Doxology

I was discussing the calling of God into the ministry with a young man the other day.  He is wrestling with this somewhat nebulous issue in his own heart.  How do I know if I’m called into the music ministry?  You may be struggling with that same question or know of someone who is.  Here are some things to think about:

Is there such a thing?  In Eph. 4:11 is says that God “gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ”.  There is no specificity as to an evangelist as being a music evangelist.  Nor is there anything listed as a music pastor.  The issue is not whether someone is called into the music ministry but whether they are called into the ministry.  That doesn’t mean that the called individual won’t have a primary role in church music but there is a difference.  I understand that we see in the Old Testament musicians set apart and dedicated specifically to church music.  But they were first and foremost priests.  There is a difference between a Music Pastor and a Pastor who does Music.

With that being said, my role here at GLC is much more than just doing music.  I’m also involved in teaching, hospital visits, counseling, media, shepherding, and the proverbial “much, much more”.  If I was only called into the “music” ministry I would balk at the notion of doing anything else.

Is there anything else?  If a young (or not-so-young) man is called into the ministry, the calling pursues him, not the other way around.  There won’t be anything else he can become.  He will have to be involved in pastoring of one form or another.  He will do it for free if he has to.  Many times I’ve heard the standard litmus test given to a prospective minister:  “If there’s anything else you CAN do, do it.”  Why do they say that?  Because they know if a man is truly called, he won’t be able to do anything else.

Is there any confirmation?  I’ve never seen a man called into the ministry—I mean truly called into it—that didn’t have that calling first recognized by his spiritual authorities (parents, pastors, teachers, etc.).  If there is no one in your life pushing you or asking you about the ministry, then you might want to rethink it.  Dave Harvey has some wonderful things that structure and organize this process in his book “Rescuing Ambition” that should be applied in every church.  To share a snippet of my own story, I surrendered to the call of the ministry while in a discussion with my pastor who lovingly challenged me in that regard.  He saw it before I did.

How can we truly know if someone is called to be a Minister?  There’s much that is subjective.  But there are also objective truths that must be applied.  If you are considering that question today, please ask not “Am I called into the Music Ministry?” but “Am I called into the Ministry?”

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Here’s today’s installment of Tuesdays With Tom on WSTS 100.9 FM with Monk Boone in Fairmont, NC.  Today we talk about how the scriptures teach that music primarily is to be used as a teaching tool.

Click Here to listen!

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Here’s yesterday’s radio show on WSTS 100.9 FM with Monk.  In this show we deal with making changes to church music with wisdom.  Enjoy!

Tuesdays With Tom June 19, 2012 Click Here!

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Not much time to write a blog entry as I’m at our Students Summer Camp this week.  Here’s an older article written by Bob Kauflin and I thought it worth your time:

Kevin sent in a question after attending two conferences. At one, the corporate worship times were about 90% congregational with a few special songs that everyone sat and listened to. At the other, the attendees only sang about 40% of the worship time. The rest was choirs, special numbers, and soloists. Here’s his question.

Is one “better” than the other? I lean quite heavily toward the participatory level; I want my people worshiping together, participating together, not simply watching (they can do that at home on TV or video). This topic has come up a few times within our Worship Ministry Team meetings and I’m quite interested in your input.

Here are some principles I’d think about in processing this question.

1. There are examples in Scripture of people listening to others singing God’s praise. The Levites at the temple were responsible for ministering to the Lord with sung and instrumental praise (1 Chron. 16:4). Singers, choirs, and instrumentalists were appointed to praise God while others listened (Neh. 12:46).
2. The purpose of gathering together is not simply to fulfill external actions like singing, but to see God’s glory in Christ (2 Cor. 4:6), to build one another up (1 Cor. 14:12), and to spur one another on to good deeds (Heb. 10:24-25).
3. Congregational singing seems to be the norm in Scripture, especially in the New Testament. We’re commanded numerous times in the Psalms to sing to the Lord. Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3, the two passages that directly address singing in the New Testament, say we’re to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another. In Revelation, all of creation joins in to worship God in song.
4. Col. 3 and Eph. 5 don’t specify that everyone has to sing at the same time. Singing to one another could mean taking turns, a solo or group singing to everyone else, or singing antiphonally.
5. We live in the American Idol, iPod, downloaded MP3 culture, where music is everywhere and its primary purpose is to keep us entertained.
6. Our own sinful hearts tend to like it when others notice us, think we have a great voice, or comment on how much they loved our contribution.
7. A large part of a how a song is perceived is the way it’s done. When I see a musician move erratically or excessively, I’m more aware of them. If instrumentalists never sing the words, I’m more aware of the music. But if musicians move naturally and seem engaged with the words, I tend to think about what they’re singing.

All that to say, in congregational settings I’d lean towards mostly congregational singing. We meet as God’s people to proclaim his praise, not only listen to it being proclaimed (Ps. 40:5).

But listening doesn’t mean that people aren’t participating. If we can worship God while listening to a message being preached, we can probably worship God while listening to a God-honoring songs being sung. Solos can be used effectively if they’re done humbly, presented wisely, and direct people’s hearts to savor Jesus Christ. We’re giving folks an opportunity to hear God’s word in song, so that they’ll be encouraged to worship him with their own songs and lives. We often project the lyrics to any special song that’s being sung. That’s one more way of directing people’s attention to the truths they’re hearing.

Another way we can help people in this area is to tell them what they should be doing while a song is being sung. Something as simple as, “Let this song you’re about to hear remind you of how merciful God has been to you.” We can also emphasize the right things when a song is over. It’s fine to say, “Let’s thank the choir for a great job and all the hard work they put in!” It’s better to say, “Let’s thank the choir for reminding us of how great a salvation God has given us in Jesus Christ!”

As leaders, we want to do everything we can to remind the church that every part of our meeting, whether we’re speaking, listening, singing, or playing, can be an act of worship to our glorious God, made acceptable through Jesus Christ.

As far as my input goes, I agree with Bob wholeheartedly.  In defense of doing specials, many times I have been the most moved and edified when listening to someone else sing rather than singing myself.  That may have something to do with the amount of singing that I do.  I can’t be for sure.  As I have said at this blog before, I also love the idea of using specials to teach future congregationals.  Most of the solos that are sung at GLC are ones that I hand-pick and assign to specific soloists to work to that end.  I also have our choirs and praise team teach future congregationals.

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In today’s radio spot with Monk Boone on WSTS 100.9 FM we talk about getting the word of God to dwell richly in us through church music through appropriate use of music styles.

TWT-6.12.12 Click here to listen!

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What the????

I received this question a while back:

I’m a Music Minister and I find that I’m wanting to implement reforms that I believe are biblical but my pastor doesn’t agree.  How do I deal with his unwillingness to make biblical changes?

I know some of you may not have the privilege that I have of serving where the purest form of the Gospel is preached. Maybe you’re in a church that preaches something far less than the true Gospel.  Maybe you have many of your congregants who have never been born again.  You can’t make those folks worshipers of God.  Therein lies much of the problem with the typical church and the “Music Wars” that occur.  When you’ve got a congregation that is by and large unregenerate (not born again), their focus is totally on things that the Bible says are unimportant.  With that being said, it is still the job of a Music Minister to be an extension of the heart of the Senior Pastor.  In so doing, he should do the church music the way the pastor would want it done if he (the Senior Pastor) actually was the Music Minister

I must also say that for the Music Minister to be more concerned with being truth-driven and biblical than the Senior Pastor is actually quite rare.  But since it seems we actually have that situation here, what should be the approach?  Maybe these suggestions can help:

Communicate.  Talk to your Pastor about theological concerns.  Chances are he lives for this kind of stuff!  I’ve never met a pastor yet that doesn’t love to discuss truth and its implications and applications to the local church.  Ask questions.  Read a great book together.  If you don’t talk about it, it will only fester and create a wedge in your relationship.

Calculate.  Make sure that you don’t go off in a direction that would be too fast or too radical for the church to assimilate.  ANY change should be loving, gradual, tender, and careful.  We are not about playing games with God’s property.  The only quick, radical changes that should be made are those that the leadership wholeheartedly requests or endorses.  It may be that your pastor’s reluctance on making changes is because you’re trying to move too quickly.  Patience may be the only thing needed.

Coordinate.  If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.  Make sure to have a long-range plan for what you believe the services should look like one year, two years, five years, etc., down the road from now.  Of course, make sure you do not surprise your Pastor with any of it on a Sunday service.  He’s still God’s sovereignly chosen leader for your church.  When David honored Saul’s authority, it didn’t happen because of convenience.  Saul was literally trying to kill him!

Consecrate.  Make sure that your testimony is as pure as possible.  There’s nothing more disheartening than to see a minister exhorting the church to hold to truth and then live a loose, undisciplined life.  The temptation to harden your heart or becoming embittered towards your pastor must be overcome as well.  There is no better way to justify the Gospel that we preach and sing than to back it up with a life saturated with holiness granted only by the matchless grace of Christ!

Consider (ate).  It may be the Lord’s way of telling you that He’s getting ready to move you if the leadership of the church is more concerned with numbers and cultural relevancy than with biblical worship.  I’ve always believed in trying to stick out a situation as long as possible and therefore allow the Lord to teach me things that I would not learn in leaving.  However, there are core truths and principles that no true Minister of God (Music, Youth, Senior Pastor, or any other ministerial position) should compromise on whatsoever.  Just make sure to be humble and broken and servant-minded no matter how conflicting the situation gets.  Always take the high road.

14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.  Heb 12:14-17 NASU

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Here’s today’s radio spot I did with Monk Boone at WSTS 100.9 FM.  Today we deal primarily (although in a tip-of-the-iceberg kind of way) with Worship Wars in the church as we continue talking about the role of music in the church.

Tuesdays With Tom–June 5, 2012 Click here!

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