September 21, 2006

Music and Worship Today

Dr. Paul Jones is the organist and music director of 10th Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. He's also the author of the book, Singing and Making Music--Issues in Church Music Today.

Modern Christian musical efforts tend to be more "me" centered rather than being theocentric. Dr. Jones believes this straying takes place when we base our music only on tradition, our own experiences, what certain factions in the church say we should have, etc. It's not that those factors are to be ignored, instead they should all be measured by the principles set forth in God's word.

The reason this is important is because any way the word of God is amplified is a form of proclamation. Just like preaching, music does just that. This brings a certain level of seriousness and responsibility to bear upon those choosing, preparing, presenting and participating in and with music.

Dr. Jones expands upon this theme by discussing whether or not church music should be tied to a particular theme, he looks at one biblical model of music by giving a description of King David's praise team, and he also sheds light on Luther's alleged use of bar songs in his hymn writing.

More Information

For a copy of
Singing and Making Music--Issues in Church Music Today
for a gift of $20:

Crosstalk
3434 W. Kilbourn Ave.
Milwaukee, WI. 53208
1-800-729-9829 M-F 8am-5pm Central

Copies of this Crosstalk program on cassette or CD are also available for a donation of $5 each from the same address and phone number.

NOTE: The Crosstalk Store is currently not available. This program and the book will be available there once the problems are corrected.

To obtain a hymnal go to:
Great Commission Publications
http://www.gcp.org