Ghanaian finest guitarist, Anthony Akablay has charged instrumentalists who are not paid in churches to leave and find a more competent church that will acknowledge their talents.
According to him, instrumentalists should even be paid more than pastors and their services shouldn’t come for free.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Max Drive on Max 89.7FM in Accra on Wednesday, Akablay stated emphatically that churches don’t take a part in the skill acquisition of instrumentalists, therefore should not expect free services from members endowed with the skills.
”If you learn how to play instruments and you practice in church till you become perfect and you realize that the church is not ready to pay you, just getaway from the church,” he said.
Akablay noted that the Bible emphasized the need for humans to work before eating so it was necessary for instrumentalists to be paid for their job in church.
”I don’t see the act of leaving a church which does not pay you for rendering a service to them as disloyalty. The Bible says the hand which doesn’t work does not eat,” he explained.
Akablay maintained that it was prudent for instrumentalists to be paid by the churches they rendered their services to, stressing that “churches even cater for some members to become pastors and pay them for the job.”
”So why won’t you pay instrumentalists while the pastors themselves don’t know how to play drums, guitar and keyboard?” he queried.
”Why is it that when I play guitar, I shouldn’t be paid but a pastor after preaching should be paid. Why is it so? Do you want me to be a robber? I have a wife and kids at home I need to feed but after church service, the pastor will take all the collection into his pocket. In fact, Instrumentalists even have to be paid more than pastors,” Akablay added.
