I am a Bass player and have been playing for about seven years and not once have i had the mind to play in a environment that's not conducive for me.
Im not sure where playing at a club came into this. I was more talking about playing in a non-church service setting. This post was geared towards a Christian musician who plays music as a profession. There are plenty of Christian ,professional bass players who do not just play in a Christian setting. I do not feel that their Christian walk is jeopardized.
John Patittuci is one of those musicians. He IS a Christian. If you have ever seen his videos or see his live performances, he ALWAYS acknowledges God. Majority of his CD's have Christian based songs on them. Yet we see him share the stage with secular artists all the time. Do you feel he's wrong for that? I have never seen him display any questionable behavior. He's representing the Kingdom in what he does.
Let's just say you have a person who is a EMT. One night his unit gets a call for a heart attack victim. When his unit arrives, he (who is a believer) finds out the victim is actually in a night club. Would you look at it and say that it's ok because he is only going in to do his job and leave? As a EMT should he only take calls that are in a Christian setting?
I just think its somewhat odd that as a Christian musician, most people feel that we should limit where we play. But if I were an electrician, It's ok to go into a night club to get paid for fixing a shorted out light switch.
Some people will say that there are spirits carried in certain music (which I also believe). If you look at it, you can say that about anything. Spirits can be carried in an object, persons ,buildings ,etc. For example, some churches operate in the spirit of manipulation just to raise an offering. They always use a story to compel people to give instead of relying on the word to let people know that blessings are scattered all through the Bible that state you will be blessed for your sacrifices through money, praise, time, etc. Its just like how the people in those "Feed the Children" infomercials show you broke down pictures of children just to compel you to send money. Not ALL churches practice this but SOME do. (Excuse my sidebar)
I once heard a preacher say that as a Church musician, our instruments are sacred. He also said that If we ARE a musician who plays music for a living, we should have an instrument that is reserved only for the Kingdom. "Don't bring an instrument into a service that is used for non church services".
All these responses are opinion based. Yes some people have scriptures to back their opinion but everyone's walk will be judged individually and not as a whole. Let's not turn this into one not being more spiritual than another. Its all about choices. God has given us the ability to make choices from the beginning of time. He doesn't even force salvation on us. It's up to us to decide if we want to live for Him or not.