How good is “good enough?”
Every time a church music director receives a suggestion from a congregant about a new music team member, there's a bit of a twist in our stomachs. I need to say this bluntly: non-musicians are not good judges of musical ability.
They typically underestimate the amount of skill and diligence required to play in the setting demanded by most churches. They also often assume that if someone is judged to be "not good enough" then the music director's standards must be too high, the thinking being that anyone with some ability and a lot of good intentions should be given a spot on stage.
Newer musicians themselves often overestimate the state of their own development. Their actual musical ability is often far less than what they perceive it to be.
My response is usually this: There is no other aspect of corporate worship that is abandoned to people with good intentions alone—why music?
So when the situation arises, music directors are often set up for a bit of an awkward conversation.
Musical people generally fall into one of the four following categories:
Beginner: This person has probably recently taken up an interest in singing or a musical instrument. At this stage there is a lot of excitement but very little self-awareness of competence. Beginners often bail when the going gets tough, when the process of learning becomes more difficult than they thought it would be.
Amateur: The amateur musician has persevered through the beginner stage and is becoming aware of their place in the spectrum of competence. This is still somewhat of a probationary stage, but this when they are probably ready to begin playing a small role in corporate worship. Pushed forward too soon however, it can shatter both confidence and the quality of the worship service itself.
Competent: A competent musician is a confident musician. At this stage they're past having to look at their fingers at each chord change, for example. Having attained this level of competence, they are now ready to start playing a more prominent role in corporate worship, perhaps even to lead a team of their own.
Professional: If you live in a larger urban centre you may have access to musicians who make their living playing or singing in a professional band or recording studio in the area. These people can be a great blessing to a music director if they have a good attitude. Sometimes however, professionals are prone to adopt the ways of the culture of idolization in which they spend the majority of their time. If this is the attitude of a professional you have access to, choose not to access their talent.
There is one more category that I won't name but will draw attention to: the competent or professional level musician who is a congregation member and a musician in addition to being music snob. (I've spent my share of time playing this role.) They attend services and judge what's happening on stage to be "okay," but they could certainly do better. So much better in fact that they won't embarrass everyone else by making themselves known. Until that attitude is set aside, this type of person is of no use to you.
When joining as a new musician, regardless of your level competence, making a first impression as someone who is humble will go a long way with your fellow team members. It also acts as a deterrent to the idolization that people in our culture seem more than willing engage in when they're impressed by anyone on a stage.
Don't give them opportunity to do so by appearing to bask in their adoration. If you become the focus it means that someone more important—Jesus, the one you're supposed to be leading them to worship—is not.
Our standards can indeed be too high, and they are too high when they impede competent musicians from serving God with their talents. If an occasional off note is all it takes to keep someone from worshiping God, the problem likely isn't with the singer.
But our standards are too low when we allow incompetent musicians to deter others from worshiping God. When we do this we put the congregation in the unenviable position of attempting to engage in worship while being led by someone with a lack of training or ability. We also set the unqualified musician up for embarrassment. Better a truthful word in private than an obvious embarrassment in public.
Having said that, we should not seek to "professionalize" our corporate worship services. Anyone who has attained the level competence required to avoid being a distraction should be put to use. And those who have not attained this level, and are willing to work toward that end, should receive the training they require.
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