Free Listings Available to all Churches, Synagoues, and Faiths

Free Listings Available to all Churches, Synagoues, and Faiths

If your worship committee is looking for a Musician of any type, we are happy to post the opening on our site. Experience has proven that the more information you can give in your ad, the better the applicants will be. Be sure to include some type of salary range otherwise the number of responses you will expect will be greatly diminished.

If you need a;

Choir Director

Choir Master

Director of Worship and Fine Arts

Pianist

Organist

Keyboardist

Vocalist (this includes Soloists, Ringers, etc.)

Handbell Director

Childrens Choir Director

Intrumentalists (Brass, Wind, String, Percussion)

Once the position is filled, please contact us to remove your ad. At this time the service is free.

Art Scott, Site Coordinator

Contact email: mraspiano@yahoo.com Contact phone number: (949) 454-1221

Getting the Church Job You Want.....

Over thirty years ago I ventured into church music, in fact, if you count my teenage experience the time factor is even longer.

I have learned at lot and still continue to mature and learn how to deal with all types of church volunteers who support the church music program.

In an effort to support others who are pursuing a career in church music I offer the following suggestions.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK....

Kim Cannon, a dear friend of many years and a superb musician shared this vital truth with me about a year ago when I dealing with a very frustrating church committee where the head of the committee told me upfront in our first phone conversation "she could not stand their senior pastor and the choir and most of the congregation could not wait to rid of him."

Find out who had the position before you; why did they leave. How long where they there.

GET TO KNOW THE SENIOR PASTOR REALLY WELL.....

Since you will be dealing on an ongoing basis with the Senior Pastor, you need to make sure that you are on the same page. Musical taste as we know vary tremendously and knowing up front some of the preferences of the Pastor are crucial.

Knowing how to handle delicate situations with lay people and knowing that if you have a problem in the future, that you can email and or pick up the phone and run situations by the Pastor will oftentimes determine how long you last at a church.

The late Dr. Justin Coylar with whom I studied with for four wonderful years gave me a simple, excellent quote, there is no job security in Church Music.

TALK WITH YOUR PROFESSIONAL COLLEAGUES....

I have the great fortune of having numerous friends who are music directors at churches all through the US that I went to college with and or had as professors. When I ever I need an opinion, I call up on them to consult situation, pay scales, music source questions.
Dr. Sandy Matthes, my former Music Theory teacher from Liberty University gave me a simple yet excellent suggestion before Easter this year. I was in the market for a sound tract of the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" since I have a very small choir and no budget for an orchestra. She mention Lorenz Publishers to me and through the jobber J.W. Pepper I found the perfect arrangement with full orchestra including bells and pipe organ with a split tract; it brought the house down...meaning, it was incredibly successful.

INTERIM POSITIONS CAN BE A GREAT THING....
Never shy away from taking on a position from a mutual try out position. The time frame work should be reasonable and give the congregation, the board and yourself a time to exercise your skill sets and see if they match what the congregation needs.

IT'S JUST A JOB.....
Making Music should be fun. Too many choir director lack the people skills to move beyond just being a technician - you have to be able to laugh at yourself and admit your own shortcomings for others to trust you.
Use a sense of humor coupled with teaching and sharing your gifts. Don't take everything personal. Oftentimes lay people will act out in unusual ways in a church setting, sometimes because they may be jealous of your abilities and hide behind this jealously by offering criticisms. Keep moving forward, be polite, thank them for their opinion but stand by what you know is your heart is best. At the end of the day to have been able to use your God given gifts to touch the lives of others is the ultimate goal.

KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME TO MOVE ON.....
I have been guilty myself of staying too long in a church setting. If it's not working either because of personality conflicts, unreasonable expectations, a Pastor who is not supportive, all of these things can contribute to making a job not be satisfying. A change in leadership such as board members and or a Senior Pastor can greatly impact your ability to do your job effectively.
Abuse should NEVER be tolerated. Resigning and leaving a position with grace and dignity is of course the preference but, not always possible.

I am always open to your feedback and suggestions. I even solicit articles you feel would benefit others in our profession.

All the best, Art Scott (949) 454-1221 email: mraspiano@yahoo.com

Inteviewing with a new Church Committee/Minister

With over thirty years experience in Church Music serving both as a Choir Director, Choir Master, Pianist, Organist I have certainly learned a lot.

Many churches retain the services of extremely talented Musicians generally because they treat them well, give them acknowledgements along the way and definitely make sure that are treated fairly or paid fairly or risk loosing them.

Since churches are exempt from some of the usual laws governing hiring practices, I have found that some of the most under handed, idihones, devious folks are often found as members of church committee and fairness to all who apply is the least of their priorities.

One larger church I interviewed with had some real problems internally going on and a lot of what I call church politics. The head of a committee of eight people called me directly to discuss the process and set up a time for my audition and in my first and only five minute conversation she let me know that she could not stand their Senior Pastor and could not wait for him to retire. She went on to self validate her feelings and let me know that most of the choir and congregation agreed with her. How weird is that! Here I am wanting to audition and she delights in airing the dirty laundry at her church. I called her on her rudeness after the interview.

Several years ago, I candidates and actually substituted for a medium sized, mainline denomination church here in Orange County California. The head of the search committee was a sweet older man who kept saying to me that everything is negotiable, in reference to the salary they were offering and potential benefits like health insurance, etc.

When it came down to it, he was dead wrong. The salary was fixed and with no room for any negotiation. They even hired a new choir director who had nominal experience whose methodology in choir practices was to mock and make fun of voice parts as his way of instructing. His methods would work with professionals in a recording studio but not in a volunteer choir.

Other interviews I have been a part of already had pre-selected who they wanted to hire long before the actual audition portion of the interview and in one case, the way they eliminated the other unwanted candidates was for the choir director to conduct a piece and an unrealistic tempo, so as to make the candidate look like a fool. In heaven and even on this earth for folks like this, there is what I call Christian Karma. Why would anyone ever want to work for a church with these type of antics.

Then there are other churches who operate from a more authentic loving and Christ like premise. Everything truly does rise and fall on having good leadership and the church is no exception. If you have a minister or anyone in leadership who is corrupt, self centered, etc., every decision they make will be bad news eventually.

So the rule of thumb is to do your homework. Long before you get eye ball to eye ball, talk to a lot of people and find out what a potential church is behind the scenes and what the pastor and leadership folks are like. This will save you time and heartache in the long run.

Art Scott

Our Father Which Art In Heaven....

I have played this piece as a solo work on the piano and the organ for years. It is one of my favorites. I have also had the privilege of accompanying some awesome vocalists who have sung piece either for a wedding, funeral or a church service.

Lately though this song and it's lyrics lifted from scripture has really begun to ring home in my own life.

Give us this day our daily bread...with our nation going through it's current financial stresses, with so many people losing their jobs, I am reminded how important it is for all of us to Trust God for every need - during the tough times as well as a the lucrative times.

The same God who was able to mutiple those meager loaves and fishes and fed 5,000 people, is still on the throne and able to provide our every need.

All we need to do is trust Him. Joy in your journey on this great day!
Art Scott

Finding Church Employment on Line......

There are a few major venues on line where you can either view church jobs that are posted throughout the nation and or post your resume and tell what your looking for.

I would be interested in getting some feedback from anyone who has used these sites successfully. To date the only thing I have noticed is that some posting that church pay to put up seem to be on line for several months so either churches hire and forget to cancel the ad, the wages and benefits are inadequate for the skils required or the church board is just too picky.


Heere are a few sites that might be helpful in your search; if you know of others, let me know. Individual denominations sometimes do post their own.

www.ChurchStaffing.com
www.churchjobs.net/
www.PastorFinder.com
www.churchjobsonline.com/www.
christianet.com/christianjobs/churchjobs.htm
www.ministrysearch.com/
www.churchstaffsearch.com
www.churchemployment.com/
www.experiencingworship.com/jobs.htm
www.churchjobsonline.com/

Our Preferred Vendor List.....

First our first year, vendors may request to be posted at no charge under this section. Submit your request to Art Scott at mraspiano@yahoo.com

Sound Reinforcement - microphones, speakers, total church sound systems

Choir Robes and Stoles

Church Pews

Sources for professional Bells

Piano and Digital Keyboard Sources from from portables to 9 ft. grands
for keyboards, drums, guitars, software, speakers, mics, recording equipment go to;
www.zzounds.com/a--1786923
For acoustical pianos of any size, new or used, call me direct for direct referrals of stores, brand names, etc. Art Scott (949) 454-1221 email: mraspiano@yahoo.com

The best sources for church music literature / both choral and instrumental

Lighting

Architects who specialize in churches and expansion

Choir Risers and Music Folders

Communion Trays, Offering Plates, Candles and holders

Sources for Hymnals, Choral and Instrumental Music

www.music44.com/X/&AffID=1619

www.chandlermusic.com

Listings of all the current major publishers of church music

www.wordmusic.com/
www.selahpub.com/
www.lorenz.com
(Coalition Of Internet Church Music Publishers)
shawneepress.com/
www.hopepublishing.com

For Online Music:

www.cpdl.org
This site is all free - public domain music - over 5,000 scores

www.handlo.com
This site is a low-cost, purchase site for PDFs of over 5,000 scores, high quality

www.newliturgicalmovement.org/?
This site is very use for Catholics who are interested in the liturgy and music changes coming from the Pope

www.musicasacra.com
This site is also for Catholics - both these sites have tons of free downloads of music and books, and links

http://chabanelpsalms.org/
This site has all the responsorial psalms for Catholics for the entire three-year cycle and they are FREE!

http://www.canticanova.com/pln_main.htm
This site is perfect for Catholics who need a liturgy and music planning site for the entire three-year cycle

http://www.uvoc.org/
This site is for those Tridentine Mass people who need planning resources - the traditional Latin Mass



Computers and software geared towards church administration

Insurance Companies who specialize in churches

Worship His Majesty......

I will never forgot one particular Prelude back in 1981. I had just moved to Southern California from Virginia and decided one Sunday to worship at Evangelical Free Church in Fullerton. Howie Stevenson was the Minister of Music at that time. Howie was not only a superb choral director, he also was a very competent pianist.

He had chosen a simple hymn, "When Morning Guilds the Skies" to open the service with a cellist playing the melody in a deep and reasonate register....Howie was providing very simple basic chords as a backdrop for the cellist. The auditorium has a unique very high dome above the front chancel area and the sun billows in similar to a sun dial during the am services and cascades its way around the choir loft and fills the altar with a brillant light.

I felt like I had died and gone to heaven! With the new sunrise beginning to make is waft across the choir loft hearing this beautiful deep melody was such an inspirational way to open a worship service. Quiet yet so meaningful. I am sure others were touched as well.

I am sure you have your own set of memories in your worship of God where you may have created a similar Prelude or Music Offering during a service. Please feel free to write me and share your moments.

God touches all of us in different times and in different ways. It may be through witnessing a sunset, a child singing or the simple chirping of a bird. We see and hear God's presence in magnificent ways.

All we have to do is stop and listen.

Joy in your journey, Art Scott, Founder, Orange County Church Musicians