200 Words [or Less] About Being a Worship Musician: Key Elements >>Available

200 Words [or Less] About Being a Worship Musician:

Key Elements >> Available

Read previous Key Elements articles: Intro; Talent; Surrendered Part 1; Surrendered Part 2; Passionate; Teachable Part 1, Teachable Part 2)

Available. As leaders in churches, we like to spiritually dress up a basic requirement like this by calling it “committed” or “faithful.” But before someone can be faithful or committed, they just plain need to be there when they need to be there. Sounds like that only-partially joking phrase we leaders use: “as long as they have a pulse…” Most of us have been there (or are there still): he can keep a beat and will show up Sunday. Voilà, we’ve got a new drummer.

If we’re in a “needs-based” situation [lacking musicians to fill the holes] versus a wants-based [we’d like a killer bass player, but the three we have in rotation get the job done], availability creates a two-fold problem: 1) Availability tends to be the predominant characteristic we use to validate someone’s involvement on the team. 2) We allow people to be unavailable for rehearsals, yet still play or sing on Sunday because we are “need” them. Healthy? No. Necessary at times? Unfortunately.

Like all these “must haves”, availability doesn’t stand alone. Availability needs to intermingle with calling, passion, talent, etc. Then you get faithful and committed people on your team. Who actually show up.