The Importance Of Music
We fans of gospel music don't always realize how important the object of our fanhood is.
Music is such a powerful art form. Throughout the centuries, it has been used to inspire, entertain, comfort, and communicate some of the deepest thoughts and feelings we have as human beings.
What set me to thinking about this is the upcoming Christmas cantata at my "second church", a Baptist church down the street from where I live. It is going to be this coming Sunday morning, and there is much anxiety at the church about it, mostly because of the fact that a bug going around has affected many of the members of the choir, causing them to miss practice and precious preparation time to perform the scheduled work.
This church rightly realizes the place that music has in the overall worship service...music can speak to and touch worshippers and visitors in ways that even preaching can't at times...as can the commercial gospel music most of my readers here(and me)know and love so much.
An eloquent summarization of the above thoughts was done by my good friend Neil Enloe for the backliner of his solo album "Personal" back in 1980(one of my favorite gospel solo albums). It reads...
I'm thankful that God has given me a ministry of songwriting. As honorable
and God-ordained as the preaching ministry is, great sermons are too often
and too soon forgotten. Songs, however, have a way of recurring in our
memory. A melody with lyrics can restate precisely on command a verse of
scripture, a message or an inspirational thought. What a marvelous tool a
song is to bring eternal truth to our awareness.
While songwriting is a beautiful open door of opportunity it is also an
awesome responsibility. And I pray that God will help me move people toward
Him with the songs He has given to me.
Some of my innermost feelings and convictions have been set to music in the
songs on this album. Quite often songs become a window on the heart of the
composer so the whole world can parade past and see what's inside.
That's personal!
As you take your moment to gaze into my window, I hope you'll see, among
other things, an abiding love for my loving savior.
My personal Savior!
P.S.- Besides, there will be no preaching in heaven . . . only singing!
Neil always did have a way with words...not only in his many fine songs, but in his other writings as well.
And I concur with him on what kind of tool music can be...for ANY message...from the banal and trivial to the glorious and sublime(e.g., the gospel message). This is why it behooves those who wish to use it in communicating the truths of the Christian gospel to use it with care, and execute it to the best of one's ability.
Posted on Dec 13, 2007 - 02:00 AM | [1]
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Neil was right about great sermons being forgotten, but great lyrics mated with great melodies live forever to bless folks. I think the World might try calling that 'synergy', or when the sum is greater than the total of the parts. However we know otherwise; it is music that is anointed.
Just a few nights ago I was at a church dinner function and sat with some senior folks. We got on the topic of music – no surprise – and she lamented that the modern church seems to have brushed aside the great hymns. I asked her what hymn she missed, and she replied, ‘The Love Of God’. Right there at the dinner table, without a hymn book, we pulled most of the words from memory. Why? Because it’s a sermon in a song!
“Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”
“The love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure the saints’ and angels’ song.” [Frederick Lehman 1917]
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/o/loveofgo.htm
I also believe that one of the great things about gospel music and lyrics is that often, they can mean so much more to the listener, than even the composer could have imagined. I don't know if many gospel composers cried while writing their songs, but I sure have teared up more than a few times while listening to or singing some wonderful compositions.
Maybe it's another way which illustrates the Bible truth that tells us God's word will not return void.
Thanks John.