I. Introduction
A. Ministry defined: The practice of church music IS ministry
1. 85% of a ministry job is relational; 15% is music)
2. It is an expression of God's love through His servants (not slaves)
3. It is an expression of God's love through:
a) Caring--listening, sensitivity
b) Concern--expression of honest concern to church members & staff
c) Hope
d) Regard
4. Leadership Matters to Consider--Adapted from Jim Spivey (Ex. 17:8-16)
a) No one is self-sufficient: You will have to rely on other people
b) Depend on others (v.11)--not just to help, but to support; wait on the right person
c) Do not become a hero (vv.14-16)
d) Focus on the great acts of God
5. The "I" Factor
a) Industry: to put in a full days work for a full days pay. Be there when you are supposed to.
b) Inspiration: Every day we must seek Christ daily in a quiet time with him so that I can be inspired so that they can see it in what I do.
c) Ingenuity: Every Churches context will be a little different. We must be able to understand how the church works and adapt to it.
d) Integrity: As church staff member, I will do whatever it is I say that I am going to do.
e) "We are ministers of music not merely musicians on ministry"
6. Who is a Minister of Music?
a) Must have a heart of a shepherd: We must lead.
b) Glorify in worship: Are we bringing all glory to God?
c) Proclaim Redemption:
d) Teaches the inspired Word of God.
e) Empowered by the Holy Spirit.
7. Who Does God Call?
a) Those who know that He is at work today.
b) Pursues a loving relationship with Him.
c) Seeks to improve as His servant.
d) Seeks to know Him better.
e) Know that God seeks to accomplish His work through His servants.
B. Priorities in Ministry
1. Different types:
a) Christian
b) Spouse
c) Parent
d) Church Member
e) Employed person
f) Community person
2. Principles of Control
a) Inner Circle (Principle 1): the inner circle takes precedence over the outer circle. You must grow spiritually.
b) Limited Potential (Principle 2): Whenever and inside circle is weak the potential in the outside circle is reduced. Most problems extend from spirituality.
c) Misplaced Priority (Principle 3): If my Job takes place over one of the inner circles, we are out of sync.
d) Maintained Priorities (Principle 4): When the order of priority is maintained, greater satisfaction is experiences.
3. Definition of a Minister of Music--A minister of music is one who has the nobility of being created by God yet is nothing more or less than a simple craftsman, given a ob to do, who does the job carefully, usefully, humbly fir the Glory of God. (adapted from Harold Best)
4. Ministry--"If I knew a way to make more impact with my life, if I knew a way that was more fulfilling, more satisfying, and more important than eternity, I'd be doing it. But I don't, and so, I'm in the ministry."--Rick Warren
a) Three Characteristics of Minister of Music--ACTS 6
i. Available: place at God's disposal. We may not no God's will for our lives but we must follow His will.
ii. Teachable: "blind spots" in the minister life.
iii. Example: live above reproach.
b) Praise: Praises God for what He has done.
c) Worship: Glorifies God for who He is.
d) Leadership is a process, not an event.
i. Romans 12:9--18
ii. LOVE without hypocrisy
iii. Diligence in service--be consistent in how you treat the people in your congregation
iv. Meet the "real needs"--most staff members tend to look at congregations and come up with "perceived" needs
v. Rejoice and weep in all circumstances--we tend to weep with people in the immediacy of the moment
vi. Humility in service
vii. Scriptures
(a) Romans 12:3-13
(b) I Corinthians 12
(c) Ephesians 4:7-12
(d) Habakkuk & Titus--good for encouragement
(e) Go to a church with the anticipation that you'll be there forever
5. "Process" Leadership
a) Avoid evil for evil
b) Peace with others
c) Summary
i. Sincere--no "play acting" at the business of being a Minister of Music
ii. Cleansed of self--by maintaining a daily connection with God
iii. Pure, outgoing heart--do all possible to make sure your heart is right with God
iv. Shocked by sin
C. Leadership Profile Itself
1. Interdenominational levels of agreement:
a) Some agreement
i. Responsibility
ii. Family perspective
iii. Personal faith
b) High agreement
i. Self-serving behavior
ii. Pursuit of personal agenda--the first six months should be spent getting to know the people at the church before making any changes
iii. Self-protecting behavior--there is a tendency to be defensive in this ministry, but it must be avoided
iv. Bypassing decision-making process--every church has a "legitimizer"--someone completely unrelated to your ministry who must give approval for anything to succeed. Listen in interviews for names that people are passing; probably a legitimizer
c) No agreement
i. Ministerial approach
ii. Preaching style
iii. Worship style
iv. Musical language
v. Evangelism
vi. Social ministry
vii. Congregational ministry
viii. Community ministry
2. Profile: Prophecy
a) Upside: verbal skills--people who find it easy to talk in front of people
b) Downside: too "direct and to the point" (absence of tact and sensitivity)
c) Often misunderstood--people interpret directness with lack of concern
3. Profile: Service
a) Concerned with the needs of others
b) Deals with "everyday" needs--look for tasks that you must do, and do them; delegate everything else
c) Keep a low profile--they do what they do without any need for recognition
d) Are "full of good deeds"
4. Profile: Teaching
a) Concerned with the nurture and growth of others
b) Focus on problems
c) Focus on issues (rather than the personality presenting them)
d) Live before people as "an example for others"
5. Profile: Exhorting
a) Are helpful, but often the way they want to help you
b) Provide answers (sometimes without a question being asked--tend to be meddlers)
c) Tend to be confrontational (often more so than the prophets)
d) Help they way they think other individuals SHOULD be helped
6. Profile: Sharing
a) Communicate clearly
b) Look from other people's perspective
i. Logos--logic; who we are, the answer to the situation, the exact, correct thing to do
ii. Pathos--empathy, who you are; sensitive to what has meaning to others
c) Sensitive to others
7. Profile: Leading
a) Good at organizational skills
b) Good at delegating
i. If we don't know how to delegate, our job will be unnecessarily difficult
ii. You can't take care of more than about 400 people
iii. A typical minister of music can do at most no more than 4 tasks. Do the tasks no one else can do
(a) Adult choir
(b) Senior adult choir
(1) In the process of working with them, they see you as a caring minister and not a threat (by doing music they liked)
(2) Teach these people the praise choruses to teach them that they will not destroy their favorite musics
(c) Youth choir
(d) Fill-in-the-blank (orchestra, perhaps? Whatever suits you)
c) Are willing to stand before others
d) Usually have experience in other places, or are good at acquiring it
e) Are extremely relational--they do connect, listen; are typically pleasant
8. Profile: Mercy
a) Bears the burdens
b) A downside because people will tend to be overly dependent on you
i. Remember: being a counselor is different than being a therapist
ii. Some people in the church will ALWAYS have more trouble than they can handle; learn to temper your gift so that this doesn't take away your other responsibilities
9. Profile: LOVE
a) Give with no thought of return
b) Are willing to do the right things just because they are the right thing to do
10. Profile: Enthusiasm--Highly motivated--"Sparkles"
11. Profile: Hope
a) Strong in difficult situations
b) Serve as an "anchor," or stabilizing element
c) You don't focus on circumstances, you focus on the God who will get your through them. Don't ask all the "why's," concern yourself with comforting.
12. Profile: Prayer
a) Put into words what the heart is saying
b) Do not be flippant with promises to pray when you're prone to forget later
13. Profile: Hospitality-Have a "welcoming" attitude
D. Three Characteristics of a Minister of Music (exemplified by Stephen in the book of Acts)
1. He was available--don't presume to put limits on what God can do with us
2. He was teachable--if you mess up, learn from mistakes; seek God's revelation and support in the face of "blind spots"
3. He lived above reproach--always be transparent
II. The Biblical Foundations of Ministers of Music
A. Music in the Old Testament
1. II Chronicles 20:14-22--Conquer
2. II Chronicles 29:27-30--Evangelism
3. Isaiah 6--Worship
B. Music in the New Testament
1. Ephesians 5:19--Worship practice
2. Colossians 3:16--Teaching
C. Historical Backgrounds and Precedents for the Music Minister
1. Until A.D. 250, the church was largely free in structure; beginning in 250, however, things become very structured, and became influenced by the philosophies of Plato
a) The Orthodox tradition
b) Roman Catholicism tradition
c) Coptic tradition
2. Medieval Period (Middle Ages)--A.D. 600-1045
a) Precipitated by the "excommunication" of the Orthodox church by the Catholics
b) Primarily influenced by Aristotle
c) The church and the state were absolutely equal (eventually, the church will dominate)
3. Reformation--Calvin, Zwingli, Luther (who never really left Catholicism)--1500-1750
a) Emphasis on the individual
b) Emphasis on minimalism
4. Modern Period--1750--1950 (or 1990, depending on who you ask)
a) Emphasis on reason
b) Emphasis on enlightenment
D. The Basic Point of the History of Church Music--the history of Christian worship is a story of diversity:
1. Christians have always demonstrated a wide breadth in worship, a diversity of ways to worship
2. However, the criteria for defining and marking this diversity may vary from era to era--i.e., the fact that change happens is consistent; the characteristics of the change is what is important
E. Why is there diversity?--Changes/variations in worship between peoples usually can be explained in the following elements:
1. Changes in theology, particularly in understandings of God, the church, and salvation
2. The church's relationship to culture
a) Relationships to culture, for example: among several possible positions, some Christians view their surrounding contemporary culture as something very
b) Resistance to cultural changes
i. Amish/Mennonite worship
ii. Greek Orthodox worship
c) Actively engaging the culture my take on the qualities of "entertainment"
d) Another aspect to worship and culture: typical spots where culture expresses itself in worship
i. Manner of preaching
ii. Manner of praying
iii. Manner of making music (not necessarily the words)
iv. Awareness and use of the body
v. Sensibility to time
vi. Assessment and use of space
vii. Language
e) Major metaphors and images--what become symbols do our culture? These change over generations
3. Shifts in piety/spirituality
F. The Precedents of Music Ministry
1. Old & New Testament Origins--other classes
a) Seven Classical Liturgical Families
b) Alexandria; West Syrian; East Syrian; St. Basil; St. John of Chrysostom; Gallic-Ambrosian, Mozarabic, Celtic, Callican; Roman
c) Ex opere operato--The Operations of God Himself
2. Medieval Period
a) Fourth Lateran Council--1215 (Transubstantiation)
b) Roman Catholic Culture dominates the West
i. The Mass
ii. Pontifical High Mass (sung)
iii. High Mass--done by a deacon (sung)
c) Ex opere operatis
3. Protestant Reformation
a) Precedents
i. Martin Luther--transubstantiation becomes consubstantiation
ii. Zwingli--does away with all the trappings of the Catholic church
iii. John Calvin--takes the best of both Luther & Zingli
iv. The Anabaptists--merely rebaptized people
v. The Anglicans--Henry VIII wanted a divorce, so he broke away from the Roman church
vi. John Wesley & Charles Wesley--were not Methodists, but Anglicans
vii. 16th- & 17th-century English Baptists
(a) Thomas Helwys
(b) Carey
(c) Sutcliff
viii. Luheran Worship--Christ is IN us, WITH us, and UNDER us
(a) Lord's Supper was very important
(b) Mass given in the vernacular
(c) Emphasis on the use of hymns
(d) "If not prohibited by Scripture, you can do it"
(e) Consubstantiation
ix. John Calvin
(a) T --total depravity
(b) U--unconditional election
(c) L --limited atonement
(d) I --irresistible grace
(e) P --perseverance of the saints
(f) Frequency of the Lord's Supper
(g) Congregational Singing--Psalms were part of worship; unison & unaccompanied
(h) Religious education of children
(i) Emphasis on marriage
(j) True order: ULTIP
(k) Reformed theology
b) Post--Reformation
i. Non-conformist churches (revision of liturgy)
ii. Anabaptists--Switzerland
(a) Preaching the Word is central
(b) Congregational participation
(c) Emphasis on hymn singing by the congregation
(d) Hymns on martyrdom
(e) Two ordinances--Lord's Supper, Baptism
c) Precedents of Baptists
i. Reforms of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin
ii. Reforms of Puritans, Anabaptists, Free-churchmen
iii. General Baptists--1609 (Holland)
(a) General atonement--available to all who want it
(b) John Smyth, founder
iv. Particular Baptists--1638 (London)
(a) Limited atonement--like Calvinists
(b) ???
v. General Baptist worship patterns
vi. Shorter sermons and prayers
vii. Occasional use of collects and set prayers
viii. Greater use of music by instruments and choirs
ix. Children's sermon
x. Wider use of congregational singing
d) Roger Williams
i.