What about Style? Pt. 2

The nitty gritty...

The way I see it (this will most likely never make it to a Starbuck's cup) music comes from the soul. It is often called "the universal language". But here's the thing, musical style is not universal.

I find it ludicrous that missionaries from the "civilized" West enter "uncivilized" cultures and teach the natives how to sing "Amazing Grace". Okay, so they teach it to them in their own language, I'll give them that.

But consider this little fable:

North America is a heathen society. Japan is the society in which Christianity has been native for two millennium. So Japan sends missionaries into North America to evangelize the natives. It has been a given for centuries that the only appropriate style of music for use in worship is Japanese Opera, so of course the missionaries begin to teach the North Americans worship songs (in their own language, I'll give them that).

What might be the response of these heathen natives to this tonal and rhythmic system that has no resemblance whatsoever with what they consider music? This is not their heart music.

Okay, so where does that leave us? Well, lets look at this from another angle.

Pretend you are a person. Another one, not yourself, silly. There is only one style of music that you have grown up with that really speaks to you. It is your heart music. When you think of good music, this is the style that comes to mind. Your emotions, your joys, your sorrows, your life -- it's all wrapped up in this style of music. You naturally express your heart through this music.

So someone shares the Gospel with you. You respond to God, and the emotion that you feel is like nothing you've experienced. You're natural reaction is a desire to worship, so you go to a worship service. The music begins and those around you begin to sing. But this music is not "your" music. You want to worship, but the music is such a distraction to you that you can't worship -- you can't express your heart through this music that is so foreign to you.

Then you find out that there is worship music at another church that is in the style you are familiar with and when you go there it's like going home. It's like an old pair of jeans, redeemed for a new use.

Stay with me now.

What is important to believe in as a Christian?

- God's grace through faith in Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

- One God.

- The Word of God.

- Commitment to walking in the light.

- Heaven and Hell.

These things unite the Body of Christ.

Now there are many other things that can easily divide the Body of Christ -- things that are unimportant.

Musical style is one of these things.

The unfortunate thing is that there are those who would major on the minors and divide the Body of Christ, rather than seek unity around the important things. We accept the fact that there are many different types of personalities, life experiences, cultures, etc., which bring diversity to the Body worldwide. Why then do we apply spiritual significance to cultural idiosyncrasies?

Well, it's been quite a journey. Here we are where we started -- kind of.

So now that you know my feelings on musical styles, hopefully you understand why we avoid "teaching" our style in our workshops. How do we do that?

It helps that Beth and I both have backgrounds in many different styles of music and are familiar with most of what we might come across. As we work with a band, we listen for basic musicality. We can then speak to musical technique and skill, doing what we can to help the musicians improve their ability to do the music they do within the style to which they are accustomed. If it is a style in which we feel comfortable, we will offer tips in making it work more effectively and give suggestions that they can then utilize or veto. This all has to be adjusted for each individual circumstance as the make-up of each worship team as well as their musical skills can vary greatly.

Does that make sense? It does to me, but let me know if further clarification is needed.

I'll let it lie for now.

Be blessed.

What about Style?

Okay, so on October 15, my entry about what we do at our Worship Workshops, I stated:

"The thing we try to stay away from is style. Our style may not be that particular fellowship's style and we don't want to put up any walls because of it. I'll get into musical styles in worship at a later date."

Well, it's a later date and I've had someone recently bugging me about when I was going to follow up -- so here goes...

Style is sometimes a controversial topic when referring to worship music. There are viewpoints all across the spectrum -- from those who believe that only instruments which are mentioned in the Bible should be used to those who use trance music in rave-style worship experiences. So where do I stand?

In a moment. Let me preface this by saying that the following is my opinion. I won't presume to present pure fact, but theory based upon what I have discovered in my own studies. It may be true or I may be wrong. One day we will know in full. Also, don't expect me to bring up every bit of Scripture that has to do with worship. That would just be too cumbersome.

Alright, so let's go back about 6 millennia. As languages are growing and changing within the various cultures after God gifted them with different tongues, music in different parts of the world is developing on parallel paths as well. In the Far East a tonal and rhythmic system is developing independent of what is happening in, say, North America, South America or Africa. Unique Music is even developing in the area of the Middle East from where the nation of Israel will arise.

So God calls Abram and he becomes a worshiper. There is no canonized narrative giving instruction on the tonalities or rhythmic structures that are appropriate for worship.

Fast forward to Jacob, when Laban, his father-in-law speaks of music on tambourines and harps at a celebration that never took place. Nothing to do with worship here, just a family gathering. There are several more Old Testament instances of these and other instruments being used in a secular setting.

Fast forward to Moses when he receives the Law from the Almighty. There are very specific instructions regarding the ways and means of worship, sacrifice, diet, etc., etc., etc. This is the Old Covenant given to Israel. Musical stye and instrumentation are neither one mentioned here.

Fast forward to David dispensing roles for leading worship. He asks the leaders of the Levites to appoint players of lyres, harps and cymbals, and Kenaniah is put in charge of the singing. Wait, aren't these the same instruments used in the secular music of the day? And David makes no indication that these instruments are the only instruments to be used, at the exclusion of all others. In fact, shortly after this, we see that someone has brought along rams' horns and trumpets. "Hey, who said you could play those in worship!?!"

Fast forward to New Testament times. Sorry, no record of what instrumentation was used in worship during this period. This is why certain denominations have made it a rule in their congregations to have no instruments. Still nothing to say regarding musical style either.

Fast forward to Pope Gregory and the time period when the chant was all the rage. Monophonic vocal music (only one note at a time -- no harmony) was considered to be the purest form of music and the only music appropriate for use in worship. When some miscreant decided it might sound nice to add a little harmony here and there, he was considered a heretic. Once polyphony (music with harmony) became the norm, there was one interval to avoid at all cost. (For those of you without any musical background who have no idea what an interval is, it is simply the distance between two notes.) What is very interesting about this is the fact that this particular interval, called "the devil's interval", is found in many of the hymns in use in churches today and in most "traditional Gospel" songs. Hmmm.

Another interesting point -- many hymns from the 19th century used sacred poetry set to secular tunes such as military marches, love songs and even murder ballads.

So today we have certain groups who feel that any instrument that is not used in worship in the Bible should not be used in worship. They seem to justify the use of the organ by saying that the organ is mentioned in the Bible. I'm really pretty sure that we're not talking about the same instrument. (After all the ducimer is mentioned in the Bible, but it appears to be a wind instrument, whereas today it is a stringed instrument.) I'm also curious where their harmonic structure originated. I'm guessing it is closer to the Western musical tradition than the Biblical, of which there seems to be no record.

So that's the background. Next we get to the nitty gritty.

To be continued...

Happy Thankgiving

We hope that you are with those you love today -- but even if you aren't, remember that the One who loves you the most is always with you.

Be blessed...

It's a smaller world after all...

Don't you love technology? I just had to share this...

A few moments ago I got on my computer, opened Skype to call my brother in Hungary. Cool in and of itself.

After several rings I'm talking to Dennis. He laughs and says, "Do you have any idea where I am? I'm standing in Nelson Mandela Square in Johannesburg South Africa. Just a second, I have to smile for a photo."

He proceeded to tell me that, yes, water does indeed go down the drain counterclockwise. He also said how strange it was to see ads for those planning their summer vacations in January. He hadn't yet seen the up-side-down man-in-the-moon. That's a-lot-of-hyphens!

I love Skype. I love global cell phones. I love digital cameras.

I assume I'm not the only one, am I?

Give Thanks

There is often much confusion for those who encounter this scripture for the first time:

"...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess 5:18 NIV

"Are you crazy?" one might ask.

It does seem rather ludicrous on the surface to give thanks in all circumstances, when there are so many circumstances for which we can't even begin to feel grateful. All of us have had times of sorrow, times of struggle, times of frustration -- times that saying "thanks" is the last thing on our minds.

So why would Paul write this? I mean, look at some of the things that he suffered for the sake of the Gospel...

Five times received 39 lashes of the whip.
Three times beaten with rods.
Once stoned.
Three times shipwrecked.
Spent a night and a day in the open sea.
Constantly on the move.
In danger from rivers, bandits, his own countrymen, Gentiles, false brothers.
In danger in the city, the country, at sea.
Labored and toiled and went without sleep.
Often went without food.
Often cold and naked. (2 Cor. 11:24-27)

Yet he writes this as well -- "...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." (Phil. 4:11)

You see, he wasn't necessarily thankful for his circumstances, but thankful through them. He knew that the end reward is far greater than the present suffering.

In many different, often difficult circumstances we find worship in the Old Testament often taking this form: "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." (1 Chron. 16:34)

(For a really good example of thankfulness in the midst of seemingly dire circumstances, read 2 Chronicles 20.)

It's not about our circumstances -- it's about God's goodness and his love for us.

This year, this week -- yeah, let's be thankful for our loved ones, for the things with which we have been blessed, for all the good gifts we have received.

But more so -- let's be thankful because we know that God is good and that His love for us never ends. All other circumstances pale in light of this fact. Our circumstances are temporary. God's goodness and love will carry us through eternity.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Only two months away

So our next trip to Ireland is only two months away. We fly on the 9th of January to Dublin, where we'll spend a couple of days before traveling to Cork for the weekend.

While in Cork we will be conducting a worship workshop for Grace Fellowship, a large (by Irish standards) church body with a great worship ministry. The picture to the left was taken at Grace in September.

A very exciting thing is going to be meeting with the pastor of Cork United Methodist Church. His church is exploring the possibility of moving into doing some contemporary worship. In fact, they are to have a meeting later this month for all those who are interested in being a part of a praise team. Maybe by the time we arrive there will be a group of people to meet with and help them to focus and envision what God may have for them in the area of worship renewal.

We also plan to meet with Niamh Varian-Barry, who leads worship at Calvary Chapel Cork, and hopefully several other worship leaders from the area, for a time of encouragement, fellowship and vision-casting.

Back in Dublin we have a vocal workshop on the calendar at Swords Baptist Church and will be leading worship there on a Sunday morning.

We don't yet know what else the Lord has in mind for this trip, but I'm expecting it to be a full three weeks.

I realize that we didn't do a great job of keeping everyone updated when we were last in Europe, but we have solved some of our technical issues and hope to do better this time.

Prayer request time:

- pray for the events I have mentioned and for any others that may crop up -- that God would do His work in us and through us.

- pray for all those with whom we will meet one-on-one or in small groups -- that God would open up more doors for ministry.

- pray for us as we are away from three major sources of income for three weeks -- that God would provide our every need, as always.

Of course another thing to pray about is that we wouldn't freeze our tails off, which would make the plane ride home very uncomfortable! From a Florida winter to an Irish winter -- what were we thinking? Na -- it'll be great.

History Repeated - the Other Side

On Gardiner Street in the heart of Dublin stands a building constructed in 1839 to house Dublin's famous Trinity Church congregation. In 1909, the church closed its doors. Since then it has been occupied by various concerns -- most recently Dublin's Labour Exchange. Today it stands empty -- but that's about to change...

In the 1970's, Trinity Church, Greater Europe Mission's first church plant in Ireland was established. It is now perhaps the largest evangelical congregation in The Republic of Ireland, with three congregations throughout greater Dublin. Recently the Trinity Central congregation has been crowding into a small church building which happens to be only a few blocks from the aforementioned Trinity Church building.

Now, nearly a century after Trinity Church abandoned the property, in an interesting twist Dublin City Council and Trinity Church have worked out a swap of sorts. The city is taking possession of Trinity's current building while Trinity has agreed to pay a certain additional sum and gain the Gardiner Street property. The plan is to completely renovate the property so that Trinity Church (the congregation and the building) will once again fulfill its purpose as a beacon of light in a spiritually dark society.

Is that a God Thing, or what?