There is an area of my life that I struggle to understand; Isn’t it amazing that we as musicians can put a few chords together to make up a tune, add a few words of scripture, blend those words with a few feelings from our heart, pass it to the rest of the group to add some musical punch and dynamics, put everything together then stand before our congregation during our time of worship and sing praises to our God with this new song!!! But wait, I forgot to add the copyright. Let’s see, I guess that would go in just before the congregation gets to hear it.
We as musicians fully understand the purpose and use of the copyright for our work. After all, this is our bread and butter. But does it really need to be part of our worship? After all, God created us for His purpose, giving each one of us our own set of skills and talents, some of us musicians, some singers, some carpenters and so on. He also gave us the words that we so eagerly throw into our lyrics. And the congregation that we’re leading, aren’t they also God’s created people? Now the big question, are we performing for God or for ourselves?
Unless I have missed something, I really have a hard time understanding why my church needs to have permission to play any song written for the purpose of worship in a worship setting!!! Or were these songs written merely to profit from? To prevent me from having any lawsuits filed against me, I will not name any specific performers, nor will I mention any specific songs, but if any of these performers or songwriters would like to discuss this topic with me, I am always available.
Since the early Old Testament days, man has been called to worship God. Through songs and hymns, with a variety of instruments and voices, in various circumstances, we are called to worship Him. This calling is from God, not from ourselves, not from our congregations, and certainly not from our recording companies or agents.
Let me give you a scenario to think about. There is a small group of people who gather weekly in an urban park to fellowship and worship. One of the people happens to be a guitar player who graciously strums chords while everyone sings praises to God. As the weeks go by, other people who happen to pass by begin to stop and worship with the group. The group continues to grow, adding new people every week, including people blessed with musical talent. Several months go by and the group has grown to a significant number of people and musicians. On one occasion, the group is asked to play a worship song that had been heard in a local church. Since most of the people attending had heard or recognized the song, the group begins to play the song without regard to copyright ownership. As they proceed to worship, an enthusiastic attender records the music with the thought of giving a copy of the music to all of the attendees so they will have something to remember their worship experience with. A group of God fearing worshipers, who’s sole intention is to worship and give praise to God in their daily lives, have just violated the copyright laws for playing and recording a song written by another alleged believer. And now we have the potential for a believer in Christ bringing suit against another believer in Christ over praise and worship to God.
Do you see anything wrong with this picture? According to what I read in my Bible, and what the word indicates to me, there is.
Consider for a minute when Jesus entered the temple and and overturned the tables of the men who were cheating those who came to worship God. Are we acting the same way? Aren’t we in fact profiting from the passion of the people to worship God, or do we deserve this because it’s our job, it’s how we survive? Jesus reminded everyone in the book of Luke that God’s house had been turned into a den of robbers. Was this said to them alone or does He still speak those words to us?
What’s the solution? The solution is really simple, stop trying to profit from God’s work. He calls those whom He has chosen to His house for worship. Consider carefully all of the songs that you write or sing, and remember who the actual owner is. God has given you your talent. God has given you your abilities. He has also gave you the desire to worship and praise Him. But most of all, He has provided us with the words for our songs.
For the next song you write, I would hope that you would give a long hard look at what you have written, and question the reason why you have written it. After you have done this, ask yourself who are you writing it for, and who is to profit from your work. God promises us as believers many things including that what we do for him, he will return to us in abundance. Or do you have a problem believing His word? Worship God, not the world we live in. Praise God, not what we have done. Lead people to Christ, not to ourselves. Love the Lord your God.
