, here are a few reasons that former church musicians say they left the church:
- Former church musicians felt they were never groomed or nurtured to grow musically. Most musicians are hired because they can “do what they do,” and for most that is good enough. Creative artists are always
seeking to go to the next level, to push the boundaries of exploration, to go beyond what was. Most churches, in the words of the musicians, simply wanted them to “do what they did” on the day they were hired… “no more, no less.”
- Former church musicians felt that they were “the work horse” of the church and received more demands and critique than they did gratitude and compensation. In fact, many continue to articulate that “it is easier to make a living as a musician outside of the church than it is as a church musician.”
- Former church musicians felt that they were overlooked when it came to being shepherded and they were not being trained or taught in terms of spiritual development. Most articulated that pastors would call “with demands but rarely with prayer.” Some went on to say that although prayer service and bible study were interesting, it was made clear to them by officers of the church that “they were there to play and not to participate.”
- Former church musicians felt that churches made it clear that they were hired because God gifted them with the talent and skills to lead the music ministry, yet the musicians never had the chance to actually
have the opportunity “to lead.” In addition to “decision by committee” situations and “four signatory approvals before implementation” policies, many musicians felt they were never given the space nor offered the opportunity to explore their talents and skills within the context of ministry. They were simply “burdened by assignments,” with no room to explore “new directions and new approaches to pronouncing the unchanging message through music.”
- Former church musicians felt that their passion for musical expression and their passion for God were continually stymied by the musical tastes and/ or lack of tastes by congregations who were unable to
follow their leadership in regards to music. Simply put, “we’re tired of non-musicians telling us how to play music!”
Be sure to subscribe to BCMMP on YouTube and BCMMP on Facebook for important resources and updates!
Emmett G. Price III, Ph.D. is president and founder of the Black Church Music Ministry Project. BCMMP aims to “serve, nurture and develop spiritual leaders within music ministry.” For additional information please visit http://www.BCMMP.org or contact us via email at info@BCMMP.org.
© Black Church Music Ministry Project, Inc. all rights reserved
Tags: BCMMP, Black Church, Black Church Music Ministry Project, church musicians, leadership in music ministry, music ministry