To Pay or Not to Pay?
Several things to look at when considering whether or not to hire musicians for worship:
1) What is the individual’s motivation for serving? If it's for a paycheck, you probably won't get what you need from them. You may get great music, but the dynamic of the team will never gel when one of your key players is there only for the money.
2) Set your own criteria for anyone coming in who play or sing in a paid position. Even though it's easier to control a paid player, the sense of unity will be lacking if everyone is not held accountable by the same rules and expectations. Also, hiring those who are not believers for the long haul can bring done the worship experience in your church. We have to remember that worship is for the believer.
3) Is your need long term or temporary? You may be able to get by with a paid musician from time to time. If your need is long term, you may want to bring in someone for hire until you fill the position. Keep in mind that your main goal is to find someone who wants to do this as his/her ministry. Again, when a person does it voluntarily, usually they will give more and it will be a better situation for all involved.
What are some solutions to help avoid having to pay professionals to play in worship? Prayer. Pray that the Lord will bring you gifted, believing, worshipping musicians to serve in your ministries. I try to constantly keep this mindset. I pray that God would bring us people who are gifted worshipers who are team players. There's no room for showboats in worship. If you don't ask God specifically to send you these people, it's hard to get what you need.
Continue to enlist people who have the proper gifting in your ministry programs. Most believers view their talent contribution as ministry. That's not to say they shouldn't be paid for it. Develop relationships with those you know are gifted musicians. Network yourself in the music community. You never know who is out there willing to play if they are just asked.
In conclusion, I don't feel that the question of hiring people to play and sing is the issue. If God has gifted a lead guitar player in your church, it's worth it to me to pay him (assuming he meets my criteria for service). If he doesn’t need payment, that’s even better. If I could, I would pay all our worship leadership who play and sing. They are well worth it, in my opinion. Would it make a difference in our music and worship, probably not. They are there because they are gifted people who desire to serve. They are worshipers who want to use their gifts to lead our people in true worship. If the worshiper’s heart is there, to pay or not to pay is just a formality. To say that it is wrong to pay people who play and sing is unfair. Who you pay and hire is a different thing. Keep focused on quality worship with excellence in music. Set a high standard for yourself and your team and continue to pursue it. If worship is the goal, it will not be hard to make the right decision.
One side note: Remember that every church has their own unique situation. How you choose to run your ministry is between you and God. We desire to only provide insight and options for the worship leader and music minister. Pray for God to bless your ministry and He will. It's ironic how we rely on our own gifts and talents to "pull things off" in our ministries. When we give them to the Lord, they run a lot smoother and with less complications.
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Your team will learn why we worship and gain a better understanding of how to worship.
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This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.