Phillip Carter Offers Free Gospel Music Workshops in 2019

Stellar Award winning Gospel artist and church musician Phillip Carter is offering FREE music workshops to church music ministries in 2019. Phillip is on an endeavor to strengthen music ministries in need across the USA and abroad. To book a free workshop for you church or community choir visit www.buygospel.com.

The Gospel Music Industry’s Problem and Revival

The Gospel Music Industry needs to be owned by the creators, gospel labels and those who support it via media, retail etc. In my opinion, this would solve some of the major problems that we face in our industry regarding support for our genre. Gospel Music creators have always had the advantage of a built in support system via the black church and black media. We need to return back to the church for the revival of the industry. We need to support those media outlets that support us and continue to spearhead new media ventures that will help the genre. That can only happen if we(the above afformentioned) are in control and truly sold out to the genre.

Unfortunately there are not enough Gospel Music creators who see the value in ownership especially as it pertains to royalties/publishing/licensing etc. This is a result of a lack of knowledge. To many Gospel Music creators succumb to the allure of popularity in a niche market. The trade of popularity for independence will always be a sticking point for those who do not see the value in one's self and creative works. We have many Gospel Artists who are popular but own very little.

Lastly, our genre is rooted in the good news of Jesus Christ. There are those who seek to expand the content of our genre by veering from the substance that makes Gospel so powerful. I think that is a mistake. The sound of Gospel is rooted in its substance and style. Styles change but if you change the substance you have changed the original intent of the genre.

Sincerely,

Phillip Carter

Independent Gospel Artist Alliance

Artist, Producer, Label Owner, Songwriter

"Dealing With Unruly Church Employees"

As I stated in earlier blogs, being a leader is quite a daunting task especially in the church. One of the challenges that leaders often face is dealing with unruly employees. One of the definitions of unruly is " Disorderly and disruptive and not amenable to discipline or control" (Google). I would suspect that the latter part of that definition applies to most of our unruly situations (lacking discipline or control). There are 2 kinds of unruly employees. There are those who do all of their dirty work behind the scenes using the telephone, internet and group discussions. They secretly plot against you or someone else and form regimes to either overthrow you or to make your job difficult, unproductive or sometimes unbearable. Then there are those who have no fear in publicly displaying their displeasure's, thoughts, emotions about anything and everything you do with no complete thought in mind as to the effect of their public outcry. In other words they choose to hang themselves.

I know some of you are thinking "I would rather have the public outcry then the private stabbing in the back". Well keep in mind that the public outcry can cause folks to leave ministries, choir stands and pews. It does just as much damage. So how do you deal with unruly employees. If you are a Pastor, or a person who has authority to hire and fire, then you could just fire the person right? Well that only works if the person has no credibility or fan base within the congregation. I've known many Pastors who have fired employees on the spot for valid reasons and suffered consequences because they did not take into account the public sentiment for the individual they fired. Maybe you could sit the person down to talk and pray with them about the situation in the hopes that they will change right?. Well that works sometimes but most of the time it doesn't because the unruly individual does not see their own behavior as a problem. They view you, the employer, as the problem and maybe you need to change rather than them. So here are some tips that have worked for me and others when dealing with an unruly employees.

1. Keep an accurate timeline and documentation of where, when and what was said and done by the individual(s).

2. Try to avoid public confrontations with the individual unless your support system is so strong that it can withstand the possible backlash.

3. Always approach the unruly employee with kindness not letting him know how you really feel or what your possible strategy is in dealing with that person.

4. If your a Pastor, never call out that particular employee from the pulpit. Again you never know the public sentiment for a person and you do not want to gauge it from the Pulpit. If your public rebuke does not work in your favor then you have lost credibility and respect among your parishioners regardless of whether they express it to you or not.

5. Approach the individual with your evidence of their unruly behavior and ask them to stop or face the possible consequences that you have laid out. Most will not stop but they might change their method of attack so keep that in mind.

6. When the dismissal takes place never offer up the reasons why unless someone asks. You weaken your position as leader if you have to over explain your self to any and everybody. Just have the evidence ready if and when they come calling for it. NO ONE CAN ARGUE WITH THE TRUTH.


These are just a few ways to deal with unruly Church employees but there are others that I am sure some of you will mention. I welcome your thoughts, ideas and suggestions and I pray for you if you are in one of these situations.


Peace,

Phillip Carter

"Leading A Music Ministry"

What Does It Involve?

Leading a Music Ministry or Music and Arts ministry can be a daunting task. It involves administration, psychology, the skill to lead and most importantly a comprehensive musical understanding of the needs of the particular congregation you are serving. Great leaders are also great followers. When you learn how to follow you learn how to lead. In leading a Music Ministry, you have to take into consideration the different parts of the ministry you are attempting to lead. You also have to have a clear understanding of the vision of the Pastor and church that you are serving. If they do not have a clear vision then you will need to assist them in creating one based on their wants and needs as a church and Music Ministry. You would be surprised how many churches do not have mission and/or vision statements concerning their Music Ministry.

Whether you are currently a Minister of Music, getting ready to be one, or aspiring to be one its important that you understand your job in a particular ministry. In general a Minister of Music is in charge of the overall operation and musical health of the church. In my opinion, you should possess the skills play, teach, direct, sing and administrate especially if you are working at an African American church. You should not be dependent on anybody in order for you to be successful in your job. NOW, even though you possess those skills having a staff is surely helpful in being successful.

HIRING AND BUDGET

 If your church has the budget for you to hire help then you should always hire the kind of staff that will aid and enhance you and the church in the worship experience. In other words, do not hire inferior musicians. You should always seek to hire people who can make a significant change in your worship experience musically and spiritually.  I always seek to hire people who can do what I can't.  

Sometimes as the Minister of Music, churches try to short change you financially by forcing you to settle for less qualified musicians but they want the best quality of music and worship. ISN'T THAT IRONIC. Its like they don't get it. They do not understand that quality comes with a price. Quality musicians are NOT hard to find they are just hard to keep. They are hard to keep because if they feel hampered by the restraints that are sometimes put on them by Ministers of Music's, Churches and Pastors then its time to leave and seek other opportunities. Restraints can be spiritual, music and/or financial. Churches are quick to honor Pastors but ignore the musical leaders in the house. A "Thank You" sometimes can go a lonnnnngggg wayyyyy.

SONG SELECTION

Ministers of Music who are great build comprehensive programs for their choirs, praise teams, musicians and congregations that they serve. They not only teach music but they teach the Ministry of Music which is more than just reading and/or learning music and notes. They are sensitive to the musical and spiritual needs of the church they serve and often pick music that is relevant to those needs. You should pick music that is also relevant to the vocal ability of the choirs you teach. Always be mindful that unless your choir is vocally super natural they can't sing everything. You should carefully select music that will bring the best out of a particular choir. For some of you that may mean doing a lot of unison singing until your choir can handle some part singing. You should research musical selections and not just the Top 40 songs you hear on the radio. Most of the time you, and the people you serve, will receive the greatest blessing from songs that are less popular. You should always teach music that has some scriptural basis to it. Songs that have scriptural background to it are more effective and more likely to stick in the hearts and minds of your choirs and congregation.

NON-  MUSICAL RELATED ACTIVITIES


It's important to coordinate a few activities throughout the year with your music ministry that are non music related. Fellow shipping out of the choir stand is very helpful in attaining unity. Sometimes the people just need to know that you as the leader are a human being and that you like to do other things. People trust who they know and like. If they can see another side of you, every now and then, it helps in the choir stand.


TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS


Leaders who do not attend training sessions and workshops are stag net and boring. You should always be in a posture of learning. Its VERY important to get out of your church as much as you can and attend workshops so that you can hear and see what others are doing. Workshops are often great sources of opportunity to get new music. The bible commands us to sing unto the Lord some new songs. It's hard to get new songs if you can't get out.

LEAVING A LEGACY


Everybody should aspire to leave something positive behind for the next person to use providing that you had a positive impact on the people you were serving.Creating a musical library of your works, whether physical and digital, is important to the next person who will have your job after  you. A great Minister of Music does not operate out of spite but out of love for the Ministry of Music and the people you serve.


Peace,
Phillip Carter

The Hiring of a Church Musician Vol 2 (From a Musicians Perspective)

It seems that the latter part of 2011 heading into 2012 was a changing of seasons for a lot of musicians including myself. When those changes happen we find ourselves in a sort of wilderness as to where God is taking us. Some of us know where we are going because God has already hooked it up before we left the last assignment. However there are those of us who had to exit the premises because it was time to go and staying at that assignment would be detrimental for us and the church. Of course some of us were let go for various other reasons as well. I think it is important to take some time to reflect on your last assignment before taking another position in a church. Reflect on what went right and wrong. Reflect on what you can tolerate and no longer tolerate in the next assignment. If you didn't know, the older you get the more intolerable you get when it comes to certain characteristics of a church job but in the end you love it because it is what God has called you to do.  SO HERE WE GO. 

 The word gets out that you are free and available and here comes the Pastors, Bishops,  Deacons, heads of search committees, music committees, loddy, doddy and everybody calling you inquiring about your availability to come and help with their ministries.  You find yourself in a sea of newness eagerly anticipating the interviews and opportunities that you are now exposed to and often consider the interviews without doing some investigative work first. Here are some suggestions as to what you should consider BEFORE you walk in the door to interview.

1. Who was there before you? You should always try and find out who was there before you and, if possible, talk to that person to get an idea of their perspective of the ministry. There is always to sides to every story so its important to get both sides (The Musicians and The Churches). I recently resigned from a church and the new Minister of Music called me before he took the job and we discussed the pro's and con's of the ministry there so that he would know what he was getting himself into. Pastor's do it all of the time. They call each other and have conversations about you (the musician) before they even talk to you so you should do the same.

2. What kind of Pastor does the church have?  You REALLY need to know what kind of personality the Pastor has before you walk in the door. You absolutely need to know if the persons a very hands-on Pastor or not because if they are, they most likely will be controlling every thing you do. You should ask the previous person who held the job and, if accessible, other Pastors as well about the Pastor you are interviewing with. You will be surprised as to the insight you would receive.

3. What is the financial position of the church? You need to know if the church is bad with their finances for OBVIOUS reasons. lol 

Now!! If you are satisfied with the answers to these questions then you can go into the interview with the next set of questions.

1. Ask the Pastor or leadership, What is your vision or what is the vision of the church? You want to make sure that you can fulfill the needs of the church and its Pastor so get a clear understanding as to where they are trying to go. You need to know if their vision lines up with your spiritual beliefs. WARNING- Keep in mind that visions do change throughout the course of your potential employment that's why its important to know the personality of the Pastor.

2. What is the position entail?  Ask plenty of questions to make sure you get the most accurate answers about what they are asking you to do. KEEP IN MIND that the leadership doesn't always know how to explain there needs so its important that you help them by restating to them your understanding of what they said to you. 

3. What is the pay?  Please understand that, more than likely, whatever you walk in the door with that's what its going to be for a long time or for good. Most churches make promises that they cannot keep to musicians regarding pay raises again for various reasons.

4. What are the benefits? Now you know that most of our churches DO NOT offer benefits to musicians for various reasons but it doesn't hurt to ask. "You have not because you ask not"

5. PAID VACATIONS?  Everybody needs a vacation. You wanna know if the church is willing to supplement that and for how long each year.

6. What is the Music Ministry budget? You defiantly want to know how much they value the music ministry. Value=Money. Anything a church places value on, they will invest money into.

7. Music workshops? Many musicians really deprive themselves by not asking or sometimes demanding that the church pay for there future development as a "Minstrel in the house of the Lord". Pastors have no problem, if the church can afford it, charging the church for their educational development. You should do the same. You should be able to attend local and/or national workshops so that you can be exposed to new music, new experiences and new approaches to music ministry. 

These are some basic questions that everyone, who takes a leadership role in the music ministry, should ask before considering the position. You as the musician know what you can deal with and what you can't. Just know that you are a human beings and not herded cattle and never take a job JUST BECAUSE OF THE MONEY because it will backfire on you. Churches who pay a lot demand a lot. Lastly and most importantly, pray about every potential situation and let the Lord lead you as you go through the various interview processes.  

Peace,

Phillip Carter

The Hiring of a Church Musician Vol 1 (From The Church's Perspective)

Music plays such an important role in our worship that hiring the right or wrong Musician, Minister of Music or Director could move your ministry forward or backwards for years (in some cases). Whoever is doing the hiring in your church should have a clear vision on where the ministry God has blessed your church with is going. Without that answer you have no idea who to hire. In most cases, the Pastor has the responsibility to share that vision with the potential candidates.  The Pastor or Leadership should never hire someone just based off of ability or popularity. There should be open dialogue about personal and spiritual things concerning both the Pastor and Musician. Every decision made concerning worship in the church should be a spiritual decision.You (Pastor and/or leadership) should be clear about your expectations, needs and your personality as a leader and/or congregation. You should investigate the spiritual and musical strengths and weaknesses of your potential applicants.

For some this is a whole new level of relationship. Back in the day it was just "I need a musician and this is what  I am or am not paying" and you hired the 1st one available. No talk of vision or ministry. Of course salary/benefits is a major issue. It's important to be open and honest about what you can afford before you waste your time and the interviewees time with frivolous conversation. Musicians/Directors wanna know "How Much". That's not a greedy question. Its a necessary question that often gets answered last (Oh how frustrating). Most musicians, that I know of, really care about the needs of the church but they also wanna know about the payment as well. 

Pastors, Leaders don't hire anyone you are not willing to support and trust as a leader or future leader. You should hire someone that you are going to respect and vice versa. 

Every hire, unless you have previous history with the Musician/Director, should be on a trial (60 to 90 day) period so that if things don't work out you can get out of the arrangement. Sometimes you have to search and pray hard and long for that person(s) to come your way but it's well worth the wait. Just ask the Pastors or Leaders who are happy with their Music Ministry leaders.  They will tell you that the marriage between Pastor and Musician can be wonderful when two are in agreement and operating correctly.

Phillip Carter