Credentials Credentials All Over The Place pt. 2

Steve Caldwell wrote a comment to my original post that I've been mulling since I read it.

In my opinion, the real reason for having professional associations and credentialing for the musicians and other professionals in our congregations is the code of ethics that comes from professional associations.

It's not important if one has an alphabet soup of academic letters after one's name.

But avoiding unethical behavior like a musician violating copyright laws or any church professional using power and authority to take advantage of a congregant sexually is important for our congregations.

As I said in my original post, I understand the need/want for credentialing both ministers and religious educators. But Steve's comment really points out my concern.

When one is talking about the arts (music, writing, acting, etc.), what are the codes of ethics? Pardon my ignorance, but I've never heard of a musician's code of ethics. By their very nature the arts are incestuous (creatively incestuous, not the other incestuous); and music especially so. So the issues that would come up in other professions' codes of ethics do not apply.

And even when you start talking about issues of copyright and so forth, those are really matters of law and not ethics because issues of fair use and what is in the public domain is very different when one is talking about the arts. And they become even more complicated when one is talking about the arts in a church setting.

But my real concern is the message that credentialing musicians might send. As the music program of a church is going to be mostly populated by those who are NOT professional musicians, won't credentialing musicians turn off those really gifted musicians who aren't professional?

Again as I said in my original post, I understand wanting quality music programs. What I don't understand is how credentialing musicians brings that any closer.

Credentials Credentials All Over The Place

Hello dear readers.
I've been meaning to write about this for a while, and now I have a few minutes to do it.

I get it! UUs like credentialing people. Really, I get it!

And for some things I can understand the want for it.....I understand the need for credentialing/fellowshipping ministers. I understand the want for credentials for religious educators (although I have some reservations about what that process is and how they go about it).

What I don't......repeat DON'T......understand is the need for credentialing musicians. Can somebody please explain this to me?

Let me be perfectly clear, I understand the want for really good, quality music programs in church. In fact I think most UU churches are behind the curve on that front. What I do not understand is what the credentialing of musicians brings to us as a movement other than just another bureaucratic thing.

As music is one of the best avenues to get people involved in a church, I'm more than a little concerned at the signal that this sends. But hey, I've been known to be wrong. Maybe this doesn't send out the signal that I think it sends.

Opinions?