Basshappi Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I was talking to a friend of mine who plays drums in his church's worship band. He mentioned that he is paid $100/wk for two services each Sunday. We were wondering if anyone here gets paid for playing in their worship bands? Inquiring minds want to know... Nothing is as it seems but everything is exactly what it is - B. Banzai Life is what happens while you are busy playing in bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
way2fat Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Why not? I assume it's deductible for the church. I can't answer directly because whenever I get near a church I start hearing thunder. www.ethertonswitch.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Thorne Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 From my perspective it's a blessing to be able to play in church for the Lord and His people. The way I look at it - without trying to sound too "righteous" or "spiritual" - God gave me my gift and if I can give back in some small way I'm happy to. If it ever stopped being a blessing I imagine I'd bail rather than ask for pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basshappi Posted January 7, 2006 Author Share Posted January 7, 2006 Point of clarification: He did not ask for payment he is there for the right reason, this is just something his church does.I was very surprised by this and as we got to talking about it we started wondering how widespread this might be. Nothing is as it seems but everything is exactly what it is - B. Banzai Life is what happens while you are busy playing in bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottomgottem Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I do not think that it is totally unheard of. My priest (before he became a priest) made a living as a musician. Several of his standing gigs were for playing pipe organs during services. I assume it's deductible for the church. - way2fat I thought that churches were tax exempt. My whole trick is to keep the tune well out in front. If I play Tchaikovsky, I play his melodies and skip his spiritual struggle. ~Liberace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikertrash Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I only did that briefly but, I was pretty well paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whacked Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 deleted the biggest part of this post so I dont appear to great an asshat. when my baby sis was attending a JC, she was paid like $50/wk to lead the singing during mass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLroomtempJ Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 i get paid nothing (and i do rehearsals and two services). I know that some people that I play with in worship services get paid as much as $150/service. Both churches for which i play (brooklyn and cambridge) have two services on sunday. I usually play two services on sundays. I'm well aware of the fact that others around me get paid while i do not...but i will not let money allow to lose focus on why i am in church. jason 2cor5:21 Soli Deo Gloria "it's the beauty of a community. it takes a village to raise a[n] [LLroomtempJ]." -robb My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATM Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I played for the sake of playing. My little way of giving back. It did count towards community service for Confirmation, but I was already playing (make sense?). I believe it's a personal decision and pass no judgement one way or the other. Hmmm, sounds like religion to me. Anyway, I'm still in the process of finding a church to play in again. I'll be looking for a good group to play with, with no outlook on financial benefits. ATM http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/atmofmn/Bass/DeepThoughtsBS.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddiePlaysBass Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I'm not religious and churches here don't have bands, but if they did I would probably go and play. A gig's a gig. And to be honest I wouldn't care if I got paid or not. But I wouldn't decline it if they did "I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassaddik Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 this past Christmas, i was asked to play 4 shows at a church i do not attend- it involved a rehearsal and they paid well. I took the money.At the church where i used to play, they offered $100 for 2 services. I refused the money. The worship leader insisted, saying everyone got paid and it would be odd for me to be the only one not getting a check. I solved the problem by telling them to write the check to the church and consider it my tithing. I don't play in the church i recently started going to, they have it covered by a few young guys. That's cool, it's not why I am there, if they ever needed me, i would play. But the reason i go there is simply that the church and the pastors are on fire for Christ and I get so much from the messages. I drive a lot longer to go to this very annointed church. This week, I have to leave service early to get to a paying gig elsewhere. It is going to hurt to have to leave. Special place this one, the Holy Spirit is all up in there. I have found my church home Praise ye the LORD. ....praise him with stringed instruments and organs... Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. excerpt from- Psalm 150 visit me at: www.adriangarcia.net for His glory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Thorne Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Originally posted by basshappi: Point of clarification: He did not ask for payment he is there for the right reason, this is just something his church does.I was very surprised by this and as we got to talking about it we started wondering how widespread this might be. Yup. Not sure anybody was criticizing your friend, and if I sounded like I was I apologize. As it is it's way too easy for me to start feeling like "Mr. Big Balls Rock Star" and to get paid by the church would muddy my personal spiritual/emotional waters. Everybody walks their own walk. N.B. Bottomgottem, please note that I've appropriated one of your comments in another thread for a signature, with proper attribution, of course. Hope you don't mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred TBP Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 been there, said this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcadmus Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Crowns in heaven. That's all. And I'm overpaid. "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thabottomend Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Our church Worship Band is my main gig, and I don't get paid. I do, however, get to play with great musicians (they're fairly easy to find here in the Nashville area), play probably thiry-some-odd styles of music, and grow as a bassist. That doesn't even include the benefit of the anointing that I get to partake in on Sundays and the crowns that jcadmus speaks of. On any given Sunday, I get to play with musicians that are currently working or have worked with Travis Tritt, Tim McGraw, Russ Taft, Gibson Miller Band, and The Eagles just to name a few. When our Worship Pastor tells his war stories, they sound a lot like mine, except that he talks about people like Jerry Garcia, Elton John, Dan Fogelberg and such. I will continue to play, pay or not, ontil they tie me to a seat during services. Do not be deceived by, nor take lightly, this particular bit of musicianship one simply describes as "bass". - Lowell George "The music moves me, it just moves me ugly." William H. Macy in "Wild Hogs" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scyzoryk Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 slightly OT, but I always get amazed at the amount of Christians that rise out of no where once a "church gig" thread arises. im glad to know there's a lot of people here playing for His glory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle12am Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I love playing in church. I've been in two church worship bands. Nice to not have your equiptment all smoked up and playing in front of people puking and fighting.Also nice to always know where/when your next gig is, too. Best thing about worship bands is you don't have a guitarist whining for you to turn down. You have an organist/ piano player whining for you to do so. Gentetically, keyboard players are much less aggressive a species than 6-stringers, so all you have to do is tell them 'God led you' to turn up and smile. Second best thing is that most choir members/ worship singers are a lot easier on the eyes than a balding 30-something drunk and sweaty lead singer who still thinks he can fit into leather pants. "Women and rhythm section first" -- JFP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassplayerjoe Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I don't get paid but of course pay is not what worship is about. Your motivation for playing worship music is to bring people in to the presence of God and worship him. But I know you guys already knew that. "All things are possible through Christ." (Matt 19:26) My band: http://www.purevolume.com/fadingsilence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I know a lot of local musicians who do regular church gigs because it's income/a gig that they can rely on. As long as they show up and play to the satisfaction of the church every week, they get a paycheck. I'd do it if I could find a church like the Triple Rock in the Blues Brothers movie. James Brown as the priest is optional but much desired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie bass dude Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Originally posted by Bumpcity: I'd do it if I could find a church like the Triple Rock in the Blues Brothers movie. James Brown as the priest is optional but much desired. I would do that for free no beer until July 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 If a church's congregation does not include the musicians to form a decent band then it makes sense to pay for at least a worship leader or a few musicians to play if the church can afford it. That said, I would probably decline payment (I've not been offered any!) as I would rather the church spent the money on mission etc. Oh and I play every other week - drums and bass. Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebrownbass Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I've been getting paid for years. Currently, I make $150 for 1.5 services. We do not rehearse, generally. Churches don't pay taxes; church employees do. I was initially a contract player, reporting this income on Schedule SE. 2 years ago, the church made the band part time employees...they take out taxes and Social Security. I actually like this better, since I only pay one side of Social Security. Prior to this steady church gig, I played in churches all over, both upright and electric. In general, I believe that praise bands with professional musicians are much superior. Too often, I've seen non-professional musicians with the attitude, "Wow! Rock in Church! Let's Rock" and the music is way too loud and ego driven. In my case, if the worship leader says, "Let's do this tune in a chromatic walkup gospel style," and I don't agree with that style on that tune and really don't want to play it that way, I do it anyway. (This exact thing happened 4 weeks ago. NOBODY ever knew I disagreed musically with the decision, and I played it great that way.) We recently had a change in worship leaders, and the new leader is under criticism because she's not the old leader. I must behave professionally in this, not take sides. My loyalty is to the church and to God. Tomorrow after church we are going out to eat and discussing the issues. And I will do my utmost to be objective and professional. Too many churches, faced with these issues, split apart politically. Bands made of church members get fractionalized as the various players choose sides. More discussion (I brought this up several years ago) is here in Getting Paid to Play. "Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread. Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlrush Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 I play every Sunday on our church's worship team. We rehearse every Wednesday, with time for community/Bible study included.We show up at 7AM Sunday for a sound check and run through the song list. Then we play 3 services and go home about 12:30.These Wednesdays, as well as Sundays, are required of us for membership to the team.Some of us are professional musicians and others are good amatuers. Our team is pretty tight musically. We're friends who respect each other, and I guess we're lucky that we have no issues with egos.We play for God, not the congregation, and our compensation is attempting to provide excellence in our service to Him.We've never been offered money, and I guess we'll cross that bridge if it ever happens.Actually, I don't care if I never get paid for it.The benefits from just playing this gig are far better than any other I've ever had. Visit my band's new web site. www.themojoroots.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UTS-D Posted January 8, 2006 Share Posted January 8, 2006 I think if I played in a church and they wanted to pay me, I think I would make a deal of the church just buying me some string. After all, strings will most likely last forever if your playing Gospel, right? UNDER THE STONE Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 bottle, have you ever played with a keyboardist in a gospel band? They tend to be a little more aggressive, to the point where I've heard of at least one place that had to tie the guy's left hand behind his back so he wouldn't stomp all over the bass player. A different kind of aggression, to be sure, but still something to contend with. In the Catholic church I volunteer my musical services at, only the music director and cantor (lead singer) are employees and are paid, as far as I know. All of the choirs and various other musicians are volunteers like me. For the bell choir, we practice once a week and perform only a few masses every 2-3 months. The music director, OTOH, plays piano/organ at every mass, as well as leading the various choirs and all things music. That's a pretty big difference in commitment, and it makes sense that he should be a full-time employee. (When you look at the rehearsal calendar and add the music classes he teaches at the church's school, you quickly see that he's putting in at least 40 hours a week.) I realize this isn't quite the same as a "worship band", but as far as I know even the guys in the "folk group" -- electric g****rs and bass and all -- are volunteers as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxofunk Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 After several years of rotating band members my church decided to pay the bass, guitar, and maybe the drummer. Keyboards are covered by the music minister who is full time staff, drums are covered every other week by a person who is also full time staff... I hope the other drummer gets a bit of cash but I don't count on it - he's been there 6 years and, like me, he just loves the gig. The paid members cover two services Sunday plus Saturday night and Thursday night services. Rehearsal begins 1.5 hours before the Saturday night service. I play sax. I don't get anything but an excuse to write off mileage. But I love the gig, and it's family friendly. My efforts to be the substitute bassist keep getting thwarted. We were recently joined by a fellow who has played in various Gospel music situations for about 30 years and is an Alembic wielding machine. - Matt W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 The church electrian gets paid, right? Why not the musician? Most of the ministers I have seen are not starving, either. Last I checked on the Judeo-Christian values, making a buck is not a sin in of itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groover Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 I've been playing on my church worship team for around 15 years and never got paid for a regular service. If they did offer, I would probably use the money to buy strings, new equipment and put some of it in the missions fund so it would all directly and indirectly get invested back into the church. New equip/strings = better sound = better sounding worship = indirect investment and of course I wouldn't mind that either. I did recently get paid for a special conference where the worship leader wanted to do more of a worship concert. Four nights of great music, fun and hanging out with good friend and I got $50 a night! That money was put towards my new amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 I play most Sunday's. We do 2 services and sometimes fake it and play along for the Sunday School music time between services. Those 2-3 year olds are fun to watch. We don't get paid. I don't mind. I like to play, the rest of the group is pretty good, we enjoy each others company and the congregation seems to really enjoy the service. That said, I would never ask for it, but I wouldn't mind getting a little something. It does tie me up for 1/2 of the one day that I don't work or teach. I'm not looking for a lot, just a litle something to help out when I need new strings, a new cord, things like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxofunk Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 Originally posted by SteveC: That said, I would never ask for it, but I wouldn't mind getting a little something. It does tie me up for 1/2 of the one day that I don't work or teach. I'm not looking for a lot, just a litle something to help out when I need new strings, a new cord, things like that. Exactly. I just spent $250 for sax repairs - general maintenance items - not damage. It's my hobby, I am man enough to absorb the expenses associated with it. Honestly, if they paid me I would save towards an alto, baritone and maybe a soprano sax to increase my arsenal of doom, er, um, uh, enhance the, um, worship experience. - Matt W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.