What are the key attitudes and values that shape the culture of your church music team?
You might not feel like much of a team because there are only few of you, or (in this current season, at least) there is no music team as such! But whether we’re many or few, each of us contributes to how the music is led in our churches; it’s vital to be on the same page.
We have five core values at CCM (Christ Church Mayfair). I’m sure there are others. We’ve done a short Bible study on each of them in our devotional times at the start of rehearsals. These values have proved very helpful in drawing our team back to what we’re about. They’ve continued to shape how I’m seeking to lead our church in sung worship during this time apart.
And, one day soon, we will be back together again as church. It’s worth using this season while rotas are paused, to reflect: what defines our team? I hope and pray that these five will come to define us more and more, and perhaps get you thinking about your church, too…
Humble service (Phil. 2:5-11)
We want to have the same attitude as Jesus towards the rest of our team and the congregation. Personal preference laid aside, we use all of our creativity and musical skill to help the truth in our songs dwell richly in those we lead. We stand to serve, not for the affirmation of people, but as fellow sinners who delight to share in ministering the message of a great Saviour.
Undistracting excellence (2 Cor. 3:18-4:6)
John Piper coined this phrase, saying: ‘We will try to sing and play … in such a way that people’s attention will not be diverted from the substance by shoddy ministry nor by excessive finesse, elegance, or refinement. Natural, undistracting excellence will let the truth and beauty of God shine through.’ He’s expressing what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3-4. We trust that the Holy Spirit is powerfully active as we behold Christ, to transform us into His likeness. Therefore, we don’t lose heart, deceiving people or distorting the word, but set it forth plainly.
Some say it’s the musician’s job to get out of the way. I disagree with that. We’re there to facilitate the sung worship of our church – to lead them. Clear leadership doesn’t draw attention to itself, but points to ‘the substance’ – the glory of God in Jesus Christ. This isn’t a call for blandness, but an authentic response to the word of God through our music and our emotions.
Complete integrity (Rom.12:1-2)
God reveals His mercy in the Scriptures; we respond with gratitude by living for His glory. We don’t want to be those who express our worship of God one way when we’re on stage, and another way in the congregation or during the week. Every moment of our lives is caught up in this great offering of worship to the Father, because of the work of the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit: Love so amazing, so divine Demands my soul, my life, my all.
And as far as we are able, as we sing, play and mix, we want our minds to be renewed by the truth that we sing, not simply preoccupied by the fact we are singing, playing or mixing. That comes with practice, which is why we also strive for…
Passionate commitment (Rom.12:9-16)
We want to be devoted to God’s glory, to one another as a team, and to the church we love and lead. Each member of our team is part of a discipleship group. We do our best to send out sheet music and audio tracks in the week to give people the chance to practice ahead of rehearsal. It’s costly to get to church 90 minutes before the service! But we want to be committed to serving our church, honouring our team and glorifying God to the best of our abilities.
Prayerful dependence (Ps.127:1-2a)
We recognise that our ministry is not primarily practical and musical, but spiritual. We can’t transform hearts through our music. We can’t awaken dead souls to life. We can’t shake people from the grip of idolatry and cause them to love Christ. But the Spirit of God can – this is all His work. We expect Him to be at work in our midst when we gather. So we often acknowledge this paradox: God has given us gifts to serve for the sake of building His church, but without His promised Holy Spirit, we labour in vain. And so we pray before, during and after we serve: ‘Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.’
