Bryan Holten

Three Relationships to Make Your Worship Music Program Indispensable

July 9, 2018 By Bryan Holten Leave a Comment

We musicians sometimes fall victim to destructive lines of thinking once we set foot in a church. Musicians are a passionate group, and I would hope that we all believe steadfastly in the value of worship music in church life. However, that belief sometimes leads us to assume that the music itself will keep everyone engaged. In other words, we assume that our worship music programs are indispensable by their very nature.

Worshippers and program volunteers engage with their church through their leaders, and we through them. The relationship is interdependent. It is incumbent on us as leaders to engage with our people and build positive relationships with them. We shape the course of our church’s development by taking responsibility (but not blame) for everything that happens on our watch. Being smart about the relationships we form is the key to making worship music indispensable.

Rethinking Job Security

July 2, 2018 By Bryan Holten Leave a Comment

I remember the horror of telling my friends and family that I was going to study music in college. Their sincerest wishes for my success were usually tempered with grave expressions of caution or doubt. “That’s great!” they would say, followed by an uncomfortably long pause. “But don’t you worry about not being able to pay your bills?” This, in a nutshell, is the perception of job security in music. If you work in any field in the humanities—literature, language, fine arts, etc.—you have probably at some point faced these sentiments from well-meaning parents, relatives, and colleagues. If so, I want to challenge you to redefine what job security really means.

Saying No is Hard to Do: A guide for people who care about their work

June 27, 2018 By Bryan Holten Leave a Comment

red hand indicating stop at crosswalk

I said “no.” I declined an opportunity that theoretically, maybe, someday, would prove to be good for me and good for my community. And it was painful, even though the stakes were low. Did I do something wrong? Should others’ disappointment give me pause? Should I reconsider my decision? Saying no is indeed a hard thing to do.

All of this mental noise motivates me to send a message to the world, and it’s a message that’s hard to communicate. But it needs to be said. In any profession, perhaps especially in the nonprofit space, we have terrible incentives to say no, even when we know it’s the right thing to do.

Lessons from a Year of Freelance Work

June 26, 2018 By Bryan Holten Leave a Comment

As a musician, I’ve done freelance work — a gig here, a gig there — for half my life already. Ever since I was old enough to be trusted with the work, I’ve been a “working musician” to some extent. However, the past year brought about a major change. I left my full-time “day job,” which was actually a music job in a church; it involved a lot of work in the evenings. Now, I hold a much smaller church music position, reserving most of my time (especially those coveted evenings) for freelance work and running my business. For the first time in my life, self-employment produces a significant portion of my income (about a third of it). I will probably never view my working life the same as I did before.

Four Freely Available Pieces of Choral Music for Every Church Musician

April 11, 2018 By Bryan Holten Leave a Comment

hand holding a pencil over a page of sheet music

If you think you have to sacrifice quality to get free sheet music for your choir, I’m here to tell you that it isn’t so! This is one assumption you should definitely test. Choral music doesn’t always have to cost you a lot of money.

Our assumptions hold us back because they limit our perception of what is possible. If you assume that your choir will revolt if you program anything written for fewer than four voice parts, you are depriving them and the congregation they serve of the opportunity to discover many great works of art. If you ask me, that’s a challenge worth testing, because its consequences are immense.

Bryan Holten

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