Does church music pay?

[Jhengsman]

I came in assuming that besides the two special weekends each year when things like string quartets or small orchestras are hired that any church paying guitarist and bassist would have had back ups on hand anyway. As they tend to have rotations and enough volunteers to form multiple bands

 

[roller]

Depends on how well he plays and if he brings a sunburst P with flats and tort. Anything else and it's downstairs.

"Is this the right church for metal?"

 

[Joebone]

So do you think my moral standing improves if I play for free? Like everyone here I’ve played without pay plenty, but I’m not sure it’s earned me any brownie points, and I know it hasn’t helped pay the bills. That’s a nice idea though. Hopefully I can oth encourage folks and take the money too .

Well, hey, is it the neighborly Christian thing for you to play for free? Is it the neighborly Christian thing to expect you to play for free? A lot of this depends on context... Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but render unto the band what's righteous for the band!

 

[Drgonzonm]

One thing I always found interesting…

The few times I did get paid for music at religious services were the times I neither expected to be paid nor asked to be.

For the record I have never asked to be paid for a religious service, although there was one time I took a musical director job with a church and was told that I would be paid, although I never was.

When I mentioned I’ d been managing the choir and music program for half a year but had yet to see any promised checks to one congregant at that particular church who was on some sort of board there, the person looked at me with a shocked expression and said that while I would be paid, it was “understood” in that church that the money would immediately be given back to the church as a donation. “It’s the way it’s always been done here,” he told me. “No parishioner ever accepts money from the church.”

When I pointed out I wasn’t a member of the congregation, he just looked at me blankly, as though he was confused by what I just said, and then did an about face and walked away.

That was definitely a weird moment for me trying to parse his “would be paid” but wouldn’t be paid dialectic.
In
Never saw a dime from that engagement.

the church did not fulfill the terms of your agreement. You were not paid. To me this was wrong. On your taxes, you could treat the non-payment as a charital contribution (In kind donation,) or unpaid debt. At the minimum, you should have gotten a letter from that church for tax purposes. Isn't there something about not stealing.

 

[gjohnson441496]

"For the record I have never asked to be paid for a religious service, although there was one time I took a musical director job with a church and was told that I would be paid, although I never was."

That was totally wrong for them to use you like that. You lasted way longer than I would've.

 

[SactoBass]

BROTHER: "And Saint Atila raised the bass guitar up on high, saying, 'Oh, Lord, bless this thy bass guitar that with it thou mayest play thy bass notes to perfection, in thy mercy.' And the Lord did grin, and bassists did feast upon the Alembics, and Rickenbackers, and Laklands, and Rob Allens, and Fenders, and Gibsons, and Spectors, and Ritters, and --"

MAYNARD: Skip a bit, Brother.

BROTHER: "And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou tune thy Holy bass. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shalt be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy bass notes towards thou audience, who being Holy in my sight, shall love it.'"

MAYNARD: Amen.

 

[Drgonzonm]

Well, hey, is it the neighborly Christian thing for you to play for free? Is it the neighborly Christian thing to expect you to play for free? A lot of this depends on context... Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but render unto the band what's righteous for the band!

I believe we have the right to volunteer, does the pastor work for free?. Does the pastor receive housing or other allowance? Read the parable about the workers in vineyard. Pardon my view, but some one is twisting the Word. Charity is a choice. Charity is also a duty, how you perform your duty is your choice.
The tax code even has special deductions for clergy, I havent seen similar special deduftions for church musicians. Read hetween the lines for my meaning. Nuff said

 

[Joebone]

I believe we have the right to volunteer, does the pastor work for free?. Does the pastor receive housing or other allowance? Read the parable about the workers in vineyard. Pardon my view, but some one is twisting the Word. Charity is a choice. Charity is also a duty, how you perform your duty is your choice. Nuff said

Dude, please check out my first post on this thread - I think we were on the same side here - but also consider whether some charity perhaps could flow to the band. Not mutually exclusive!

 

[Drgonzonm]

Dude, please check out my first post on this thread - I think we were on the same side here - but also consider whether some charity perhaps could flow to the band. Not mutually exclusive!

the charity I am referring to is the band's charity. If the pastor gets paid or receives allowances, then the band members should get paid. Let's say a fair pay is $50. A service, and the church asks for a tithing you should receive the 50, and then you pay the tithing. However, you have an option to pay for free, the in kind service is your charitable contribution.
I consider my playing in a choir as prayer, practice is getting ready for formal prayer.
To me, a church is a nonprofit organization. The band is part of the overhead. Overhead needs to be paid.

 

[Joebone]

the charity I am referring to is the band's charity. If the pastor gets paid or receives allowances, then the band members should get paid. Let's say a fair pay is $50. A service, and the church asks for a tithing you should receive the 50, and then you pay the tithing. However, you have an option to pay for free, the in kind service is your charitable contribution.
I consider my playing in a choir as prayer, practice is getting ready for formal prayer.
To me, a church is a nonprofit organization. The band is part of the overhead. Overhead needs to be paid.

Ah..somewhat more nuanced than I'd thought, given the tithing thing. All good.

 

[fhm555]

I know a guy who won't fart for free any place else but plays free every time his church band performs. He's in a secular band as well and is always running down people in that side of the business who play for free.

I was approached to play in a local church band and agreed to do so, but I wanted to make sure the lady who offered me the job was aware of my feelings on organized religion. When I told her about that she looked at me like a was some kind of smelly dangerous insect that needed crushing and walked off without a word. I still see her occasionally and she has never said another word to me and refuses to make eye contact. I would imagine if he was not on the job when we ran into each other she would leave the building. The animosity is palpable and I don't really get it. Up to that point she was never shy about her contempt for the unchurched, and I assume because I was a nice guy who played in a country band (in bars) with her husband I was one of the in crowd, but when I was equally as candid and honest with her about my feelings toward organized religion, it was like I slapped her or something.

 

[squidtastic]

I've been invited to play bass for a service on Sunday - it sounds like just a few songs. I'm not a congregant or even a churchgoer, so this is a first for me. Do these gigs typically pay? Do they pay well? Is a backline sometimes / usually in place? Thanks for the info.

Yes!
I'm a heathen who did church gigs at various churches for about 10 years -- they all paid, and some pretty well. The X-mas gigs paid even better. One year I got $250 for playing 4 songs. Can't complain!
As for backline, sometimes yes, sometimes no.

 

[Liam Wald]

Does church music pay...?
Sure. Pays the preacher.
Everything about church is giving.
Give, give, give.
Churches don't pay anyone. They just take.
Taking is easy when you are the church..
That's what they do.
Don't expect to get paid and keep an eye on your children.

 

[40Hz]

the church did not fulfill the terms of your agreement. You were not paid. To me this was wrong. On your taxes, you could treat the non-payment as a charital contribution (In kind donation,) or unpaid debt. At the minimum, you should have gotten a letter from that church for tax purposes. Isn't there something about not stealing.

Long in the past and over and done with. I was in my early twenties and still pretty wet behind the ears in those days.

I like to think I’ve learned a thing or two since then. And a lot of it the hard way.

I think the real takeaway from my experience is that all organizations are made up of people and run by them. So in all fairness, they’re only as good and true to their avowed principles as the people running them are. The fact that people often use their so-called “faith” as a justification for all sorts of weird and negative behavior which directly contradicts the principles they claim to adhere to is more a reflection on the individual rather than the institution itself.

Bottom line: It all comes down to us. Always.

 

[the yeti]

I've been invited to play bass for a service on Sunday - it sounds like just a few songs. I'm not a congregant or even a churchgoer, so this is a first for me. Do these gigs typically pay? Do they pay well? Is a backline sometimes / usually in place? Thanks for the info.

were you invited by the bandleader? did you pose your questions to them? do you think that perhaps they might be a more reliable source of information?

 

[the yeti]

on a more or less serious not, everyone i know that plays for a church makes $200+.

 

[TomB]

were you invited by the bandleader? did you pose your questions to them? do you think that perhaps they might be a more reliable source of information?

Yes, yes, and yes. ...but I was curious what others' experience has been. This thread has shown that it is highly variable, and gets into the personal belief category, which hadn't occurred to me (but probably should have). Thanks all for sharing your experience and advice. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[khutch]

"Is this the right church for metal?"

Get in touch with Stryper, they can tell you which are and which are not the right churches for metal!

I've never been paid to play or sing anywhere. But I have always performed as part of church or school programs. I'm currently playing bass in a rotation and singing bass in the choir for a church of about 800. Only a few of those involved with the worship ministry are paid: the senior pastor, the worship pastor (aka band leader and choir director), and the technical director. Our most excellent choir pianist is not paid but the choir does take up a collection for her at the end of every "season". All the other musicians and vocalists are unpaid. But some of them are exceptionally fine musicians and work in the music industry in some fashion as their day jobs.

I'm a true believer so I do not need to be paid and I am sure most of the others feel the same way, including those who are paid. Like those who do all kinds of other unpaid and often unnoticed work around the church we consider it an act of worship, an expression of our devotion to God, and an expression of love for our fellow congregants. Those of us who are paid have this work as their day jobs so of course they need to be paid like any other workers but I believe in every case they would do the work for free if they happened to be independently wealthy. Church music tends to be wonderfully varied (especially in a church with a choir) so it stretches you as a musician and in my case I get to play with far better musicians than myself which is also a great experience. In my particular church you do have to be a true believer to be on stage in any capacity. No one should be offended by that, any religious body that takes its religion seriously would have the same requirement. If you, the secular bassist, are offered work at a church that does not have this requirement you can relax. It is a pretty certain sign that they do not take their beliefs any more seriously than you do!

But some churches do pay their musicians and there is nothing wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with those musicians accepting that pay either. If you are contacted by a church that wants a bassist for an occasion, be it special or weekly, then you should bring up the matter of pay before agreeing to take the job. And the church should honor its promises regarding pay, there is no excuse for not doing that. Abraham's God said "do not muzzle the ox while it is grinding" and everyone who claims to serve Him should live up to that standard. As to your eternal salvation, traditional Christian doctrine maintains that playing bass will not earn it for you and accepting payment for playing bass will not jeopardize it. So have no fears in that regard and while TB policy prevents me from giving you the details, if you are playing in a church band then there should be someone there who can fill you in on the rest!

Enjoy your church gig, they can be a lot of fun and I hope that yours is.

 

[jaymelewis]

A lot of places function on volunteers, or have some extent of volunteering. My experience has been that really small or really traditional churches pay (and pay well), medium sized churches don't, and really large ones do (not always so well).

Are you asking if you can expect payment from this church that you're playing at? That's something you'd want to ask them, because it can vary. But being payed to play at church has been a very stable income for me for the past decade or so.

 

[roller]

Get in touch with Stryper, they can tell you which are and which are not the right churches for metal!

I'm pretty sure those guys don't know anything about metal. But cheezy, hard rock? Sure.