"Losing a Generation of Young Church Musicians"

As I reflect back on my early years as a musician. I thank God for my father with whom I had the opportunity to play with on many Sundays and during the week in church. Most of the churches that I played  in were small and the music was somewhat behind the times. However it was at those humble beginnings that I learned how to be a church musician. I learned praise songs, hymns and spirituals. I learned that it was not about the money but it was about my relationship with God and His music. I learned how to teach parts and deal with people. I also learned how to work with and respect the Pastor. For a long time getting paid was not even apart of my vocabulary. In addition to playing in church, I also worked part time cutting grass after school and on weekends. When I finally started receiving some kind of compensation, my compensation started at $35 a service which included rehearsals. Later on, as I matured as a musician, my father and I decided that it was time to explore other church options because we had outgrown our current situation. WOW!! Those humble beginnings really paid off and I thank God for it as I reflect back now. I wonder how many young musicians have a similar testimony today? My guess is not many...

It seems that we are in some what of a crises as it pertains to the younger generation of church musicians. There is minimal integrity,  minimal knowledge of music repertoire, no anointing and not enough mentors to go around. Every Pastor that I talk to, that is looking for a musician to hire, all want the same thing. They want a seasoned musician but their are none to go around. A seasoned musician is one who has been trained with a certain measure of experience to handle a certain job. Seasoning has little to do with age. I was a seasoned musician at the age of 16 because of my father and the exposure that I had playing and directing at a young age. There is NOT a shortage of musicians but there is a serious shortage of seasoned musicians.  I am 36 years old and most of the musicians who are 10 years younger or more have become arrogant because of the early pedestals that some of us have put them on due to their exceptional abilities. They are demanding respect and competitive salaries with little to no training(musical and spiritual) and/or experience. They view music ministry as a way to pay their bills and gain popularity and not as a calling.

You may ask "How did this happen and who's to blame". Let's start with those of us who are seasoned musicians who have become so self-serving and self indulgent that we are no longer taking the time to mentor/teach the younger generation what it is to be a minstrel in the house of God. We no longer have the time to pass on what was freely given to us.  We are so focused on our own careers that we forgot to go back and help somebody else. I don't want to leave out the fact that many of us(musicians) are threatened by their musical abilities so we decline to mentor them so save our own jobs or positions. Next up is the Pastors who, out of desperation and lack of spiritual discernment, have and continue to hire these young musicians out of desperation and the need to keep up with today's church musical environment.  Just because someone knows the latest chords and chord progressions does not qualify them to be the next musical Moses to bring you out of your dark ages. Then after you hire them you do LITTLE TO NOTHING to invest in them as musicians and as people.

Thirdly is the parents who see dollar signs like their children and have allowed them to leave the nest too early without the proper training and spiritual development which has led to all kind of problems such as homosexuality, fornication and drugs just to name a few. Lastly its some of the Gospel Artists, who many look up to, who take these youngins on the road with them, in the name of cheap labor, and create a false sense of  reality by not explaining to them how they arrived themselves.  Everybody has to crawl before learn to walk.

This is an indictment on the church. The sad thing is that it is too late to save some of the musicians. They are LONG GONE and have been exposed to too much of the negative to turn around now. However we can save the ones we can and the new young musicians who are coming up with our mentorship, help and support.  Let's teach our younger generation to work for what they want out of life instead of handing it to them on a silver platter.

Peace,
Phillip Carter