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toddpedlar · #14 (**permalink**) 05-12-2008, 10:57 AM

A number of the "big" PCA churches make no distinction of belief/unbelief when seeking to employ those who play music at their worship services. As I told one of those who is on staff at one of those churches, "when did the Israelites ever employ a Philistine to play cymbals for the temple worship?" That conversation went nowhere.

Apart from the question of the propriety of instruments in worship, the fact is that those playing music (even for the purposes of simply accompanying the congregational singing) are taking on a public leadership role (what would happen, e.g. if the organist simply stopped playing mid-hymn? They're LEADING despite what we might like to think). As such, no unbeliever has any place at all (some might argue that no non-elder has any place at all) playing music for accompaniment of congregational praise. Whether "leading" or not, they do have a prominent place in the worship service, and such places should be, must be reserved for those who profess faith in Christ. The practice that goes on with churches paying unbelieving worship bands to accompany the congregation in song (or, worse, to "perform") is a sign of the abysmal depths to which congregational worship has gone.