| Four
Words on Singing Click here to return to the Church Innovations web site. Over the past seven years, CI has had the privilege to work with congregations in the fellowship of churches of Christ, especially those associated with Abilene Christian University. The first stretch of work was shared research on the innovation of missional local churches and the systems, including ACU, that either do or do not nurture their innovating missional church. Among the sheer delights of this shared work has been reading Scriptures together and singing together. Remember this variety of churches of Christ, a non-denominational sort, also are non-instrumental. They do not use instruments to accompany the singing of the congregation, or so has been their tradition. I find this a strong, loving, and wise tradition in many ways. I have experienced young persons taught from childhood to listen, to blend, to attend to rhythm, voice, and harmony! In a society and culture that says it wants everyone to have their own voice, this is a community that has the power to literally and figuratively make that happen. Of course, whether it does so or not is another matter and another column, no doubt. Nonetheless, the potential for such gaining of voice and finding voice within community is powerfully present in the congregations with which CI has had the privilege to work and, I, for one have been delighted singing with them. A case in point was a couple weeks ago in Federal Way Church of Christ, Federal Way, Washington, a suburb, I suppose you could say, of Seattle, where the Northwest cluster of our Partnership for Missional Church with churches of Christ associated with ACU was meeting. We sang under strong leadership out of a variety of traditions of Christian hymns and song, including U2 and Bonaventura. Old and young, male and female, diverse cultures and languages were joined in a cappella song and it was marvelous. One of the song leaders, a critical office in churches of Christ, Ike Graul, introduced one section of our singing with a few words, indeed, four words for the gathered crowd to reflect on as they raised their voice to make a joyful sound. They were:
With each of these four words he gave a story that powerfully brought home to me, and it seemed to many others, what power God brings to such singing. In his few words Ike reminded his congregations of the movement of God in the congregation. He underlined how God empowers our singing to ears not expected or intended, as well as the ears of God, who is always attending to our singing. He brought our attention to our voice and how everyone has a place in this choir. In his words he reminded me of the work of my colleague Paul Westermeyer, who in his classes and books reminds us of this critical role of singing in the work of God through the work of the people gathered. He has written The Church Musician (1988, rev. 1997); With Tongues of Fire: Profiles in Twentieth-Century Hymn Writing (1995); Let Justice Sing: Hymnody and Justice (1998); Te Deum: The Church and Music (1998); The Heart of The Matter: Church Music As Praise, Prayer, Presentation, Story, & Gift (2001); and Hymns for Lent (2003). Paul also is a member of the same congregation as my wife and I, and I get to see him and his family, multiple generations these days, practice what he writes about in these books and teaches in his classroom at Luther Seminary. I admire his work as teacher and writer and his work in our congregation tremendously. I am relatively sure he and Ike would share deep commitments as Christian musicians and leaders of congregational song but they certainly are not likely to cross paths. Ike works in emerging church circles and Paul in the mainline traditions that are not yet liminal but only a bit disconcerted by the realities of the new Missional Era. Still it would be fun to see them work together since innovating the missional church surely needs what both bring to the challenge. Be that as it may, Ike took me by storm in a later introduction to a time of a cappella singing by asking the question,” What might be four similar words for the church sent, rather than gathered, for its singing?” He said they might be:
We are entering perhaps the most singing part of the church year, Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas. As you make a joyful noise to the Lord, whether gathered or sent, you might reflect on these four words for doing so. I know we at Church Innovations have had a profoundly blessed year, especially in our Partnership for Missional Church and have much praise and thanksgiving to bring in our joyful noise. Pax, Pat Keifert |
|