Not only Beautiful but also Suitable—part 4

Not only Beautiful but also Suitable—part 4

            Although God is ultimately the object and receiver of all our sacred musicing, the Christians and the unchurched seekers who are also the auditors must be included in a Christian musician’s sacred music praxis. To make this point clear study Ephesians 5:19 carefully and you will see that the Lord (kurios 2962) and yourselves (heautou 1438) are simultaneously conjoined in this Bible musical admonition. In the companion Scripture in Colossians 3:16 the “teaching and admonishing” of the grace filled musician in done in the presence of “one another” (1438) but “to the Lord” (2962).  Failure to recognize this phenomenon is to fail to meet the complete intent of this ancient Bible landmark of how to develop and execute a sacred music praxis.

             Every Christian musician, church, Christian school, Christian college and University should have a written series of systematic beliefs concerning the nature and value of the whole of music.  Unless they do they will be much like a ship without a stabilizer. All cruise ships that that handle storms at sea most effectively are stabilized.  I am told that the purpose of stabilizers is to reduce the ship’s roll from side to side and that many ships have a stabilizer on each side while still other ships have four stabilizers.  I like to think of a Christian musician with a well-developed music philosophy as a ship with four stabilizers.  Two of the Christian’s stabilizers are a well-developed series of systematic beliefs about music and the other two are a deep understanding of sacred and secular music and musicing.  Those who understand ships explain that a ship is less likely to be overturned from side to side rolling than from front to back pitching.  Christian musicians are often hit where they are most vulnerable.  Those who spend much of their public ministry putting out musical fires without the benefit of a well-developed music philosophy and praxis are much more vulnerable to experiencing musical shipwreck.