Finding Truth in Music Christian Education Part 3

Finding Truth in Music Christian Education Part 3

       A musician’s philosophy is not established to make other people happy, but to set guidelines for living a Christ centered, God honoring life.  Christ must have preeminence in our lives; He must have lordship over all of our choices and decisions, including music.  Francis Schaeffer says, “There is nothing autonomous- nothing apart from the lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Scriptures. God made the whole man is interested in the whole man, and the result is a unity.” (Schaeffer, Francis, Escape from Reason 1968 p. 29)

            Part of submitting to His lordship is considering what God thinks about music.  God loves beautiful things, and we bring to Him our best offerings and abilities, but we do not perform art for the glorification of art itself. Webber says that the arts are “vehicles for communication. The arts are not venerated or worshipped. Rather they are used to communicate truth about God.” (Webber, R, E. Enter his Courts with Praise, 1997, p. 78) 

Thought for the Day

The part of music philosophy that deals with the beautiful has well supported, for centuries, that beauty in the art of music does matter.

Finding Truth in Music Christian Education Part 2

Finding Truth in Music Christian Education Part 2                                 

       The first step in developing a music philosophy is to go to the Word of God.  We cannot find wisdom and discernment in ourselves or in the world around us.  It must come from our Heavenly Father first and foremost.  I Corinthians 2:12-16 says, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

        “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (NIV)  Even as we discover truth and discern wisdom, our finite minds cannot cover everything. “No philosophy can be comprehensive in the omnipotent sense of providing the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” says Garen Wolf.  “A philosophy can never say all there is to say about something. However, a philosophy can and should explain what something is all about.” (Wolf, Garen, Church Music Matters, 2005 p. 18)  Not everyone will have exactly the same lines of demarcation, but we all must filter our philosophies through the gridlines of the Bible.

Thought for the Day

It seem odd to me to me that Christian’s who base their music philosophy on Scripture are often considered by other Christian musicians to be extremists and overzealous “proof-texters”. I have found that most often the people who have a well thought out written music philosophy are careful not to take Scripture out of context in order to twist into supporting their philosophical beliefs.   GLW

Finding Truth in Music Christian Education Part 1

Finding Truth in Music Christian Education Part 1

       This philosophical excerpt is presented here as a part of our series of articles on music education philosophy presented by selected Christian musicians in various countries. This philosophical excerpt is taken by permission from the monograph                                    Finding Truth in a World of Musical Deception by Rachelle Wolf.  She holds a BA degree in Christian music ed. with a performance emphasis in applied violin from God’s Bible College.  She is currently a candidate for an MM degree in violin performance at Miami University at Oxford Ohio.  While studying at Miami University, she holds a graduate assistantship and teaches violin privately, and is active in her church.  (The thoughts for the day are mine.)                                 

       What is music? Does it have value in the life of a Christian?  What does God think about music?  Are there specific kinds of music that are appropriate for a Christian musician?  Is there a place for secular music?  It doesn’t take long to find answers to these questions, many answers. It is not in finding answers that we have difficulty; ask anyone you meet.  Every musician has a music philosophy, regardless of how well it is developed.  The real challenge comes in wading through the stream of answers and philosophies to find the gold nuggets of truth.   

Thought for the Day

Christian musicians often consider the appropriateness of what they say because it will affect their Christian witness, but at the same time do not seem to realize that what they music will also affect Christian witness. GLW

Present Yourself Willingly

Present Yourself Willingly

2Chronicles 17:16, “And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor.”

            I was reading through the 2n chronicles the other morning and the sixteenth verse stood out to me.  Amasiah willingly offered himself unto the LORD.  I have seen Christian musicians who are serving God faithfully as ministers of music or Christian school music teachers, but although they are ministering faithfully, they seem to always to be “kicking and screaming” about their human condition.  They have failed to do what the ancient Israelite did—they have not given themselves willingly!

            It is one thing to give yourself to God but it is another to follow the admonition of St. Paul in Romans 12:1 when he wrote, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”  It is far better to willingly present oneself than to do it “kicking and screaming”. 

Prayer for the Day

I want to thank You lord for ever seeing fit to us me as a music minister and teacher.  I am asking You to forgive me for the times that I have complained about my human condition.  Help me to not only serve You but to also serve you willingly Help me to say like Isaiah, ”here am I, send me”.  I can never pay my debt of gratitude to You Lord for what You have done for me!  Thank You dear and precious Lord.  Amen.

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 7

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 7

      I have often told my college classes and have stated in my writings that the fine arts are not the door to the kingdom of God, but they are wonderful concomitants of quality musical worship.  Let me be very clear that as Romans 1:25 explains, we should never worship created things ( ktisis 2937 which includes music) but always the creator of music ( ktizo 2936 i.e. God).

 A steady diet of sacred classics should not be forced upon a congregation with little understanding of music, but it will not harm them to be introduced to some great sacred classics once in a while. It will also give those of us that have spent a life time studying and performing great music an opportunity to worship with music at a much deeper level of import.

Thought for the Day

This blog series is divided into seven parts (not by any particular design).  Seven is the number of perfection.  Perfection, or as nearly perfect as our offerings are capable of being, is the responsibility and should be the design of every minister of music.

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 6

Utilizing Great Music   in Worship—part 6 

       There is another reason that we should include the sacred classics as a part of our balanced musical ministry.  There are many people who attend public worship who are musically aware.  Accomplished musicians are often offended or at least disappointed by the shallow and shoddy nature of trite and mundane religious music.  I contend that a church full of educated people who understand and appreciate great sacred music deserve to hear quality musical offerings at least part of the time.

        Many church musicians wonder why astute accomplished musicians are often not involved in church music programs.  I believe the main reason is that so many church music ministries do not include any high quality artistic musical offerings.  A worshiper who has sung a part in a quality choir in junior high, high school, and college is offended when a church choir sings only overly simple two part, or worse yet, unison choral music.  Ministers of music need to understand the importance of having some musical “meat” on the worship table as well as the diet of musical “frosting” that is so prevalent in many fundamental Christian churches at present.

Thought for the Day

Christian musicians have a difficult task when they plan worship music for a congregation with diverse musical tastes.  The task is even more complicated when a Christian musician desires to present the best musical sacrifices unto God.  However, he or she is still responsible to keep this varied repertoire appropriate and high quality.

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 5

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 5 

             I believe that many times a minister of music’s actions subtly testifies to the fact that these musicians believe that God does not need to be worshiped with the best musical offerings we are able to present.  When we present all of our musical offerings with inferior musical genres, we are testifying to the fact that we believe that it does not matter if we present our heavenly Father a musical three-legged lamb.  Remember that, in the sacrificial system, God required a lamb of the matrix which was without defect or blemish of any kind (Leviticus 1:3, Numbers 28:19 etc.).

       I am well aware that there are many people who do not have an awareness or appreciation for the sacred classics.  I also understand that appreciating the great sacred music works is an acquired skill.  If a local congregation does not understand or enjoy great works of music then they will not be ministered to by hearing and performing these compositions.  It is unfortunate that many people are impoverished musically by not having an understanding of great sacred music.  As I stated earlier, great music enables one to have a greater understanding of the deep profoundness of the lessons to be learned in the Bible.

Thought for the Day

Although I do not believe that an artistic approach to worship is the “main thing”, I am strongly aware that worship music is an art form.  Therefore, I must always be aware of what kinds of musical art forms are appropriate as proper and appropriate representation of the moral nature of God.

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 4

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 4

       One can survive on a diet of bologna sandwiches and white bread with all the quality ingredients removed, but one’s diet can be greatly improved by eating foods which contain quality ingredients  I contend that the same is true of our musical diet.  Poorly written music does not support the awesomeness and solemnity of our worship of the triune God as well as well written compositions.  Certainly the sacred classics are excellent vehicles for the presentation of the biblical message.

        A total diet of the more simple forms of music sends the message to a congregation of worshipers and seekers that excellent quality musicing does not matter.  In other words, it testifies to those who attend our church services that the kind and quality of musical offerings we present to God do not matter.

Thought for the Day

Poorly written religious lyric poetry is still poorly written poetry when it is sung unto a high and holy God no matter how sincere the performer may be.

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 3

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 3

As I have often said, the music part of music does not always have to be complicated or esoteric in order to be a proper vehicle to use in our musicing unto God.  However, there are auspicious religious occasions when great sacred music is without doubt a better choice than some trite, predictable and *mundane musical composition that is obviously the work of a *musical hack.

 There is a reason why some sacred music is great and other music is either mediocre or actually so poorly constructed that it is not a good vehicle for musical worship.  The best sacred music throughout the centuries has been produced by composers and arrangers who were able to skillfully organize melody, harmony and rhythm into a composition that would properly represent the awesomeness and solemnity of worshiping the triune God.  This has been accomplished by utilizing a number of appropriate musical styles that were and are “better vehicles” to represent the moral nature of God.  The condition of an accomplished musician’s musicing and the quality of the music in his or her repertoire makes a philosophical statement about his or her passion for presenting God the best possible musical offering.

Thought for the Day

When I read about worship in the Old Testament I am constantly made aware of the fact that the Ancient Israelites believed that they must present God the best quality sacrifices that they were able to present unto Him.  Surely, twenty first century Christian musicians should have the same respect for God by the quality of musical offerings that they present to a holy triune God.

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 2

Utilizing Great Music in Worship—part 2

More and more Christian musicians seem to not make much distinction between inappropriate, poorly written, mediocre music and great religious music.  Although a Christian does not worship the greatness in music, as I said earlier, most of the time great music is a greater vehicle to represent the message and divine character of our great and wonderful God. However, philosophically speaking, the earnest Christian musician values the use of an excellent musical vehicle with the excellent message of the gospel.

 It is one thing to give lip service to the appropriateness of the sacred classics but it is another to actually utilize them in public worship. The Christian musician who never includes the sacred classics in his or her repertoire is making a philosophical statement about the awesomeness and solemnity of worshiping the high and lifted up triune God.

Thought for the Day

It is the responsibility of Christian musicians to constantly make decisions

concerning the appropriateness of the musical offerings they present to God.