What if the church couldn't pay you?

If your church could not or would not pay you for leading worship, would you do it anyway? Would there be a noticeable difference in the quality of the worship?

Comments

[Abner]

A lot of good staff has been written already about this. I'm on the side of the people who think that WL should be paid. There shouldn't be even an argument about big churches that pay staff that they should pay, at least, a worship director. But even for small churches, I think that they should "invest". Because the reality is, yes, the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential, but when you hear something weel played, it captivates people. I know what I'm talking about. I've actually heard of people not visiting a certain church again just because the music was horrendous!
Maybe in the beginning, they don't need to start with a full time, but paying part time not only gives the leader time to prepare, rehearse and pray, but also tells him/her: "I care about what you do, and your ministry is important!"

[Christel]

What an interesting question.

Being paid wouldn't increase my mental commitment, annointing, or motive. But practically speaking, it would greatly increase the time I have available to prepare.

[healed4real]

hmmm..interesting question. have been on both sides of this situation. i grew up observing our full-time minister of music as part of the paid staff at our church. our musicians were paid and had full-time jobs. if i were given the opportunity to work as a full-time worship leader, i would be able to spend more time creating and developing a worship and arts ministry. i would also have more time for prayer and development of worship and praise seminars for the entire church--not just the musicians. having the congregation involved in the worship process, in opinion, is critical to the progression and sincereity of the worship experience. personally, i have led worhship for free and have been paid to be a choir member for a special production in a church. it was a good feeling and it helped with expenses for getting to/from the church. if i were not able to be paid, the worship experience would be the same, just not as thorough as i would like.
great question and thought-provoking answers from all.
God bless you all. Love, healed4real

[Chris]

What sets a Lead Pastor apart from the Worship Leader? I have worked in Worship ministry for over 15 years, I have been a member of worship bands and I have lead worship bands. From a strictly work standpoint I don't see a difference in the effort that needs to be put in between the lead pastor and the worship director.
Here's why I say that:

Being a worship leader you have to be creatively motivated. Every week you need to come up with a new set list. And plan for your service to be anywhere from 30min to 1hr and 30 min. This takes a lot of time.

The worship leader/band helps set the tone for the service. We basically push the people through the garbage they have been dealing with all week to prepare them for the preaching portion of the service. This can be very draining emotionally and spiritually.

We also deal with a specific group of people consistently. You have the drama of musicians.
You deal one-on-one with those people all the time. Trying to work past the egos, personalities, bad days etc., of each person. Musicians are some of the most temperamental people I know. ;)

Musically you have to always be up on your game. I can tell when I haven't spent time during the week to practice. You have to spend time creating arrangements, transitions, flow.

You have to always be up on new music. In a year I probably spend somewhere between $1000-2000 on new music. Don't get me wrong, I like listening to new music so that's not a burden I would probably buy it anyways, but as a worship leader a lot of people expect when they hear an annointed song on the radio or at some other church event that we should be doing it at church.

These are just the practical points. Don't forget the time that you actually have to spend talking and walking with God.

Regardless of getting paid or not my heart wouldn't change on how I worshipped God - my whole heart would be in it, but I know that my quality of worship leading would diminish - I just wouldn't have time.

Ultimately I believe that the gift that God gave us - worship leaders - is on the same level as the gift he placed within your pastor. If your church says "Your not a pastor, so we don't pay you", then I think there's a problem. If your church just can't afford it then that's something else entirely.

What is the point of a Sunday morning service? If we had a service without one element or the other - meaning if you lost the preaching element of your service or if you lost the worship side of your service - would your church survive? If not, then why shouldn't you and the pastor be paid?

God gives everyone gifts - for some it might be management, others maybe the ability to work with computers, etc. You don't see those people working for free or others expecting it for free. My point is that our gift of musicianship or creativity shouldn't always have to be a "donation". And that's how a lot of us feel.

Anwyays my two cents.

P.S. - I liked this question - I haven't really ever stopped to wonder either side of the question.

[Matybigfro]

what a load of bull,

Is someone gonna even suggest looking at a bible perspective on this

[Yvonne Mason]

I currently live in Wales, UK, and have done both. I used to work for a big church in London as a full time paid worship leader, alongside a large group of mostly professional musicians. Oddly enough I was the only real amateur when it came to music. That lasted two years and I gave up being paid because although it gave me the freedom to concentrate on developing the church's worship ministry, it also led to me being taken advantage of, because I was the only worship leader in the church who couldn't say no to a request to lead extra services, worship for the Bible studies etc. In fact I burned out, and left the worship ministry for 18 months. Altogether I have been leading worship for twenty years, and the above is the only time I have been paid for it. I regard leading God's people, young and old, as an honour, and am regularly reduced to grateful tears as I lead worship, that God has called me to such a wonderful ministry! Who needs to be paid for that?

[Courtney]

I'm the worship intern at my church and will soon be taking over leading our Celebrate Recovery venue. I don't get paid now, and if they still can't pay me after I take over CR, I'll do it anyway.

We currently have two full-time music "pastors" on staff: a music director and a music coordinator. Previously, we also paid our college worship leader, and our coordinator was being paid to lead high school worship. In that time the director had a paid assistant, but his job was consolidated into the coordinator position which includes leading &/or coordinating worship for high school & college and assisting the director.

Our band members are all volunteer and always will be. I believe that worship leaders whose entire ministry is worship, and whose entire livelihood comes from the church, should be paid (if the church can afford it), whether full-time or part-time. Our worship leaders (the two paid staff, our current unpaid college leader, and myself) are involved in so much more than "just" the music aspect of the church that we practically all work there full-time anyway.

The quality of *worship* has nothing to do with money, but the quality of the *music* has much to do with it as money determines how much time a leader is able to put into preparation of the music.

[Valerie]

As 'worship' has become more programed and theatrical, it has become a full time job for many leaders in the church.

For 13 years I stayed home with my children, taking time off from teaching in the public schools. I had 20+ hours a week to devote to preparing and planning the service along side our leaders.

It was a wonderful time of growth, as we moved from singing 3 hymns, adding a chorus or two, moving to a 'worship' band, integrating other aspects (prayer, scripture meditations, special music, poetry, dance etc...) into the song portion of the service so there was some leading and directing the thoughts of the congregation to a basic theme or scripture to focus on, prayerfully trying to create an atmosphere that enabled the congregation to encounter the God of the Universe as the corporate body in a meaningful way. Trying to engage their hearts and minds in active participation within the service, instead of coming, sitting and listening.

But eventually it was too big of a job. Coordinating themes and scriptures, meditations, preparing song lyrics, (power point and eventually media shout) rehearsing musicians, and then leading 2 separate services every Sunday.

When my husband lost his job, I knew God had prepared me earlier in life to step up at 'such a time'. And so I was blessed to go back to work full time as a music teacher.

The congregations elders did offer to put me on as a paid staff member, but I would be considered to be part time and was offered 2 Sunday's off a year (family lived out of town). We would have had no health insurance and would have had to sell our home and move further away to live on that salary.

I turned down the money, took the teaching position and tried to do it all. Our minister at the time helped me to see that I could not be a full time teacher, full time homemaker, full time mother and full time 'worship' leader ( no longer the song service leader), Prayer Coordinator, VBS Leader, Children's Choir Director all at the same time. Something was going to suffer. And so believing God was leading me to a new place in service, I stopped leading the team and planning the services (as well as many other places of service).

Much time has passed, and I truly miss the intimacy I had when I was able to spend so much time preparing to lead others, that was in fact a huge portion of my worship. I am now at a place in my life where I want to get back to the basics of Scripture, prayer and heartfelt songs of praise and meditation as I worship the King. I really struggle with the fact that 'Worship' has become such a business and such a point of contention within many of our congregations.

Song services are only a portion of worship, and should never have become a business.