Negative99

I’ve always had a hard spot for mediocrity in church music. For those of you who’ve grown up in churches like I have, you know what it’s like to have the wife of a deacon perform a “special music” piece that contained enough squealing and off-pitch notes to curdle fresh milk. Why did they let her sing? Because she “has a heart for the Lord” and “wants to make a joyful noise”, they say. Well, that’s part of the equation of worshipful music, but that’s not all of it. I don’t doubt the deacon’s wife’s heart, but I think that consideration needs to be given to some level of skill before someone is placed in front of a church leading them in musical worship.

I regularly read Worship Leader Magazine (WLM) and have always been a bit disappointed at the lack of articles on the importance of skill in worship music (an aspect that my worship hero Paul Baloche emphasizes in every one of his instructional videos). Not only importance… but if you read your Bible right – necessity.

I always thought WLM “intentionally” skimped on the “skill” thing merely because it was intuitively obvious… because it was considered a given in any serious worship circles. But recently, they did indeed include an article on skill in worship – amply titled “Play Skillfully” – which just might have revealed an alternate motive for their sparse coverage of skill in music… political correctness. You see, the author Mark Roberts openly admits in the article that pointing out the Bible’s call to skillful performance of worship may upset a lot of people. What? Why? It shouldn’t. Really, it shouldn’t.

When you are putting someone in a position (like in front of a church leading them in the worship of an all-powerful deity) you really should be using appropriate people. For leading worship music – appropriate people probably are those who have three things: some threshold of talent, the right attitude about the responsibility of leading others in worship, and spiritually a right heart. [for the non-churchy folk I apologize for not explaining the "right heart" thing here]

However, common sense applies always. Common sense tells us that kids in a church Christmas program (short of Joseph fist-fighting with the wise men) are afforded much leeway and may not have any of the three things listed above, and that’s okay. Common sense tells us that smaller churches need to play the cards they’re dealt, even if it’s just Queen high. And I’m sure everyone can think of real-life, sincere, and appropriate exemptions to my skill manifesto. But I do know that even the most modestly-skilled musicians and singers can work on their craft to pursue excellence. Indeed, the pursuit of excellence is sometimes more telling to me about worship music ministry than the act of already being excellent.

Anyways, to show my support of pro-skill articles I wrote a letter to the WLM editor voicing my approval, and as “always” my letter was delicate in a chiropractic sort of way.

Thank you for Dr. Mark Roberts’ article titled “Play Skillfully”. I found it quite refreshing to have some emphasis placed on this vital, yet seemingly ignored aspect of an excellent worship ministry. I’ve long felt that even enlightened worship resources like Worship Leader Magazine softball this issue too often.

Today’s churches, despite the modern infusion of quality worship music, seemingly regard “a servant’s heart” and “a humble walk” as the only true prerequisites for music ministry. This is simply wrong, un-Biblical, and could even be sinful if practiced negligently (whether intentionally or not). For the same reason that musical ability alone – without a desire for a Christ-likeness – would be insufficient for ministry, a lack of pursuit of musical excellence in a team member or worship leader, and an apathetic stance by church leadership, is a dereliction of our duty to worship the Lord as if he REALLY IS the creator of all things.

Now of course we have to use some common sense in application. Not all churches have the same selection of talent within their congregations – and in any team environment there are times when the “second-stringers” need to be put in the game to gain the skill and experience they need. But nothing changes the fact that pursuit of excellence in music ministry – or in any aspect of our worship – is part of the local church’s pursuit of Christ.

We wouldn’t settle for merely “a great prayer life” as qualification for a brain surgeon. We wouldn’t settle for just “a solid spiritual walk” as sufficient training for an electrician. So why compromise in our worship music ministry?