Music Matters

June 1, 2006

Alleluia!
We praise you, Adonai, in your sanctuary,
we praise you in your mighty skies!
We praise you for your powerful deeds,
we praise you for your overwhelming glory!
We praise you with the blast of the trumpet,
we praise you with lyre and harp!
We praise you with timbrel and dance,
we praise you with strings and flute!
We praise you with clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath
praise Our God!
Alleluia!
Psalm 150 (The Inclusive Psalms)

Welcome to the first monthly article in a new web-based resource for Community of Christ church musicians! "Music Matters" is a place you can come for ideas from a variety of worship music professionals, representing a diversity of cultures, styles, genres, backgrounds, and points of view.

If you’re needing practical ideas about music ministry … if you’re wondering about how to best recruit and motivate worship musicians … if your congregation is struggling over style … if you’re a musician who needs new ideas or just a boost of creative energy … if music matters to you, you’ll want to visit this site often.

"Music Matters" is the brainchild of a group at Headquarters called the Organists’ Advisory Board. As this group looked at the future of church music and our hopes and dreams for that future, we became aware of a need for a network of musicians who support and encourage each other. We envisioned a place where musicians, no matter what their ages, levels of experience, preferred styles of music, or congregational settings, could come for practical ideas and encouragement.

Don’t let the title of this brainstorming group mislead you. Although we are organists, we hope this site develops into a resource that can benefit all church musicians. We intend to keep an open mind and hope that all participants in this endeavor do the same. We intend NOT to author every article, but rather to solicit ideas and writers that represent the vast spectrum of expertise that is part of the global Community of Christ worship community today.

Despite differences of content and style across the spectrum of church music, there are many things worship musicians can agree upon:

• Music is a gift of God, and its highest use is in praise of God. The book of Psalms, our earliest record of the songs of the church, tells us to "make a joyful noise" – not once, but eight times. The final Psalm in the entire book gives clear direction: Let everything that has breath, praise Our God! Music can move us, inspire us, and enable us to encounter the Divine Presence among us.
• Music is vitally important to the Community of Christ. It has often been said that "the Community of Christ is a singing people." Music was a vital part of the Restoration movement from its very beginnings, and singing has played a role in nearly every important occasion in the history of the church. One of Joseph Smith’s first directives for the emerging church was for his wife Emma to compile a hymnal. We have accounts of the very moving experiences during the composition and first hearing of the "anthem of the church," the hymn "The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning," at the dedication of the Temple at Kirtland. During dark days in prison, Joseph and his followers sang. Today, music remains a vital component of Community of Christ’s identity. We sing at reunion campfires, in Sunday School, in congregational worships no matter how large or small, at World Conference and other events – literally, almost everywhere the church gathers.
• Music leaders have an awesome privilege and an awesome responsibility. We are charged with bringing worshipers together through music, and then getting out of the way so that God’s presence can be experienced. We hold a powerful tool in our hands. Through music, worshipers can experience life-changing moments with the Divine. But that same tool, if mis-used, can obstruct those potential encounters.
• We all struggle with hurdles to our ministry. Some challenges common to us all are limited time to prepare and practice, over-booked schedules that keep others from participating, limited resources to develop our expertise or maintain our instruments and voices, struggles over style in our congregations, resistance to learning new songs or skills, and more.
• We all need support, motivation, and encouragement.

Won’t you join us in creating this new network of worship musicians? You could help in many ways: by visiting this site often … by letting us know what you think … by submitting an article such as this one … by asking a question for the FAQ section … by using a suggested idea and letting us know how it worked … by submitting a solution for a question someone else has asked … by telling others about this site.

Those who know me well know that I absolutely hate labels when they are applied to people. My personal life has been about breaking down barriers caused by labels. I am a classically-trained organist and pianist. But don’t label me as only that! I own and ride my own Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and can’t wait for the annual ride to the Hog rally in Sturgis, SD, again this August. But don’t put me only in the "biker" box, either! Musically, I’ve experienced incredibly moving experiences when playing the 113-rank Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ in the 5800-seat Auditorium at the church’s headquarters. But I also have experienced powerful encounters with God when playing keyboards in a praise band for a youth rally, and during campfire singing at church reunions, and in a congregation of eight worshiping members and a single flute for accompaniment, and in countless other settings. My current passion is for global expressions of praise in music from cultures far removed from my own … from the countries of Africa, Latin America, and Asia. I have been blessed by all of these musical encounters with the Divine. If I limited myself to only one style, one form of musical expression, one musical environment, I would impoverish myself and my ministry.

I encourage you and all worship musicians not to limit our ministry but rather to actively seek out new ways to praise our Creator musically. After all, God gives us countless expressions of beauty on our planet: not just one kind of flower but plants in a multitude of hues and forms, not just one kind of fish but a riot of colors and shapes in the sea … and creation goes on and on. I truly believe the Master Creator had a great time expressing the limitless creativity that we can see, touch, smell, taste, and hear. How could we then respond with only one kind of musical praise?

Make a joyful noise!

Jan Kraybill
Principal Organist and Director of Music
Community of Christ Headquarters
Independence, MO, USA

Please visit our FAQ page.
Next month’s topic: Encouraging Young Musicians.