Most of the time, writing music or being "in a band", is considered cool. It doesn't matter what kind of job you have; you can be a doctor, lawyer, shelf-stacker, plumber, prostitute - you can still do music on the side. In fact, if you're serious about making music, it will alter people's perceptions of your crummy job; if you work at a supermarket but write songs on the side, your choice of occupation is justified because you clearly have a passion. If you just work at a supermarket and don't aspire to anything else then you're considered a loser/bum/loserbum.
It seems an exception however, if you are a church minister or a youth pastor and you do a bit of songwriting or band practise on the side, then your credibility crumbles. A guitar playing pastor just seems painfully uncool. I think there are few reasons for this:
1. With any other job you have the convenience of being able to say that music is more important to you than your profession, i.e. "I don't like my job that much, I just do it to enable myself to play music". You can't really do that if you're a pastor, and you'd have to question the motives of any pastor that gives up his church in order to focus more on his band. With a pastor, music will always be a secondary passion, and I suppose this makes it seem less genuine.
2. I automatically think of the most cheesy, middle-aged, Hawaiian shirt-wearing pastor that's ever lived. If you do that, it's easy to assume that any pastor is just using music to try to feel young again.
3. Pastors are Christians, therefore they will be in Christian bands. And Christian bands are terrible.
4. Some people are suspicious of church workers, so they might think there's an agenda attached to their musical hobby. And some of the time, this might actually be the case.
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Hmmm, good thing I'm a librarian who is in a band and writes songs on the side - and my HUSBAND is the one who will be the pastor.
The band I am in is largely christian - but doesn't do "christian" music - you're right. Christian music is largely terrible- its all the one style and always at least 5 years behind whatever's "cool".
Argh, that annoying drum sound in christian music makes me physically ill. Why can't we just write good music that happens to have lyrics that reflect our christian worldview?
What if you're a pastor, and a REALLY AWESOME musician? Surely it'll help show people that you have a creative side and aren't "above" music.
You've just bagged my two favourite pastor musicians man.......and they're both related to me. (Mike plays piano, and Dave Lynch (Summerleas Church) plays guitar. I suppose they're both a bit daggy tho.
Does it give you cred if you play music and then give up your devotion to it for the sake of full time ministry, but occasionally dabble?
Yes, that would probably give you a bit of cred.
I'm not against pastors playing music, and I'm certainly not trying to bag the Lynches (or the Donnelly's) - just trying to work out why it seems so daggy in my mind to be both a pastor and a musician.
Btw, Amy - I listened to your band the other day. Good stuff!
Was that on MySpace Der?
Nikki, of course Dave and Mike are exceptions, who write music that is good, not necessarily following a christian music "fad". Davey wrote that awesome "and when you pray" song, using piano accordion. I still remember that song vidily.
Both Mikey and Dave have written good christian songs - mike's lyrics are always good - don't know if he writes tunes...
Yes, on MySpace. Although, just last weekend I listened to the singer (Chris?) play at the Alley Cat.
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