tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217550515556691035.post1626711309950723650..comments2023-12-21T13:04:46.950-06:00Comments on Worship HeartCries: Why Skill-based Music Study is Needed in the Seminary SettingWorship HeartCrieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04911213966810407256noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217550515556691035.post-80831717264860672282019-06-26T20:29:12.572-05:002019-06-26T20:29:12.572-05:00Russell: Thanks for your thoughtful and open repl...Russell: Thanks for your thoughtful and open reply. I appreciate the great need for worship leadership as hardly a week goes by that I don't receive a call or email from a pastor or church looking for help in this area. Some churches have that out of necessity opt for someone with less than adequate training; I'm not condemning them, that might be the only thing they could have done or they could have had an unfortunate experience with someone with more training. One major point is when a curriculum is determined by those who have little or no training in the area and driven by only what appeals to the immediate desire of the student, then we are headed for a perfect storm of leadership disaster. I have served as a missionary for 20 years and taught in seminary as faculty for another 16. I believe that in less than 5 years we will begin the really see the sad fruit of the choices that have been made.<br />Again, thanks for responding; thoughtful responses are a joy to read, even when they don't full agree.<br />Worship HeartCrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14221961634382941077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217550515556691035.post-44146026414722941042019-06-24T13:48:32.693-05:002019-06-24T13:48:32.693-05:00This is a thought-provoking article and a welcome ...This is a thought-provoking article and a welcome one compared to many of the hysterical screeds I often see from other authors on this subject. I'm not sure I'm in entire agreement with you yet, but this is by far the best argument I've seen from your "side," for lack of a better word. Thank you for your thoughtful and gracious approach!Russell Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14074247266498852791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217550515556691035.post-19124428712529646132019-05-31T14:03:54.368-05:002019-05-31T14:03:54.368-05:00Michael: Thank you for your testimony; I praise t...Michael: Thank you for your testimony; I praise the Lord for your desire to grow and know Him better as you develop those skills needed in leading other in worship!Worship HeartCrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14221961634382941077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217550515556691035.post-30513255105355949682019-05-31T13:59:34.247-05:002019-05-31T13:59:34.247-05:00Robert: Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I agree ...Robert: Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I agree with you that this conversation needs to involve leadership in the local church. Unfortunately many times someone is "pressed into service" because no one else is available, but is never encouraged to develop any further.Worship HeartCrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14221961634382941077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217550515556691035.post-79882128391991612162019-05-31T10:26:14.720-05:002019-05-31T10:26:14.720-05:00I’m a testament to this. I desired to study within...I’m a testament to this. I desired to study within some worship program in college, but ended up going to a school that only offered a music degree because I went as a student-athlete. I’m so glad and thankful I was led to this school because it ended up being the best thing for me. I received training that I would have never known I needed, and I know feel so much more capable musically to serve in ministry. To supplement the training I would have received in a worship arts program, I tried my best to have as much involvement in worship and music ministry as I could and I believe that this served me very well to learn about what I was seeking to learn in a worship arts program. I’m now pursuing a masters of divinity, and hope to serve in music ministry in a full-time capacity once I finish my schooling, which may not be soon, but I’m thankful for the opportunity to study church music and theology.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08880139639125330487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217550515556691035.post-29821564917402685922019-05-30T22:55:25.904-05:002019-05-30T22:55:25.904-05:00Thank you for this concise and timely observation ...Thank you for this concise and timely observation on one of the biggest issues facing protestant sacred music education. I am eighteen months removed from receiving a graduate music degree from one of our seminaries. The term “skill-based music studies” is not one we discussed but its use in your article rang true with me as a descriptor of seminary music education. Both pre and post graduation, I have dwelt on the question of how to acquaint our church bodies with the precious resource that is our seminary music programs. This article is a good step towards accomplishing that and I pray that God will use it to attain your goal of bringing this topic to the discussion table. And, whereas you spoke a lot about and to students in your writing, it strikes me that this discussion really needs most to take place among and between church pastors, laity, and our seminary trustees. To that end, I offer some additional comments on my own experience with “skill-based music studies.”<br /><br />A couple of your points in particular struck me. As to the first, "Students don’t know what they don’t know," I can assent a hearty amen. Before taking my first class, the catalog course descriptions led me to believe that we would dive into a lot of topics with which I was already well-versed. A brief exposure to my first course syllabus quickly disabused me of that notion! One of the most frightening things about gaining an education is the elimination of said ignorance. Not that I now know everything, but I am no longer ignorant of what I don’t know (or at least as much)! And that knowledge of what is left to master is daunting. That many, perhaps even a majority, of today’s church music leadership lack this awareness is sobering.<br /><br />The second point that struck me, the context of music education from a biblical worldview, could be considered a corollary of the first, in that the sheer existence of this topic is foreign to most Christians. Hardly anyone gives it more thought than whether or not a song has some “jesus-y” lyrics in it. In this area, the 'don’t know what they don’t know syndrome' is pervasive and profound in our churches. I say this not out of judgment of others but from personal experience and change. The impact of this part of my education was the least expected benefit of going back to school while being as much, if not more, valued in my mind as the musical skills gained.<br /><br />For those reading this who are unfamiliar with a seminary music program, consider what is involved: students study the traditional secular topics of voice, piano, music theory and history, plus hours and hours of performance practice in large and small instrumental and vocal ensembles performing everything from Palestrina to Bernstein. But, in addition to these topics, a seminary music student takes a large chunk of credit hours in the realms of aesthetics, philosophy, culture, worship (from Moses to Hillsong), hymnology, and, yes, even theology! Students come out of such a program with an awareness of how secular values infiltrate the church through its music, the knowledge that just the opposite was the norm for most of church history (Christian values were inculcated into the culture through church music), and the skills to use music as a formative tool in development of spiritual discipline and Christian character (Col 3:16).<br /><br />The challenge for our churches then is this: Is it worthwhile to support and value programs that can develop the leaders who can bring these kinds of skills to the church? I hope and pray that we will determine the answer to be yes.Robert Myersnoreply@blogger.com