One of the most confusing topics to be discussed in church has nothing to do with the Trinity, or pre vs. post-millennialism, or even anything that remotely resembles theology.
It’s Copyright.
Years ago, the debate was over whether it was OK to copy music for the choir. (It’s not.) In the late 90’s the question of projecting lyrics was the hot button. Today, it’s webcasting and downloading that cause the confusion.
It’s a confusing topic, but the underlying question is pretty simple, and one worth discussing. I believe every church should have a policy, whether formal or informal, indicating their organizational intent to honor the spirit and letter of the law when it comes to copyright.
Why?
It is simply the right thing to do. It honors artists. It may not seem like a big deal to copy a CD for your worship team, but it is. I posted a while back about musician and recording artist Dennis Jernigan, who put it this way.
“I hope you understand how hurtful and harmful that is for me and my family. If I can even stammer a reply to these people offering insights into how making unauthorized copies of my CDs affects my ability to provide for my family, the retort is too often, ‘God gave you the music freely. You should be willing to give it away freely.’”
So, if we can all agree that honoring copyright is the right thing to do, how do we go about it?
Fortunately there are some easily accessible, affordable, and easy to use tools that make the process a lot simpler!
Read more on that at Church Tech Matters this morning!
Posts
