I read a great devotional this morning concerning talent and worship teams. Recently this very subject has come up in many of my conversations with church leaders. Whether they are in the middle of a transition of worship styles, starting a new service, or starting a new campus the questions will arise “What do I need to have a good worship service?” I’m sure you have been to a few services like me that the music was less than ideal. Unfortunately, I have been to some services where the musicians weren’t playing the same chords… I’m not even sure if they were playing the same song as what the congregation was trying to sing. This just serves as a distraction… Joyful “noise” or not.
All worship teams must have talent… but this is just a platform for a good team. Jon Nicol has a great devotion on this (Click Here).
Nicol says that talent is relative, developable, not a spiritual gift, and it is not enough.
Relative means a church of 5,000 should and will have a different level of talent on stage than a church of 50.
Developable. This is the one that stood out to me. No matter what natural ability you have it can be developed through practice, hard work, and experience. Let me emphasize the HARD WORK portion. My Brother-in-Law (let call him BIL) has a tremendous natural talent for anything involving a musical instrument. It seems effortless for him to hear something and play it back with ease. I however was not blessed with that kind of natural ability. It takes me hours and hours of practice to do what takes him just seconds to learn. My point is this… no matter what your talent level, God can use you if you are willing to put in the time and effort to improve.
It is not a spiritual gift. This is can be a touchy subject especially for those with some degree of talent. Jon says it well “Musical talent is a tool used in conjunction with the spiritual gifts.” Many times people use the spiritual gift card so they can force themselves on to a team or into the spotlight.
It is not enough. Talent should be part of the foundation not the summation of a worship leader or musician. If you have talent and talent alone you will only frustrate those around you. You will hear the word “potential” a lot.
