Serve your church - learn to play a musical instrument

‘Your choice of career is the biggest ethical decision you’ll ever make.’ So says 80,000 Hours*. ‘All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us,’ says J.R.R. Tolkien in The Fellowship of the Ring. ‘A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil,’ says Ecclesiastes 2:24.

What are you going to do with your time? It’s a question we can’t avoid. As Christians, we have the benefit of the wealth of Biblical wisdom to help navigate the myriad right answers.

But I wonder if you had ever considered musical training as a potential option?

In some ways, this is something that happens to all churchgoing Christians by default. Music is a craft that is learned by doing, and Christians ‘do’ a lot of music.

But I want to persuade you that learning an instrument could be a worthwhile investment of your time. Three brief reasons:

1. It serves your church. When Christians gather, it’s only a matter of time before they start singing. All churches need musicians to help lead them. Tell your pastor that you’re learning to play an instrument with a view of serving your church and you’ll make their day! Many churches survive by singing along to recordings; why not be the person who reintroduces live music to your fellowship?

2. I believe that the local church should be the best place to learn music. There are always needs and opportunities to play or sing. But, unlike in a concert hall, if you make a few slips along the way, you do so in the context of family steeped in Christ-like grace and forgiveness. We are a community following the lead of the Holy Spirit, pursuing growth and Christ-likeness, not worldly judgment or consumerism.

3. It’s a remarkable witness. Against the backdrop of a culture that views music-making as an increasingly optional extra, the church, just by being the church, can present a vibrant alternative culture, where music is not just something for the special few, but is ‘enjoyed by all and reflects the glory of our amazing God.

In short, have a go!