As a Live Music Producer, I work with artists and bands on their live shows, helping them to capture and engage their audiences and create special moments for the people who come to see them.
But when I’m working with Christian/Gospel artists, or even with worship teams, I have to deal with the stigma of it being wrong to “entertain.”
Creating a moment sounds a lot like “entertaining.” Is that wrong?
That’s the million dollar question for Christian musicians, bands, and artists. I remember when I first got involved with the Contemporary Christian music industry. I was teaching a class for GMA in the Rockies. I remember I walked up and many people said “no, no, no – we don’t need you; because we don’t entertain – we minister.” Over and over again I’d hear the same thing.
Well, what does that even mean? I asked if someone could show me Biblically where this makes sense. And no one could. When I check a thesaurus to see what other words can be used instead of entertain, I find some good ones like “delight, please, cheer, interest, engage, engross.”
Our offering to God is our talent. When I worked with a praise team from New Zealand, I asked them “If Jesus was coming to dinner at our worship, our concert,… what kind of plates do we put out for Him?”
To me, entertaining means capturing and keeping people’s attention. Wouldn’t it be a good idea, particularly if you have a message to bring, that your audience would be captured and you kept their attention?
