Thought for the day-music organizations part 2

In verse thirty-one of I Chronicles chapter twenty-five, we learn that the last scholar to be chosen to lead a learning group (i.e. a section leader) was Romamtiezar.  Would you have been angry if he had been your son since many parents want their gifted children to be chosen first?

Music Organization members-part 2

       Yesterday we started a series of discussions on what members of a church musical organization should be like. Yesterday we discussed what it means to be what I call "directable". Today we are going to discuss the philosophy of "catching the vision". All of us who have directed a ministering musical organization for a number of years have experienced band, orchestra, and choir members who "just didn't get it". I used to say jokingly that they stayed in the organization just to travel in the big scenic cruiser buss and eat the free McDonald's hamburgers.

       When I first started traveling with a ministering musical organization, it was a mystery to me how some of them would return from a tour refreshed spiritually and others seemed to be spiritually fatigued and spiritually dry.  After I directed a ministering organization for a few years, I became aware that it was each musician's philosophy that made the difference.

      To help us understand music ministry philosophy in a historic sense let us look again at I Chronicles 25: 1-31 and try to apply it to our lives as ministering musical servants:

                                                           A. They Caught the Director's Vision

1. They sang and played under the supervision or “the hands of” the chief musician.

2. They caught the vision of music ministry by musing through the king and the vision of Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman.

3. Music organization members should likewise catch the pastor and directors passion for public ministry.

                                                            B. They Learned From Their Director

1. They learned that their director was constrained by God to deliver this burden through the medium of church music.

2. They learned that he was not only personally a “seer” and a “teller” but he also instructed the musicians under his direction to be “tellers” of this burden through the medium of music.

3. They learned that he was able to transfer his burden for song to those “under his hands” because he was skillful (995 – biyn – i.e. he could separate mentally; he understood the songs of the Lord).

4. I believe that there is a wonderful philosophical Bible lesson in what we have discussed.  Verse eight of this chapter explains that this mentor director relationship was the heart of the Levite's philosophical praxis--the "small" (qatan 6962--least of importance) and the "scholar" (talmiyd-a pupil or learner) learned from these dedicated Levite music leaders.  I believe that what we have learned today is truly an ancient landmark of how music organizations should prepare to music unto God.

 

Thought for the day- organization members-part 1

The music organization recorded in I Chronicles chapter twenty five included 288 trained  musicians.  In this great organization  there is not one insubordination recorded in the Holy Writ.  Amazing!

Music Organization Members-part 1

       Recently we spent a week discussing philosophically what the "song leader" or minister of music should be like.  We also spent a couple of weeks studying the philosophy of the congregation musicing unto God.  For a few days we are now going to consider what the church and Bible college choir, orchestra and band members should be like.  We would not wish for these important music people and their ministry to be left out  of our music philosophy discussions.
       These exceedingly important musicians need to be DIRECTABLE.  We all know that, when it comes to a music organization, someone has to lead and the rest must follow. Many accomplished musicians find it difficult to come under a director's authority.  They know a lot about music and musical performance. They understand pitch, rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, style, nuance, performance practice, and most importantly how to sing or play their instrument.  However, they still must come under the music director's authority.
       I Chronicles 25:6 states:

           All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the kings order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and to Heman.

Notice that these musicians were under the hands of the director not OVER the director or in spite of the director or independent of the director.  These musicians  were said to be instructed (lamad 3925)  i.e. expert  and cunning (biyn 995) i.e. they could distinguish musically. Even though these musicians were very knowledgeable concerning sacred music in the Temple (vs.7), they all came under the hands or the music director.  Furthermore, note that the chief directors were ordered by David the king to take charge of those whom Jehovah had placed in their direction.  It was constituted God given authority.  It was not obnoxious carnal desire to "run the show.

Thought for the day-songs for the service

Perhaps our worship music would make even more sense, and thus be more effective, if we would let the pastoral direction for the service be our guide when selecting, organizing and positioning the worship music. However, if we are going to follow, the pastor will have to let the minister if music in on his "Sunday morning secret" well in advance of the worship service.

Songs For the Service

     

Sometimes a sequence of worship songs and choruses put together by a skillful music minister really makes sense. One reason that song groupings sometimes have power is that they form a sequence of congruent musical and textual thought. However, there are other times when these put-together worship sequences do not form a logical or worshipful whole or they only serve to weary the worshipers.  

Not too long ago, I visited a church in city X. The worship leader and his faithful team had us sing and sing and sing until people began to lose interest and concentration.  I observed as the sequence continued at length that more and more people stopped singing.  Eventually, some people sat down and patiently waited until the worship leader and his praise team also ran out of steam and decided to throw in the musical towel. 

After the song service was completed, I imagined myself as a church mouse hiding in the corner of the staff meeting room bright and early Monday morning.  Would these dear people who had attended the worship service on Sunday morning get a “beating” by the worship team and its fearless leader? Surely it would be the congregation’s fault. If these people had come to church in the mood for a continuous, twenty-minute songfest, without doubt, all would have gone well. Certainly, I would have rightfully been one to blame if they knew my secret thoughts while the praise leader and his team droned on and on.

Since that time, I have mused on the thought that maybe these good songs would have had more effect if they had been strategically placed throughout the worship service. Now, that makes me “high church,” doesn’t it? Well, you might be right but this well-meaning team’s effort might have had the desired effect if they would have fed the congregation with smaller musical bites.

Sometimes, my logical German mind just aches for a congruent worship that makes sense as a unified whole. Maybe congregational singing would be more effective if the songs we sing in the worship service supported the lessons to be learned and were affirmations of our doctrinal and creedal beliefs. What could possibly be wrong with the songs being spread out for the purpose of having each song or worship chorus carefully and clearly support the unified purposes of our worship? The music could help to prepare our hearts textually for the preaching of God's Word.  Perhaps we should rethink congregational (and special) singing.  Maybe we should consider songs for the service rather than a song service detached from a unified progression of thought and response leading up to the preaching of God’s Word.

 

Thought for the day-worship part 13

When Moses and Joshua were returning from Mt. Sinai, they observed, "...the noise of them that sing do I Hear." (Exodus 32: 18b)  We need to make sure that today, as God hears our musicing in Sunday morning worship, he doesn't have to say, "The noise of them that sing do I hear."

The role music plays in worship-part 13

       We all know that we are commanded many times in the Bible to praise the Lord.  That is sufficient reason to engage in praise as we music unto God.  Robert Weber gives three benefits of praising God. “First, praise is always associated with the presence of God.”  “Second, praise testifies.”  “Third, praise has the power to deliver us.” (Robert Weber, Enter His Courts With Praise.  Hendrickson Books, 1997, pp. 22-23).   As we mentioned in an earlier post, we do not worship God for what we get out of worship.  We don’t sing unto God for some kind of spiritual high.  However, since God inhabits our musical praise [see Psalm 22:3], we do often receive as we give our musical offering. 
       Earlier in our music worship posts we mentioned that the musician has to resist the urge to worship music rather than actually worshiping God as we music.  Michael Marshall stated, “The instinct to worship, as surely as any other instinct in our lives, needs to be directed if it is not to become corrupted.”  (Michael Marshall, Renewal In Worship. Marshall, Morgan & Scott, U.K., 1982. P. 3.)  
         The 32^nd chapter of Exodus is a prime O.T. example of misdirected worship. The children of Israel were worshiping in a manner somewhat like their neighboring nations worshiped.  This new form of worship seemed, to these misguided worshipers, to be the thing to do.  They sang, but that wasn’t exotic enough, so they danced.  In their misguided worship, the worship leader Aaron added  a third dimension  that was even more exotic—he decided that they should dance naked as they sang their noise based music (see vss. 18 & 25). 
        Oh yes, I forgot to mention that he also added a golden calf as the object of their exotic worship music!  Remember that they were only musicing in worship the way their worldly neighbors worshiped.  They hadn’t invented anything new that had not already been done by the heathen nations that surrounded them.  The ancient Hebrews were merely musicing in the same manner that others worshipers  musiced.  They were simply utilizing the “fine art” of dance in their worship like many of the other nations that surrounded them danced to a plethora of gods.  I think you get the point, and if you don’t, a few more paragraphs probably wouldn’t help much.  
       So, out of all the previous discussion, learn to guard your heart, your worship motives, and your time honored forms of musical worship that were given to you by your forefathers. Do not become discouraged or embarrassed because your church does not worship with trendy noise based styles of music or hire some dancers to make public worship look current or trendy.  Furthermore, be thankful that your fellowship of believers sings an occasional (meaningful) gospel song or even a hymn or two.  Remember that the Bible instructs believers that although we are in the kosmos (2889) we do not have to become part of the aion (165).

Thought for the day-worship part 12

Psalm 22:3 states, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel."  The word inhabitest is translated from the Hebrew word yashab (3437) which means to sit down with or to dwell among those who praise God.  So, it is no joke that God will "attend" our worship services if we truly worship Him.

The role music plays in worship-part 12

       One of the many questions about worship is whether or not meeting together to is really an ancient landmark of worshiping God. Did God ever say that people need a place to worship and commune with him? In Exodus 25:8 it is recorded that Jehovah commanded Moses, "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Then Jehovah proceeded to outline in detail the particulars of the construction of the Tabernacle of worship. God also instructed Moses, in verse 22 of the same chapter, "And there I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel." The Tabernacle was what I call a "beginning place" for the worship of Jehovah.  Worship there was for an esoteric few and not for everyone. We know that in the Tabernacle only a selected few were permitted to perform the acts of worship in representation of the people. Later the Temple was much more open to a type of public woeship.  Now everyone can attend.
        We know of a surety that God desired to commune with ancient Israel, but does He still desires for Christians in this dispensation to come together to commune with him? Since we are God's temple isn't it better to sing and pray by one's self? In Hebrews 10:24-25 we get a clear picture of the importance of public worship. "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." So the writer of the Epistle of Hebrews very carefully explains the virtues of meeting together to worship God and build each other up in our holy faith.
       We are aware that each Christian is to privately worship God. Therefore, some do not see the importance of public corporate worship. Those who discount the necessity of public worship often quote Acts 7:48 and 17: 24 as proof texts that God doesn't dwell in "temples made with hands". Although God lives in our hearts rather than in church buildings, there is nothing about these verses that would suggest that God does not meet with Christians when they come to His house to worship Him.
       Now you may legitimately ask what on earth does all this has to do with music in worship? Good question! First, one of the ways that the Holy Spirit was able to convict me of the awfulness of my sin that separated me from God was watching a camp meeting choir at the Eastern Kansas Camp praise the Lord. God uses the musicing of His people, to cause those who do not know him to desire to have fellowship with God. Second, music is an excellent vehicle to exhort believers to draw closer to our Heavenly father. Third, the emotions and effusions of a worshiping heart can be expressed more clearly with music than with “words alone". As Mike Avery, president of God's Bible College often states, "Words break down and squeak" when we try to explain our response to our loving Savior Jesus Christ. Musicing unto the blessed Trinity often fills the gap when taking the journey from the natural to the supernatural in our worship experiences.