Should a Worship Pastor Know How to Read Music?
I had a conversation recently with a pianist who is serving on a search committee for a minister of music at her church. She was frustrated by her pastor who had recently made the comment that the new music minister did not have to read music as long as he was good on the platform. The pianist obviously did not agree with the pastor because she knew she would be the one who would have to carry the weight of knowing how to make the music work if the minister of music did not read music.
In the pastor’s defense I agree that we want a worship leader who knows how to communicate clearly and inspire the congregation to join in the musical portion of the worship service. It does not matter how skilled the musician is if he cannot effectively lead the congregation in worship.
Finding the worship leader who is a skilled musician and an effective communicator is not always easy. I would also want this person to have a strong sense of calling and a heart for the Lord. Churches often struggle to find this combination in one person. Yet I see the approach of settling for a music minister who has no music reading skills as a last resort.
There seems to be a double standard when we expect the pastor to get theological training and some level of ability to search the Scriptures in the original languages but we don’t have the same level of expectation for another minister who is leading the church in worship and discipling the congregation (all ages) in the Gospel through music.
I encourage persons who feel called to some type of music ministry to get the training they need to do the work God has called them to do. Students preparing for music ministry or worship leadership need in depth training (both musical and theological) just like we expect for pastors who are preaching. In my 30 years of involvement in music ministry I have seen a lot of change in styles and methods of music ministry. A well trained music minister is better prepared to adjust to these changes when they come.
It seems that in our contemporary culture there has been a “dumbing down” of all areas of society. This is reflected in the comment of the pastor who says that he does not really care if his worship leader can read music. A worship pastor who does not understand the ins and outs of music reading is handicapped from the start. He has to depend on others who work with him to figure out the music.
I once heard a pastor of a mega church brag about the fact that his worship leader did not read music. This worship leader was an effective worship leader from the platform but I was thinking how much more effective he would be if he could relate to his musicians in the language that they understand and interpret every time they sit down to play.
Worship leaders should be as well prepared to do their job as any other ministers in the church. I encourage my students to get a full “toolbox” of music tools while they are in school. You may only be using one or two tools right now, but you never know what the Lord may lead you to do down the road and you want to be prepared to answer the call. I have found that to be very true in my own life.
So the answer to the question of whether a worship pastor should be able to read music is yes, of course. How much more effective will this person be in his service to the Lord and his congregation!
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Boyce College Presents
The Heart of Worship Conference 2009
January 30-31, Friday evening - Saturday
On the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY
A Conference for High School and Middle School Students who sing in choirs, play instruments in the worship band or help with sound and media.
Complete information available at:
In the worship team at our church our keyboardist is constantly writing down all the key changes because the worship pastor and most of the band cannot transpose music.
Reading music is not difficult and I think every worship pastor should learn it just for the benefits that they would get out of it.
While I agree that reading music is a good thing, being able to read music does not ensure that you are an effective musician and/or an effective minister. Most of the musicians on my team do not read music. Of course, we are not trying to play Handel’s Messiah either. I think it very much depends on the type of music that you play, the composition of your musicians (orchestral vs. rock band vs. other type, etc.) My 2 cents would be that “it depends”. The requirements that we place on ministers being able to minister is over the top and constraining at times. Remember - Peter was just a fisherman. Of course, Paul was well trained. The point is that God chooses who He uses. Sometimes, the fully trained - sometimes not. Is a worship minister any less of a worship minister because he/she doesn’t read music? Is a pastor any less of a pastor because they haven’t gone to seminary? Hard to say - better to get to know them, see God’s heart in and through them before making to hasty of a decision.
While I am only 16 years old, I can already read music fluidly and play piano at a grade 8 level, while also playing bass guitar, guitar, vocals, drums, etc. Being able to play almost every instrument in the church opens one up to unending frustration at the lack of musicality in the church these days. Even though leading worship and having that gift is important, being able to musically translate that gift into something beautiful and acceptable by God’s standard. He is sort of the creator of the heavens and the earth, so he deserves something that conveys only a percentile of who he truly is.
The worship leader on my team is not very experienced. Not only does he not have stage presence, but he doesn’t not know how to read music and his guitar playing is limited to one style and one strumming pattern. This causes many problems when preparing for a worship service in which we are trying to lead a musically gifted congregation into worship.
IN GENERAL, what I am trying to convey is that being a worship leader ensues that you have an understanding of music. Not only how to play it, but what it’s all about. Part of music is knowing how to read it. It’s almost like wanting to be an English teacher but only being able to read English at a grade 5 level. It’s unfair to yourself and to those around you.