[Parma_TeleMon]

Talk about resurrected threads!

I'm one of those folks who would like to play pretty much every week also. Our situation is one where we rotate multiple teams through our multiple locations (we call 'em satellites). I also think it's cool when we can multiply our ministry and have multiple teams and give others the opportunity (and blessing) to serve the way we do.

The choice of words ("you don't have to...") suggest that not everyone who serves does so out of love and joy, rather some do it out of obligation. For the latter, church is just one more thing they have to do, another day of work. I feel badly for that bunch, as there's no payoff for them. If I play and do well, and God breathes on it, there's payoff there; if I serve as sound tech and things go flawlessly and sound good (and God breathes on this, too), there's great satisfaction as payoff.

My wife says that everyone who serves has to work, but the worship team gets to eat ice cream! I reply that's true, but we have to milk the cow, separate out the cream, collect eggs from the chickens, raise and refine the sugar, find vanilla beans, etc. before we can eat the ice cream. For church musicians, we do what we do because we love to do it and it's part of our daily worship. Unfortunately, those who serve from any other motivation will probably never understand that and will instead see it as "work", thereby thinking they're doing something nice for us and giving us a break.