I want to spend some time here on the blog talking about music. Specifically about music in the church. I’ve grown a bit weary of the subject outside of this forum, yet I feel like there are a lot of things I’d like to share on the subject and even more I’d like to learn.
In the past, I’ve talked some about singing and about the words to our songs. I want to delve into that a bit more. I also want to take a bit of time with the instrumental music question, minefield though it may be. I want to share some likes and dislikes. And I’d like to offer some suggestions.
But first off, I’d like to get some direction from you. What are some of the passages that you’ve found especially helpful when examining the church and her music? What are some basic principles that you feel need to be kept in mind? I don’t know that I can get to them in the days, but what are some resources that you would suggest?
I guess it’s no secret that the topic of music is a highly-charged one in our brotherhood. I don’t plan to get into that argument per se; you can look at the discussion going on over at Jay Guin’s blog if you don’t know what I’m talking about (I would send you directly to Wineskins.org, but there is a brother there who insists on completely dominating the discussion. If you can’t be coherent, be loud).
Something that concerns me about the historical view held within our brotherhood are the multiplicity of arguments used to support, many which actually contradict the others. I can’t help but wonder if, when pressed on the matter, if these brothers would insist that others hold exactly to their view or is belief in the same practice enough?
The typical assertion about baptism is that the act isn’t enough, that you need to hold to the proper understanding. Does the same hold true about music? If one believes that all use of instruments in the Bible was sinful while another holds that the Old Testament allowed instruments but the New Testament doesn’t, do they believe the same thing? If one believes that the Greek word “psallo” excludes the use of instruments while another believes it refers to instruments, but that our instrument is the heart, do they believe the same thing? I could go on and on.
My fear is that we are starting from a conclusion, then working backwards to support it. If not, why the wide variety of opinions to support our practice? Many of these beliefs, might I add, are virtually unique to the person holding them.
I’m an a cappella guy. My roots are in the a cappella church, and unless I can see something of real substance to be gained by bringing in instruments, I’m not interested. But I’ve read the arguments that try to make this a critical issue, from the bizarro world of Piney to well-reasoned arguments by men like Everett Ferguson and Jack Boyd. I’m just not convinced.
It’s not worth the fight. Not worth the fight to make people use instruments, not worth the fight to make them stop. God is quite capable of expressing himself clearly on important issues. And he chose not to on this issue. Because it’s not worth the fight.
28 years ago, I spent a summer in Long Beach, California. In fact, I spent two summers there, two memorable, life-changing summers. During that first summer, in 1982, I had the chance to go to a concert by Keith Green, a free concert he was giving at the Long Beach Arena.
Keith Green was a contemporary Christian singer whose music had a deep impact on me when I was a teenager. As I dealt with teenage angst and adolescent passions, I spent many a night listening to the profound lyrics of some of Keith’s songs (as well as some of the playful ones). It’s strange to me to hear some of those songs sung in a church setting today, “purified” from the pounding rock beat of the original.
The concert was powerful. The crowd was a bit rowdy, as far as Christian concert crowds can get rowdy. At one point they started a chant of “We love Jesus, yes we do, we love Jesus, how ’bout you?”, bouncing back and forth between two sides of the arena. A college classmate that was there with me leaned over and said, “This isn’t chapel at ACU, is it.”
A few weeks later, I had returned to Texas and was watching a show on TV, when they gave a short news report. One of the headlines: “Singer Keith Green was killed in a plane crash.” I was stunned to hear the news.
Hearing the postman at that moment, I went to the mailbox and found something addressed to me.
A postcard.
From Keith Green.
A standard postcard sent to thank me for attending the concert and to invite me to receive more of Keith’s materials. (He published the Last Days Newsletter)
Wow. That was a moment to remember. July 28, 1982.
That was 28 years ago. Keith Green was 28 when he died, so his widow and some others are doing a webcast tonight as a tribute. I won’t be able to watch, but if you’d like to see it, visit www.keithgreen.com for details.
I’ll include a video of one of the songs that meant a lot to me when I was young: “My Eyes Are Dry.” No, it doesn’t sound much like what you find in Songs of Faith and Praise. I only wish I could be at a congregation that could sing this song with the same passion.
{Photo taken from wikimedia.org; copyright of this photo is held by Last Days Ministries}
I want to spend some time here on the blog talking about music. Specifically about music in the church. I’ve grown a bit weary of the subject outside of this forum, yet I feel like there are a lot of things I’d like to share on the subject and even more I’d like to learn.
