CHAPTER 1 A DEFINITION OF "ROCK" When you enter into a discussion of Christian rock music, you invariably run into a semantic problem over the word "rock" or "rock and roll". The variety of definition in people's minds of what is rock is staggering. It is much like discussing the Bible with a Jehovah's Witness: when you say "Jesus" or "born again", each of you have completely different definitions of the terms, and because of that, the conversation is stillborn. To some people, rock is anything with drums and electric guitars in it, to others it is only the heaviest of hard rock, anything less thought to be "sissy". For our purposes, let me offer a definition of rock. It started out as the music of youth, usually played by youth, for youth. It has grown into a music that all ages enjoy, and we are just now experiencing the answer to the question, "What will rock stars do when they get old?" Whether we agree with what they say and do or not, Mick Jagger, the Beatles, Tina Turner, are all examples of rockers who have remained vital and active well into their '50s, and it will be interesting yet to see if there is an age when they will retire. Jazz players played until they died, will rockers do the same? Whether you are a young or an old rocker, the music is played with youthful abandon, total commitment, with an emphasis on the heart and the emotions, rather than on the technical, the intellectual. It has something to do with bass, drums, electric guitars, all that, but so do many other styles of music. More than that it is a feeling, an intangible wonderfulness, hard to define but easy to recognize by the true fan. For this reason, it's not always about fast rhythms, ear splitting volumes, or screaming vocals. Sometimes it is the sparest of ballads, accenting bass and drums, but still velvety and deeply emotional. An example of a Christian rock ballad is Phil Driscoll's "I Exalt Thee", heavy with rock production sensibilities, but very anointed. Rock is Smashing Pumpkins, and Steely Dan. It is Alanis Morissette, it is Annie Lennox. It is Elton John, Jane Siberry, AC-DC, U2, even at times Neil Diamond. It is too wide of a palette to be boxed, categorized and dismissed. It would serve everyone well to discard the term "Rock and Roll" completely for the sake of the discussions to come in this book. What we call "rock" WAS born partly out of rebellion in the mid-fifties when it first began to emerge. It was a music that reflected and embodied the life experiences and philosophies of a generation of disenfranchised young people who, for the first time, really had a music they could call their own. It was the music of the teenage experience, and a great deal of the attraction of the music was the fact that most parents didn't understand it, and, in fact, out and out rejected it. The earliest pioneers of rock transcended the mere influence of their music, becoming symbols of rebellion, wearing leather jackets, wearing their hair long and doing outrageous things in their private lives. There was a strong identification with these heroes as they lived out the fantasies of many teenagers who were at odds with parents and would have liked themselves to be doing some of the things their heroes were doing in real life. This was the atmosphere in which rock was born, and there is no question that it was for many, an escape from the repression of their teenage years, and a stimulus to rebellion and discontent for many. So we grant all this, and yet I must ask the question, is there something redeemable in this music? Is there something we could tap into which would serve the purposes of God uniquely, which would produce a music which could effect the world in a positive way, just as so much secular music has effected negatively? Or is it, as some say, all "of the Devil", and has no place whatsoever in the life of the Christian or the church, and should be categorically discarded by all Christians? We will examine these questions, but before we do, let me suggest that we take a look at this music based on its own potential, and merit, and strip away our biases for a minute. What if it wasn't called "Rock and Roll", and hadn't emerged as it did? What if we could truly be convinced that God could have something to do with it, and might even inspire some of it? If man had not fallen, would there be a music that would have the substance of rock, but still be in harmony with the purposes and will of God? I believe we would see it differently, as a potential tool to effect lives in a very positive and unique way. I don't believe that every style of rock is something that would be inspired and produced by the Holy Spirit, but then I don't believe that of any kind of music. But I do believe that there is something available spiritually that has not yet been tapped into, for reasons to be discussed in upcoming chapters. I don't believe that Christian rock has yet properly or effectively served the purposes of God, but I believe there is a change coming and that we will see rock music used with maximum effectiveness in the days to come. If we can put aside our prejudice for now, and examine this issue with an open mind, I believe that many of us would and will come to a different conclusion that we have so far. But don't judge what's to come by this chapter. There's much to discuss, and I believe you will be surprised, no matter what is your present position. Read on... CHAPTER 2 NO MUSIC INHERENTLY EVIL Anyone who has been a Christian for any length of time at all and who is interested in rock music, has heard somebody tell a story, ostensibly always true, about missionaries who played a tape of some rock music for natives in an African village somewhere, who recoil in horror, recognizing the rhythms of the music to be the same as that which the local witch doctor uses to drum up demonic spirits in rituals. I'm not even saying that this couldn't happen, but to use this story as a basis for categorizing rock music as evil, is to me naive at best. I've never personally known anybody who reported this story, and it's my take that this story is just another urban legend, passed down as true but never substantiated by any proof. It's my conviction that no pattern of notes, rhythm, or melody is inherently evil. Much has been said in recent years by well meaning men of God about the spiritual darkness of ALL rock music and even Christian rock being branded as being "of the devil". I see this as a very narrow view, and that people who espouse this opinion have not really thought it through. Conversely, I also do not believe that all rock is of God. It's not my intention in this book to try to prove that rock is either good or bad, as I believe both those positions to be extremes, and naive opinions at best. What I will attempt to do is to present some ideas that will expand the horizons of thought for the reader which will hopefully produce a more thoughtful dialogue that we have been able to have up until now. It is my hope to provide some tools by which we can properly spiritually discern what is appropriate for us to listen to and what is not. I've thought and meditated on this subject for many years, and having been a forerunner in the field of contemporary Christian music in my days with LOVE SONG, the first Christian "rock" group, I feel qualified to present some of my insights formed out of my years of experience. Let me begin by explaining my opening statement that "no pattern of notes, rhythm or melody is inherently evil." In order to understand this, we have to differentiate between the "stuff", or substance of music, and the morals of the music. The "stuff" of music, the notes, the rhythm, man's capacity to respond to that rhythm and melody, were all created by God, out of nothing. God is the only one who can create something out of nothing. The system of music, the laws of music, our capacity to respond, all were created by God. Neither Satan nor man can create something out of nothing. The best man can do is take the raw material that is already there, and build something out of it. That's the best that Satan can do, too. Although I believe that he's a master musician all he can do is make music that is derived from the original gift of music which is from God. Therefore, what he does is pervert and counterfeit the music of God to accomplish his own purposes. He may even create a whole style of music that would not be something the Holy Spirit would have anything to do with, but he's still working with the substance, the laws, the system that God created. So the morals of such music would be evil in intent and function, but the "stuff" is just music. A simplification of the real question here then is "is the stuff of rock music inherently immoral?" I really don't think so but I think that the stuff can be put together to produce an immoral result. For further clarity, let us compare music to the written word. No letter or group of letters is evil in itself. It's just ink on paper, but if you form a word with the right four letters, you can produce a negative response on the part of the person reading that word. This response is not based on any inherent evil in the letters, but on the background, the social upbringing of the reader and once again, laws and systems which God established, in this case, of language and communication. Speak that word into the atmosphere, and it's not the sound waves that are evil, or the motion of the vocal chords, but rather the response of the listener to the meaning of the word, often based on his cultural background. It has been my experience that some words have different meanings in different countries. Some words that we think quite innocent here in the United States have very lewd meanings in other countries, and I have learned the hard way, having been graciously corrected by a host in those countries when I used the offensive word, to me, quite innocently. I think this works as an allegory to demonstrate the truth about music, specifically rock, as that is the basic subject of this book. Although I contend that no music is inherently evil, I do believe that there are many ways that music can be used for evil purposes, and be a conveyor of spiritual evil, even to the point of being a vehicle for evil spirits to gain entry into the listener's life. By and large, the negative response that a Christian listener would have to any form of music would be due to factors other than inherent evil in the music. He might react negatively due to memory associations, the music acting as a link to his past life before Jesus, or to other unpleasant times or experiences in his life. Negative reactions could be precipitated by prejudices and biases which were taught him my parents, toward some music which they don't like. And of course, many kinds of negative responses could be the result of a reaction to the spirit of the music, that is the way that Satan has put the music together and uses it to accomplish his purposes, but not by some inherent evil in the music itself. But all this does not negate the reality that if music is producing negative responses in a person, then it could be wrong for that person to listen to it in good conscience. Let's take "cocktail room" jazz for instance. For me the sound of that music conjures up memories of a drink in my hand, a cigarette in my lips, and would have very little ability to minister life to me in any capacity. And yet when I listen to some of the jazzy praise music that is available, the spirit is different, and although by personal taste I would probably not listen to it often, it doesn't offend me, and when I have listened to it I've enjoyed it. A huge area of consideration is the sexual element. Some people relate to music on a much more sensual level than others, and certain secular music, even just the music part, will conjure up impure responses. Some soul and R&B type rhythms have a strong sexual attitude, and this kind of rhythm coupled with the right bass line and other sounds, would probably not ever be produced by the Holy Spirit. An interesting and fun exercise was put together by the Christian group "Glad" many years ago, and performed in their concerts, where they took an old hymn, and performed it in a range of styles from different eras of history. They did it in a baroque style, classical, blues, jazz styles, they did it as the Beach Boys might do it, then in a more rock oriented style, and the result is hilarious and challenging. You find yourself reacting in different ways as the different styles are performed, and it really opens up your mind to the importance of the way that music is treated and presented in any given song. Some of the styles were offensive to my musical and spiritual sensibilities, but a couple I thought were a vast improvement over the original style. This video, incidentally, is available through Al Menconi Ministries, who's address is found in the back of this book. Now Satan may combine elements of music that will result in music that would never be produced by the Holy Spirit ever, and that music could probably be rightfully called evil, but in the area of rock this would be limited in my opinion mostly to the "heavy metal" "death rock" and some hard rock kind of music. Now unless you think I'm contradicting myself, let me clarify that I said I didn't believe that the notes, the rhythm in itself, the melody, the actual components of the song are in themselves evil. But I do believe that when these elements are properly combined, they can produce an evil effect, and be used of the Devil. In that sense then, that music could be termed "evil". Let me also say here, that I believe there are many styles of music, or individual compositions within a style category that would not be produced by the Holy Spirit, not just rock music. RIGHTEOUS AND UNRIGHTEOUS JUDGMENTS I don't believe there is much of a question on the part of discerning Christians that some music by certain groups such as AC/DC, Slayer, Motley Crew, is born in hell, and truly is "of the devil". But when we say a song was "born in hell", it's really the spirit of the music that we are objecting to, which is made up of many elements. The life style and intent of the performer, the meaning of the lyrics, the manner in which the song is performed, etc., all play a part in how the music comes across and in how we receive it. Where I think Christian musicians often miss it, is that they often combine some elements that are born of the spirit, with elements that are of the wrong spirit, and the same rules as above apply. Their life style, their intent, their relationship with God is often shallow, their knowledge of the word is limited, so their ability to be led of the Spirit is limited. What results is a reflection of their immaturity, a perverted mix of elements, some with the wrong spirit, and the resulting song is unable or at least limited in it's ability to convey the anointing of God. Sometimes their judgment, or their ignorance of what may be acceptable or not results in a perverted mix which brings us to another problem. Who becomes the standard of orthodoxy by which we all comply? Well I believe that it is a subjective matter, and will be different for different people. What stumbles one may not stumble another. The same rules apply in making this discernment. The maturity of the believer, how renewed his mind is to the things of God, his musical background and tastes, will all have a hand in deciding how he will respond to different kinds of music. I'm not denying that some Christian rock seems to be unable to carry the anointing of God at all, and may even be more harmful than good, but the bottom line is that the judgment of whether any music made by Christians is of God or not is up to God. To brand any music that is composed by people who confess to be Christian as "of the devil" is dangerous. What I do believe we have the right to do is make a judgment call on whether that music is part of our life or not, and frankly, there's some secular music I would be more comfortable that my kids listen to than some Christian rock. At least with some "neutral" or "G-rated" music, (I will deal with this concept in a later chapter) because it is clearly secular but may have a few or no offensive elements, the lines can be more clearly drawn, and my kids would know that this music is just for entertainment, will not necessarily enrich them spiritually, and that's that. On the other hand, some of the music made by Christians is so confusing, that it's more difficult to keep clear lines by which to guide them. "Well honey, I know they're Christians but that song really doesn't have a lot of spiritual value." etc. But I do have the right to judge Christian music (music made by Christians) in regard to whether it ministers to me or my family, and much Christian music would never be a part of our lives. You have the same right, but remember what's wrong for you may be OK for someone else. The same rules apply for a pastor discerning what groups to have in to play at church, except now he's making a subjective judgment for the whole congregation, which is his job. Later on, we will have some discussion of how some music could be right for some, and wrong for others in the chapter dealing with the unrenewed mind, and the worshippers heart. So although rock music can and is being used for evil purposes, I also believe that it can and is also being used by God for righteous purposes. If I haven't lost you yet, read on as we discuss... CHAPTER 3 THE REDEMPTION OF ROCK The Bible tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Father of lights. I believe music is, in it's purest form, such a gift; that rhythm, melody, harmony, etc. and man's tremendous capacity to respond to all these elements which make up music, is a good gift from above, and that God is the creator of music. Satan, as we've discussed, on the other hand is not a creator, but an imitator, a counterfeiter, a perverter, and a liar and whatever he's done in any area of music is simply a perversion or something that originally came from God. I believe that in his use of rock music, he tapped into something that God intended for good and has so expertly twisted and perverted it to his own purposes that he has literally captured the secular youth of the whole world with a music that transcends cultural barriers, ethnic lines, and is perhaps the most universally popular music that the word has ever seen in any generation. To me it follows that there is a potential for that same kind of music to be redeemed back from the devil, and used to bring many to the knowledge of the Lord, as well as to edify and build up people who are already members of the Body of Christ. I can think of no other form of music that has the potential to convey joy, to convey a spirit of spiritual warfare, to convey the depth of the spirit to more people on the earth today than rock. The problem is that many contemporary musicians of the Lord are for the most part so concerned about the business of cloning the sounds of the world, that they haven't even thought of how to truly tap into the power of God and get wisdom from Him on how to go about redeeming rock back from the devil. If the best that Satan can do is pervert that which God originated, then what we are doing when we listen to the music of the world for our inspiration, is copying the counterfeit. Most Christian rock is derivative, uninspired, formulaic, and most important, not anointed. The only way that we will ever begin producing music that will have real power in it, will be when we unplug ourselves from a steady diet of worldly music, and tap back into the source of real inspiration, which is God. You could make a decision to never again choose to listen to secular music, and you would still get quite a diet of it, just by osmosis. You simply can't get away from it! You hear it in the mall, in clothing stores, in restaurants, and even by purposing not to listen to it by choice, you would still hear a lot of it. So if being in touch with musical trends, etc. is your concern, my point is that you will still get enough input from worldly music to stay current without even trying. So let's unplug, and go to the source! We will deal with this subject in more depth in a later chapter, but for now I want to examine something that the Lord showed me which will shed further light. Come with me now as we examine... CHAPTER 4 THE HAGGAI PRINCIPLE In Haggai, Chapter 2 verse 11, we read, "Thus says the Lord of Hosts, Ask now the priests for a ruling: 'If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food will it become holy?' And the priests answered and said 'No'". Then Haggai said, "If one who is unclean from a corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?" And the priests answered and said, "It will become unclean". What we can conclude from this passage is that something that is holy or pure, cannot sanctify something unpure, but conversely, something that is unpure can taint the pure. Granted, this is an old testament passage, but I believe that logic will bear witness that the application of this scripture to Christian rock music has a great deal of validity. What many Christian musicians do is take, for a simple example, a pure lyric, and graft it into some rock music that they may personally like, because they think the music will "relate", and really, the music has no context to the lyric. What this produces is a mutant form of music, combining pure with unpure elements, and if the HAGGAI PRINCIPLE holds any water, the unpure elements taint the whole song. An extreme example of this for the sake of illustration, would be say, grafting the words, "Jesus, oh the gentle shepherd, Jesus gives me peace" onto say, a "Bo-Diddly" beat, or perhaps a hard rock riff. Most such combinations would not likely convey this spirit of those lyrics, but would produce an uneasy feeling in most spiritually discerning listeners. This is a major part of the reason that many people walk away from a Christian rock concert with that feeling that they didn't "bear witness", but think that they must be off in their judgment, because "after all, these guys are Christians, and people got saved, and they shared Jesus, so I must be wrong in feeling this way about the concert". Contrary to the HAGGAI PRINCIPLE, they are assuming that just because the band is Christian, that that validates everything they do. Not necessarily so! Some Christian musicians are completely ignorant of any sense of commission from God. They have never put any serious prayer into finding God's direction and purposes for their ministry, and are involved in what I call the "ministry of assumption".-----"Well, I was a musician in the world, so I assume that's what God has for me as a Christian". They blindly step into a ministry that is really more a career, and don't have a clue about what God really wants to do with their life and talent. Then they begin to write their songs in the same atmosphere of ignorance, and these half-pure songs are the result that leave you feeling uneasy about their concerts. That is because the pure elements do not sanctify the unpure, and really the whole song ends up tainted. Granted, there is no way to come up with a formula for producing pure music, as there are so many subjective variables involved in how the music would be received by listeners. i.e. musical taste, musical background, generation gap, etc.. But ----- I do believe that if rock musicians would spend more time in their prayer closets than they do in rehearsals, performances etc., God would give them the combinations of music, rhythm, lyrics, etc. that would implement the purposes of God most effectively while offending only the hard core few. There will always be those who believe that any electrified instrument, and drums, loud volume, etc. could never be used by God, and as long as they hold that opinion, they will never agree with any rock music. But most people have had enough exposure to rock that if a rock presentation was truly anointed, they would receive it. Sadly, the anointing is what's truly missing from most contemporary music of today. CHAPTER 5 PURE AND IMPURE ELEMENTS Let's talk about what pure and unpure elements in music might be. The simplest way to approach this question might be by asking yourself this question: "What would the music of heaven be like? What would totally pure, Godly music be?" As you read the question, an answer pops into your mind. Some would say, "It's classical", some would say "gentle, soft music", or "choirs of angels" or "a joyful noise", or "songs of worship". Some may even say rock. Although this is all speculation, the probable truth is that all these and probably many more kinds of music could be totally pure and Godly. For remember, it's not the substance of music which is holy, but the spirit of the music. I could well imagine the music of heaven being comprised of many forms of music common to man, but performed and received in such a spirit of holiness and purity that the sound and feeling of it would transcend anything of earthly experience. I don't believe the music of heaven will be much different from what we have here, except for that factor. However, I don't believe we will necessarily have all styles of music that we have here, for some music styles that have been created by man have less capability to convey the anointing of God because of the wrong spirit of the music. For extreme example, it's hard for me to imagine some kinds of "heavy metal" music in heaven, for , in my opinion, the spirit of that music is almost always wrong. An so on down the line. It's even probable that there will be varying degrees of skill and excellence in heaven, ranging from the most gorgeous voices to the most plain and gruff, BUT ALL WILL SOUND BEAUTIFUL! I had an experience one time when members of a small home fellowship which I attend, were praying for me. Someone felt led of God for the whole group to sing in the Spirit over me, and as they did, God allowed me to hear their voices as He does. From the lilting graceful voices of the women to the gruff, harsh voices of some of the men, all were beautiful beyond belief, for I was hearing their HEARTS, their love for me and God reflected in their singing. I didn't hear their out-of-tuneness, or their lack of skill, I heard their hearts. It was awesome. I believe skill and excellence are important factors here on earth, because we are attracted to excellence and skill, and have less faculty to hear the heart in this dimension, but it may not be all that important in heaven. Now we must consider another factor: what may be ordained and used by God here in the earthly dimension could be different in some cases from what we will hear in heaven, because in heaven we will be perfect and so will music. So some of the music that God may create through human vessels to accomplish His purposes in a fallen world, may not be acceptable fare in heaven. Just as tongues, prophecy and other gifts shall cease because there will no longer be a need for them, so perhaps shall some "Christian" music cease. The main function of music in heaven will almost certainly be to praise and worship God, and in fact in my many studies of music in the Word of God, I've never seen a biblical mention of music as entertainment. Not to say that we shouldn't enjoy music, but it's main function from a biblical perspective is worship and praise, not entertainment. You may say "What about spiritual warfare; music is a weapon of warfare". No - praise and worship is a weapon of warfare, not music. Praise went up before the armies of God, it many have been expressed through music, but the power was in the praise. And while we're at it, let's realize that when the kingdom is restored and God is once again all in all, we probably won't even have spiritual warfare choruses anymore, for the war will be over! Many of the psalms, if sung at all, will probably only be sung as a testimony to the memory of the powerful work of Jesus among men! But now we live in an atmosphere of warfare, and as Satan is snatching souls away to hell with the power of music, so can God's musicians snatch them back through the power of God's music. So you see, we have functions and purposes for music now that we won't have in heaven. We need the songs of testimony, the evangelistic songs, the songs that encourage and uplift the down and broken hearted, that refresh the weary, and bring backsliders to repentance. And some of this music will not edify everyone, or even need to be a part of their lives. But that does not necessarily mean it is "not of God". For a young person coming out of a life of drugs, sex, alcohol, AC-DC, or Motley Crew music, Christian heavy metal could be a step up. But for a young person raised as a Christian not having gone through these kinds of things, it could be a step backward. So once again, what is pure and what is not, and how do I tell? Well, although the music in heaven would be totally pure, the criteria for purity here on earth would be largely a subjective matter of conscience. Since no Christian is totally pure yet, and the world we live in is corrupt, what is pure and what is not is largely a judgement call. Let's look now at a spiritual truth, the process that all Christians are going through......................... CHAPTER 6 THE RENEWING OF THE MIND In Romans 12:1-2 we read, "I URGE you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Let me give you a twenty-five cent tour of a great and weighty biblical concept, the renewing of the mind. This is perhaps the most important chapter of the book, as it is really the key to understanding where you are at in relationship to your musical taste and your spiritual maturity. It will enlighten your understanding as to how to choose music which will cause you to grow spiritually, and of paramount importance, for you parents, how to guide your child musically. In this study we are going to deal with three "stained glass words": Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. These three words are really part and parcel of the process of Sanctification, but are different facets of that process. Let me draw an illustration and we'll go from there: JUSTIFICATION ----------- SPIRIT ----------------- PAST SANCTIFICATION ---------- SOUL -------------- PRESENT GLORIFICATION ------------ BODY -------------- FUTURE Justification is that which occurs at the moment we are born again. "Behold we are new creatures, all things become new, old things are passed away." (2 Corinthians 5:17). Justification is a SPIRITUAL reality, and occurs when our human spirit, dead in sin, comes in union with the spirit of God, and comes alive in God through the redemptive work of Jesus. Righteousness is then IMPUTED to us, the righteousness of Jesus, and we become righteous in God's sight, as if we'd never sinned. That word "imputed" is much like the word "credited". We receive Jesus' righteousness on credit, so to speak, even though the attainment of ultimate purification, or sanctification, is yet to come. In fact, the Word says we become the very righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). So justification is a spiritual reality. God sees us through Jesus' work at Calvary as a finished product and because of the fact the we immediately pass on to the next phase, the renewing of the mind, we view justification as a past work. Of course we were justified, are justified, and will continue to be justified as long as we abide in covenant with God, but justification is viewed as a point of entry in the redemptive process, and in that context, is a past work. The renewing of the mind, or sanctification is the present process in which we are involved now. This is a progressive work and will continue to be until the final step of redemption occurs, which is when we receive our glorified bodies at a future date in time. SO EVEN THOUGH WE ARE JUSTIFIED IN JESUS AND OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ESTABLISHED IN THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION, OUR MIND AND BODY SIN, AND MUST BE RETRAINED TO AGREE WITH THE AFOREMENTIONED SPIRITUAL REALITY OF JUSTIFICATION. This is where a lot of Christians miss it, and actually grow no further, because they do not understand that their mind has to be retrained or renewed to the things of God. To further understand this, let's look at the word "Sanctification". To be sanctified is to be set apart for the master's use. This will happen to you progressively as you read and act on the Word, and step by step, areas of your life will be sanctified. Let's say, for example, you are a musician who likes to jam in nightclubs. You come to know the Lord, and for a while you continue to jam. But conviction sets in, and one day you make a decision to play only for the purposes of God. Your music then has been sanctified, or set apart for the master's use. Simplistic as the example may seem, it more truly conveys the spirit of principle of sanctification, as sanctification more involves an attitude of the heart, than a legalistic desperate attempt to never again sin in an area. The same with repentance. I believe repentance starts out as regret, but is never truly repentance until there is a changing of the mind, an attitude change toward that sin. The simplest way I can explain this process of the renewing of the mind, is to view the human mind as the ultimate computer. All your life it's been programmed with incomplete and incorrect data, the worldly mind set. It has been programmed to fear, to doubt, to be troubled, to complain, etc. Well, after you accept Jesus, the program does not change overnight. Your spirit is willing but your flesh is weak! You have all good intentions, but the decisions made in your unrenewed mind bring you down into failure, misery, and guilt. So your mind must be renewed to agree with the things of God, and the only way to do that is by knowing and living the Word of God. As you commit to His Word, because it's living and powerful, it will begin to change you when you act upon it. It will slowly begin to change the program in your computer until little by little, line upon line, precept upon precept, your mind will begin to change, to think differently. Over a period of time, years for most, you'll get enough Word in the computer that you'll begin to be different. The new program will begin to supercede the old, and one day you'll realize that there is no longer a child of God staring back at you in the mirror, but a young man, a young women of God. You'll think differently, and your tastes in music will begin to change. You'll begin to seek out the anointed music, the pure. You won't be so interested in entertainment or musical thrills anymore. You'll want to listen more and more to music that brings you into worship, into the presence of God, music that ministers peace and joy to your spirit, that stirs up the gift within you. You see, even your flesh will begin to act differently, for the flesh follows the dictates of the mind and spirit. The habits and urgings of the flesh can trigger the carnal nature of the unrenewed mind, but the mind ultimately decides which way the flesh will go. And when the mind is in line, the flesh follows suit. Then the ultimate salvation will come, the future and final step in the process, when we get our glorified bodies, and will be one with God in all areas of our being, spirit, mind/soul and body. But we're not there yet, none of us are, and what will be musically acceptable for some will be unacceptable for others. The criteria will be where you are spiritually. In the early stages of your spiritual growth one of two things happen. Either your reborn spirit will reject Christian music which is similar in style to what you listened to in the world, or you will be attracted to music similar to that which you listened to in the world. This would depend on many variable factors. The memories you associate with the music could be positive or negative. You may or may not yet have personal convictions about some music, etc. As you grow in God, the factors will still vary. Musical tastes, your personality, your make-up, your convictions, etc. all will play a part in what is pure for you. Although my personal tastes do not run to, say heavy metal Christian music, I can see a place where God could use some of that kind of music in some specific situations to bring some young people to the Lord. 2. I want to qualify here, that even as an evangelistic tool, it's the spiritual quality of the lives of the musicians that has to come across, not just the music. If a musician was totally right with God, and still played, say heavy metal music, I believe the whole presentation would have to reflect Jesus, not just the lyrics. (See chapter on "Heavy Metal".) It is also not an endorsement of the validity of a ministry just because God "uses" it. God used Balaam's ass, God used Pharaoh, God used the Philistines, all to accomplish His purposes. None of them were ministries ordained of God. (See Gifts and Callings). After they become Christians, since their minds are not renewed, they might perhaps have a hard time getting into some of the more mellow Christian music. So the music of some of these groups could provide an alternative to the music they came out of, and even though there may be many impure elements, the music could be a step up from where they came from. But the key word her is "bridge". A bridge takes you from one point to another. If all you do is stand in the middle of the bridge, you will never get where you want to go, and I submit that a person who stays into some of the heavier music too long isn't going anywhere. There are enough impure elements in most of that music to eventually begin to cause your walk with God to deteriorate if are not getting enough of the Word and developing a prayer life, etc. No form of Christian input, music, books, radio, T.V. can ever take the place of the Word of God in your life. These all can be tools for growth, can help us spiritually, but are not a substitute for God's Word. The Word is what renews our minds. "For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 (NASB) The only thing that will renew our mind is the Word of God. So you say, well, what about the words of Christian songs? Does the Word of God renew our minds and as a result, change our musical tastes? Does the music we listen to renew our minds and drive us deeper into the Word? It would be ideal if both statements were true. But some Christian songs are so devoid of the Word, there wouldn't be enough to make a difference. Most Christian songs sing about Jesus, personal experience with Jesus, etc. and although that kind of lyric can be positive and inspirational it does not convey the anointing and power, the spiritual food our spirits require, our minds need in order to be changed. Better to listen to a Christian lyric in most cases, than a worldly one, but at best, most provide just an alternative to the world's offerings. So I conclude that it is the Word that renews our minds, and as we take on more and more of the mind of Christ, our tastes will change. I don't pretend to be able to tell you what you will listen to as your mind changes, but I believe that you will begin to seek out music that ministers to you more. Probably you will connect with some music that leads you into worship and praise. But again, it will be "different strokes for different folks". We're all different. Some relate more to joyful, up tempo music, some like more mellow music. But the Holy Spirit within you will bear witness to what you should be listening to, and take you through your changes. It will be great when musicians get their minds renewed and start to produce music that will minister to you more effectively, whatever the style. More about this in a later chapter. CHAPTER 7 MESSAGE: THE STEAK ........ MUSIC : THE SEASONING There is an allegory commonly used in discussions of Christian rock that I would like now to explore. I'll call the allegory the "steak and seasoning" concept. The premise of this allegory is that the message or words is like the steak, and the music is like the seasoning and other factors of preparation which determine how the steak will be served and received. The reasoning goes like this: Some people like spicy stead with a lot of seasoning (more rock oriented music), some people like their steak more bland (middle-of-the-road to mild or mellow music). The implied conclusion is then that the message is of prime importance and we just use different kinds of music to communicate the message, depending on the tastes of the musician an ultimately, his listener. I prescribe to this premise in a basic sense, but I believe it is too simplistic to be a real help when it comes to more controversial kinds of music. What I'd like to do is to expand this premise a bit, and I believe we can fine tune this concept. Let's suppose for sake of argument, that the message is more important than the music. (I don't agree with this, and will deal further with this idea in a later chapter). But assuming for a minute that the words are more important, and are the steak, let's explore the seasonings and preparation. Where I fault the preceding premise is the inference that any seasoning would be ok, because somebody will like the steak prepared that way. First, let's look at a few things about our humanness. Most everyone would agree that most people like their steak cooked in the moderate range, say medium rare to medium well. This is how most of us are wired, it has to do with how we are made, and somehow there's a program in most of us that says steak tastes best when cooked in this range. People who like steak done very rare or very well done are not in the majority, and would be the exception to the rule. Most people would not like steak done the way I sometimes prepare it for myself, breaded in pepper and seared on a hot greaseless pan until blackened outside, medium rare inside. Although I love this when I'm in the mood, it would not even be considered palatable by most. So what is my point? I believe the same thing is true about music. Most of us are programmed to like music that is in a moderate but still broad, range of tempo, melody, rhythm, etc. Most Christian music, even rock, falls in this range, when considered in the full spectrum of what's out there. The exceptions would be the extremes: the very spicy - heavy metal kind of rock, to the very bland, elevator kind of music. Granted, most Christians, if confronted with a choice between the two kinds would opt for the latter, but only because there is such a void of anointed music in all ranges that the soothing effect of the softer music would be more desirable to most. (see chapter on the "Power of Music") So, are the extremes wrong? Not necessarily, but let's meddle a bit more. Take your steak and grind it up and it's easier to consume and to digest. Hamburger is more popular with the younger set than steak! They like it with catsup, mustard, sometimes hot sauce, etc. which you would not think of serving with steak. Rock is a little like hamburger. It's pop music, just as hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. are pop food and most kids like it. Where we run into problems with food, pop or otherwise is when we get into impurities: preservatives, white bread, sugar, etc. Now most of this won't kill you, but can have a long range effect on your overall health and longevity. I believe it's the same with music. Some if it can have a adverse effect on your spiritual life when it is impure. (See chapter on Haggai Principle) Take it a step further, if you accidentally pour Drano on your steak or hamburger instead of salt it will make you sick and even cause you to die. Some music, even Christian, has some poisonous elements in it which can make you very sick spiritually, and if you are a young person on a steady diet of, say, heavy metal music, it could conceivably cause even death! Some of the seasoning even in our Christian music, can be harmful to your spiritual health. What about the very bland, that end of the extreme? Well, unseasoned steak served without salt or seasoning of any kind with plain boiled potatoes and peas, with a glass of water, may not be the most appetizing meal to most, but certainly won't harm you. Musically speaking, listening to elevator music all day long won't make you into a musical connoisseur, but won't much hurt you either, although even this music can have a negative effect if listened to the exclusion of other types of Christian input. (See "The Place of Music in your Spiritual Diet".) You can see that there is far greater danger at the other end of the scale, where the spicy seasonings prevail. So once again, as Paul said, "all things lawful, but not expedient." We need to watch over our spiritual maturity, our prayer life, our relationship with God, more than anything. CHAPTER 8 CHRISTIAN MUSIC..AN ALTERNATIVE? Is Christianity's highest calling to be an alternative for the world? I think not. When I hear this statement made in reference to Christian music, it rankles me to think of Christian music simply supplying an alternative. I think this can be a valid function of some Christian music, but it's low on the scale of what I believe God has in mind. But sadly, I feel that most Christian pop music is just simply that, nothing more. The reason for this is that Christian musicians are mainly just cloning the offerings of the world, and there is very little that is original in music or concept. Sad, when you think that we have a direct link to the source of all creativity, God Himself. In a previous chapter we discussed the fact that Satan cannot create any original music. The best he can do is distort and pervert the original gift. Then here we are, listening to the sounds of the world which are in some way, directly or indirectly inspired by satan, for our inspiration. What we are doing is copying the counterfeit! What we should be doing is tapping directly into God, and coming up with something fresh and alive from the Holy Spirit. How often have you heard about a Christian group "Oh, they're the Christian Beatles", or "They sound just like U2" or some other comparison. You never hear the comparison made the other way. Let me say from the outset, that I do not believe Christian music will ever lead the way in trends of music, or be looked up to as the leader in originality of sounds, etc. The reason is that the only element that we have available to us that the world doesn't have is the anointing of God, and the world can't duplicate that, so they'll never be able to follow it. At the same time, the world has tools available to then that we can't follow. They have the sensual element, the sexy rhythms, the sexy vocal delivery. They have the inspiration of the powers of darkness. Their lyrics don't have to make sense. We cannot compete with them on their own ground. For example, we can't have a Christian Tina Turner, because Tina can go for it, be as lewd and suggestive as she wants, and if we tried to do what Tina does, it would be a ludicrous, pale imitation, because we would not be able to use all the tools she uses. We would never be able to compete on a musical level alone because we don't have the range of attitudes, the license to use whatever means we want just to produce good music. Our lyrics must make sense and deliver something of value. We cannot just string phrases or words together because they sound good, as the Beatles for instance, have admittedly done. We do not have access to the lustful elements, the rebellious attitudes, the total license that the world has at its command. The only area we have an advantage in is the spiritual area, the anointing of God. As long as we are just copying the world, we'll always be second rate. Besides, I don't think we're called to compete with them anyway, we're called to be set apart for the master's use. When we get musicians to be serious about their ministries and not just about musical excellence, the call and commission of God on their lives, we'll begin to produce music that will perk up the ears of the world. When we get our minds renewed to the Word of God, when we get established in our prayer life, when we seek the face of God rather than the glory of fame or the satisfaction of success, we'll begin to make music that will make a difference in the lives of our listeners. CHAPTER 9 CHRISTIAN MUSIC AS ENTERTAINMENT In the early days of my Christian walk I was immediately thrust into ministry, what with the advent of the "Jesus Movement", and the large numbers of hippies and youth that jammed the alters after every Love Song concert. We were serious about evangelism and ministry, as were most of the artists and groups of that day, the early 70's. There were no rating charts, no trade journals, hardly any radio airplay, and little awareness of this new music in bookstores. Groups like 2nd Chapter of Acts, Love Song, Mustard Seed Faith, The Way, and others, all saw themselves as ministers first, and entertainment was just a fringe benefit. The music was even tagged "Jesus Music" in those days, because Jesus was always the main theme, and at that time, I was dead set against the concept of Christian music as simple entertainment. Over the years, however Christian music became comparatively big business, as record companies and bookstores began to see the sales potential in this new music, and began to sign more and more artists, resulting in a glut of releases, some good, some not so good, and some bad from a spiritual perspective. Today we hear buzz words in Christian music circles that once were relegated only to the secular music business. Words and phrases like "hit potential", "commercial", "smash hit" and others reflect a growing emphasis on the business side of things, while you seldom hear words or phrases like "ministry content", "scriptural lyrics", or "anointed" any more. The musical quality got immeasurably better, spiritual quality declined rapidly, until now we can finally say "we sound as good as the world". The trouble is, there is very little that marks any difference at all. I have tried in vain while listening to some Christian radio stations to receive any significant ministry, to the point where now I listen mainly to teaching tapes, getting much more spiritual value for time invested. It should not be so, considering the potential power of Christian music. Is that to say it is all bad? Of course not. Within an increasingly corrupt system there are many people with integrity, artists and executives alike, trying to do a right thing. But the sad fact is that many of the artists who do have a ministry are being released from their contracts to make way for new artists who have a more trendy sound or a gimmick or whatever. Increasingly, worldly business principles are forming the basis for the making of decisions in the system. We are getting more and more entertainment, and less and less meaningful ministry. It's interesting to note that nowhere in the Bible can a reference to music as entertainment be found. But is Christian entertainment wrong? I personally don't believe so but it is difficult to conceive Christian music solely as entertainment, when you define it accurately. Entertainment by dictionary definition is something that provides diversion or amusement. A breakdown of the roots of the work "amusement" reveals more insight into this concept of Christian entertainment. A-MUSE-MENT. The "A" part here, means "without". An amoral person, for example, is a person without morals. The word "muse" means to think, to contemplate, to deliberate. So an "amusement" is something which turns off our mind, causes us to suspend contemplation or deliberation for awhile. By this definition I contend that there is really no such thing as pure Christian entertainment because it's impossible to hear anything, however simple, about Jesus, without thinking about it, without it causing us to reflect to some degree. But I'm not here to nit-pick. I concede that what most people mean by Christian entertainment is a night out to a concert or such, to have a good time and fellowship with Christian friends. I'm not faulting this, but I carefully made the preceding point to demonstrate something I believe to be a fact. If someone stands on stage and sings or makes a record about Jesus or Christianity in any context, however simple, there is some ministry occurring. Therefore, there is an accountability involved, and you can't just say you are a Christian entertainer and assume no responsibility for what you say or do. The same for the audience. To some degree, they are responding to the music and it's message. So you might say, there is such a thing as Christian entertainment, but it will still produce some degree of ministry as a side effect. How much more desirable would be Christian music ministry that produces entertainment as a side effect? Even having said all this, my position on the concept of Christian entertainment has softened some since those early days. Now that my own daughters are coming of age musically, I'm glad there is some entertaining Christian music out there for them to listen to, and that they can go to a hristian concert once in a while and have a good time. All you have to have happen to understand this, is to have a teenager get locked into secular rock, and you will be grateful too, for the alternative of Christian music. As I said previously, Christian music also can provide an alternative to the world's offerings, but this is still not it's highest calling. Another defense a heavy, prophetic, Christian statement set to music. Not every kid would relate say, to Keith Green, but many would enjoy something lighter. Still, that music should only be a bridge to deeper things. Not to say that after you moved to deeper music you would never listen to your old tapes again, but your main input should change. As long as music is scriptural and redemptive, it's ok, but the main trouble with entertainment oriented Christian music is that there is far too much of it, and comparatively, only a miniscule amount of real ministry oriented music available. In the next chapter we'll begin to take a look at what ministry oriented music would be. We need more musicians to get serious with God and begin to produce completely enjoyable music that has rich ministry value. I see something beginning to happen in regard to this excess of entertainment orientated Christian music that is at once disturbing and exciting. On one hand, God is beginning to shake up the Christian music scene, and is calling a portion of these artists to deeper commitment. He's calling them to His Word, to prayer, and is shaping an army of called out musicians who are understanding more and more the commission of God for their ministry in music. This move is still in it's infancy, but eventually these musicians will be the ones who will powerfully effect not only the Body of Christ, but the world as well. Actually, they are about the only ones who will really be involved in the move of God throughout the world, in these end times. This is exciting, but what is disturbing is that Satan and his forces are pulling just as hard from the other side, tempting Christian musicians to compromise more and more, with the promise of fame and wealth as the payoff. He is luring them with the enticement of the possibilities of crossover to the secular charts, causing them to water down their message and leave out the name of Jesus. (See Christian Humanism). I do believe that some "called" artists will eventually crossover, but they'll bring the cross over with them. It will also happen for them because God commissions it, He will orchestrate it, and He will give them songs born of the Holy Spirit that will not have to compromise the gospel, or leave out the name of Jesus, but will still not turn off the world because God will know how to speak to the world in language it will understand, while still telling it what it needs to hear. As Satan continues to pull some artists toward compromise what I see coming is an apostate contemporary Christian music scene, artists who will still sing about Jesus to some degree or another, but who's only motive is wealth and fame, but who are living totally in the world behind the scenes. To their audiences they will appear Godly to all but the discerning, but off stage they will live lifestyles consciously contrary to what they preach. In spite of what some Christian leaders have said and written recently, I don't believe we're there yet, but we're on our way. But look up! This won't even effect you if you are walking right with God. Gravitate to the artists and groups who have real ministries who will feed you spiritually. They're around, and you can find them if you try. CHAPTER 10 BACK TO MINISTRY Music is the only medium of gospel ministry to which we refer as a business. We would say, "He's in the gospel music business", but would not say, (except in derision), "He's in the preaching business", even though many preachers sell teaching tapes and other materials, and have a business side to their ministry. Now, obviously, there is a strong business aspect to gospel music, but it's time we begin to get back to the ministry emphasis, and the REAL business of music, the purpose of God. People in the body of Christ hold musicians to a different standard of accountability than that to which they hold other ministers. If it was to become known that Billy Graham never prayed, or Benny Hinn read the Word only once a month, or went to church one every six months, we would be appalled. Yet some of these things are true of musicians, and even worse things, and somehow we don't seem so shaken by it. "Lighten up, the guy's not a theologian", we might say, when in actuality, he's influencing some times hundreds of thousands of people with the most powerful means of communication that we know of, offering very little of substance. This, while some ministers who've been praying, fasting, and seeking God, have the message of God for the hour, and are sometimes blessed to draw one or two hundred people to hear it. The time has come for us to stop idolizing musicians, and hold them accountable as ministers, to demand more, to write and tell them when we're disappointed in an album or concert. Musicians need also to change their view of themselves, and get serious about their ministry. Many musicians do their one and one-half hour on stage, and are immediately hustled back to the hotel room or to a restaurant, and lose contact with the people. Granted, some of the bigger names may not be able to visit with people after their concert, what with ten thousand people in the audience, but most could. For seventeen years, I have met with people after my concerts, and have had some of the richest ministry in these times. Part of a ministry is to touch the people. Jesus was a man of the people, He walked among them, and He touched their lives, and He is our example. So, what is music ministry? It's a term we bandy about with some frequency, without really thinking about what it is. Many musicians are out there "singin' for Jesus", with virtually no sense of commission or calling on their lives, no sense of purpose or direction. So what is ministry, and what validates it? First let's examine three common yardsticks by which we validate a ministry. First, there's the idea that "God's really using them". We discussed this earlier in the chapter on "Haggai Principle". The fact that God uses you is not an automatic indication that your ministry is ordained of God. God uses many means to reach people, not all of which He ordains. Second, we might say, "They're really doing a work for God". Most ministries fall into this category. I sometimes think of God looking down and saying to Himself, "I wish they'd stop doing that for Me, we could accomplish a whole lot more if they'd seek Me for direction once in awhile." Not that God won't use man's efforts, but again this is not necessarily God's best. So many ministries start out with real vision from God, and maybe a measure of success comes. But success can sometimes cause us to seek God less, to relax our standards, and before you know it, the glory cloud has moved on, and we've not moved with it. We continue on doing what we've always done, and God continues to use or efforts, but subtly and surely, we become less effective. "I don't want to do something for God, I want God to do something through me." This is the third yardstick, and this is what we all really want. But you can't have this until you've decided to pay the price. That price is to turn your whole life over to God, giving Him permission to use it as He sees fit. This takes death to self, death to your own goals and dreams, in order to make way for God to work through your life most effectively. As we take a look at the term "music ministry", first, let's look at the dictionary definition of the word minister. Webster's dictionary defines a minister as: (1) "One who acts under the authority and orders of another; one employed by another for the execution of purposes." (2) "To service or officiate in worship, to attend to the wants and comforts of another." Sometime great wisdom can be gleaned from your Webster's dictionary! Paul writes in Philippians. 2:3, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;" and then in Philippians 2:13, "..for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (NASB) So we see here the emphasis of ministry. It's for others, and it's meant to be administrated by God, for God's purposes. It's not up to us to decide how God will use our life, it's up to Him. Now, lets really get testy! By New Testament definition there is no ministry gift of music. Of the ministry gifts, the gifts of the Spirit, the different ministrations of God mentioned in the New Testament, music is not among them. Does that mean music doesn't minister? No and I am not trying here to build some kind of systematic theology of music by which we can judge all things. If so, we'd have to acknowledge that there's no New Testament ministry gift of worship either, yet we'd all agree that worship is a very important part of our Christian life. I'm just trying to show that we are compelled to look deeper into scripture for our definition of music ministry. As we discussed earlier, music has certain qualities that can minister, as one part of our dictionary definition says, to the comforts of another. There are qualities that music has to soothe us, excite us, to bring a sense of peace or joy, but real, New Testament ministry can only be conveyed by music. "So what", you say, "what's the difference if you say "music ministry" or "music conveys" ministry?" Well, the main difference is that when you separate the two concepts, you have to answer the question, "what then, is the ministry the music conveys?" Then you come into a range of accountability, the responsibility to explore your whole range of gifts and callings in God. When you have prayed this through and receive vision from God for your whole ministry, you come into a dimension of highly effective, focused ministry that has some real power to change lives, because God is really in it. In my own case, for example, for the first twelve years of my ministry/career, I never knew what was the full range of my gifts or what was my specific calling in God. People would often tell me after a concert how worshipful it was, or how it drew them into the presence of God, but I never recognized the anointing on my life to lead worship, until a few years ago. Since recognizing and accepting this, God has developed this gift in my life to the point where people perceive my ministry in a whole different light than the did before. Other areas of my ministry that have come to maturity are teaching, preaching, prophecy, evangelism, and operating in many gifts of the Spirit. Which brings me to my last point. As you explore your gifts and callings, you need also to seek the Lord for the context of music in your overall ministry. Many musicians just assume that writing and singing songs is all there is to it, and never look further. It's possible that after you discover and stir up the gifts within you, preaching or teaching or some other gift may come to the forefront, and you'll find that music may only play a small part in your overall ministry. I'm reminded of a friend from the early Jesus movement who loved music. He formed one of the early Jesus groups, made a record, and toured. He'd come off the road, and have this intense desire to form a bible study. He'd teach for awhile then the music bug would hit again. He went back and forth for awhile, but today is pastor of one of the most successful churches in the nation. His gifts finally found their context, and their ultimate expression was in the pastorate. So don't be limited by your own assumptions, seek God for specific direction and see what happens. CHAPTER 11 GIFTS AND CALLINGS Let's explore some of the New Testament gifts and callings that may become evident in your ministry that could be conveyed by music. Ephesians 4:11-13 says, "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." APOSTLE Now I have a difficult time imagining how the ministry of apostle could be conveyed through music in the broadest sense of all that it means, but in the context of it's simplest meaning, that of a messenger, a sent one, it can be seen. If you have prayed through, if you do have vision and commission from God, then you know you go forth as a real messenger, one sent from God, and this can inspire tremendous confidence and authority. Just to know that you are in the will of God can make all the difference in your ministry. One of the most common questions I am asked is "How do I get started in Christian music. I always answer that question with another question" Are you called to do this?". This is perhaps the most important issue in regard to our gifts. What am I called to do? When you have settled the question of calling...all else should fall into place. Not always easily, but a sense of calling is the cornerstone of everything else. PROPHET I believe we will see more musical prophets. Many people saw Keith Green as a prophet in music, and I believe some of today's musicians will step into that same kind of office, and speak the immediate Word of God to the church through their songs. God knows we need that kind of depth from our musicians, ones who can lead the people forth in the doings of God, speaking to people as a voice from God, not just an echo of the world. David is the obvious example of a musical prophet. EVANGELIST Evangelism as perceived by the church today really runs more toward soul-winning and more involves the ministry of reconciliation. The evangelist Biblically, however, is a preacher of the good news, and is really listed as a gift to the body of Christ not to the world. However, evangelism as soul- winning seems to be the most apparent ministry expression in contemporary music circles. Everyone sees themselves as soul-winners through music, though few, if any really realize the implications of all that it means to preach the good news through music. In fact, most are so concerned with the need to make their music attractive to Christians, that they lose the edge of their message to the lost. They are really creating albums for the lost, to sell to the found, since their economic base is the Christian element. In other words, they want to make albums and do concerts that will win the lost, but it's Christians who buy the albums and provide the support to do more albums. What you end up with are albums and concerts that do not effectively minister to Christians or the lost. It is, in all fairness, a difficult problem to surmount, under the existing economics of the Christian music business, for to put out an album or two that don't sell well, means that you may not get the funding to record more. The only solution to this would be to have a record company committed to ministry, that would fund an album based on it's ministry value to however small an audience, whether it sold well or not. Worthy projects with low probability to recoup financially, could be funded by more economically successful albums with a broader sales appeal. This would enable an evangelistically oriented artist to make his record specifically for the lost, without worry about sales potential. The album could then be promoted as a soul-winning tool, and possibly, with that awareness, the Christians could buy it mainly to win their friends to the Lord, and it might sell very well. But at any rate, the ministry of reconciliation, or soul-winning can be powerfully conveyed through music. TEACHER Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a wide variety of albums that would teach us the Word as we listen? We need more musical teachers to come forward, and recognize their gift and convey it through music. PASTOR Now, let me say from the outset, that no musician can take the place of a pastor. But in a sense, we have the responsibility to pastor our audiences in our sphere of influence in their lives. Some artists have tens of thousands of people coming to their concerts. This, in a sense, is a congregation that they minister to. What a pity to gather ten thousand people into an arena, and then not feed them, not challenge them, not stir up their gifts, not see people saved. No, I believe artists have a responsibility to take their listeners somewhere. They have responsibility to grow in God on a personal level, so that that growth becomes apparent in their music, and the music in turn becomes a source of food and growth to their audience. Instead what we have are musicians so involved in the technical and professional aspects of their music, that they are often unaware of the fact that they are not themselves growing spiritually, they wind up recycling the same themes over and over. Or they are so caught up in following the media or reading newspapers, that they ignore the Word of God, and begin to write more and more songs about social issues, etc. and create music having "a form of Godliness", but ignoring the power thereof. So in this sense, they are not leading their flocks and are ignoring their responsibility to their listeners. Musicians need to become more aware of this facet of responsibility, and begin to seriously consider this area of "pastoring" their audiences. EXERCISING GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT THROUGH MUSIC In more recent years, I have begun to explore how spiritual gifts can be expressed through music. I have always believed in the "prophetic" (God speaking directly to man through a vessel), possibilities through music, but was introduced to them in steps as the Lord opened my understanding over a period of years. I personally believe that these spiritual gifts are "grown into", and that we learn by trying, and even make mistakes along the way. I have had opportunity over the years to speak personally to many ministers who were proficient in the exercising of prophetic gifts, and to a man/woman, they all agreed that it took Tim e for them to become fine tuned in the exercise of spiritual gifts. I asked one man who was particularly skilled in delivering the details of a person situation how he became so "tuned in". He said, "When I first started having prayer lines, I would call the people to the front, and then just ask them if what I was perceiving about their situation was right. For instance, I might say to someone 'the Lord seems to be saying something about you having difficulty breathing at night, would that be correct?' They would reply, and I would go on. When I got to be about 95% correct all the time, I started telling them instead of asking. This taught me 2 things: 1) We learn to hear the voice of the Spirit. he was testing the accuracy of the word of knowledge at first by asking. As he became more skilled in discerning the Spirit's voice, his confidence level rose to the point where he began to speak more authoritatively. 2) There is no pressure to be a mighty prophet; I have nothing to prove. Remembering a lesson from a past chapter, we are always on the platform FOR THE PEOPLE...we want God to have the glory, so if I make a mistake, it is really ok. I can learn as I go, prophets today do not get stoned to death for being wrong. I must also however, remain within reasonable bounds of my comfort zone. I would be hard pressed to prophesy to someone that they should sell their belongings and move to the heart of Africa, unless I was pretty sure. On the other hand, part of the learning process is to press the comfort zone from time to time, so I can keep growing. the Holy Spirit will guide you through this process. Let's take a look at some ways that spiritual gifts can be exercised through music. What are the spiritual gifts? Scripture tells us that they are: Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. (1 Corinthians 12:1, NIV).To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Corinthians 12:8-11, NIV). Any and all of these gifts have the potential to be exercised in a musical service. The only difference is that they would be sung instead of spoken. Healings and miracles would be something more likely to be administered sovereignly by God perhaps as you lead the people in worship, and I have had these kind of things happen many times in just such circumstances. Perhaps you would get a word of knowledge from the Lord that He is healing someone of some specific malady, and as you sing that word, the person receives healing. These kind of ministrations would be rather advanced, and this subject is really a bit off point for the theme of this book, but I wanted to introduce you to the idea that these things are possible and available to us as ministers, even though our vehicle is music. I will delve into this in greater detail in another book I will do later in about worship, but let this whet your appetite for spiritual gifts, and that you need not limit the range of possibility just because your ministry vehicle is music. CHAPTER 12 CHRISTIAN HUMANISM? Humanism is the belief that man is basically good, and that if left to his own devices, will eventually better himself, without the help of God. This is a very simple definition, but is the basic idea of the concept of humanism. Humanism is a theology, simply by virtue of the fact that it leaves God out of its belief system. It is totally contrary to Christianity which says that man is lost in sin, and helpless to redeem himself outside of God. I believe that when we leave God, or more directly, Jesus, out of our lyrics so that we won't offend, or so we can broaden our sales base, or whatever our reason, we are guilty in a way of tacit assent to the tenets of Humanism, and we reinforce this philosophy that the world so easily embraces. And the reason the world embraces it so easily and whole-heartedly is because it doesn't demand, it doesn't cost, and it doesn't require change. SINCE WHEN DOES CHRISTIANITY NOT OFFEND? Jesus said, "I came to bring a sword.." Christianity, when it is effectively preached, will always be offensive to some. We do not have a license to change the word "God, or "Jesus" to the word "love", just because it softens the message and may broaden our sales base. We're called to be salt and light in a fallen world, and only the entrance of His Word brings light. The TRUTH shall set you free. At the name of Jesus demons tremble. Believe me, I know where this idea of softening the message comes from, and I've had to face it from my earliest days as a Christian musician. During the Jesus Movement, when LOVE SONG was the most popular group in contemporary music, we were sought after by many secular record executives, who saw the phenomena of the huge crowds at Calvary Chapel, the media coverage, and the possibility of big bucks in it for them. Executives from Columbia, Warner Bros., Atlantic and other record companies came down to hear us , and all offered us contracts. But they all had the same angle in mind as the asked us "would you ever consider doing songs that aren't about Jesus? or "You know, if you just said "love" there in that lyric instead of "God", it would be more commercial". And to a man, we turned them down, or they eventually lost interest. Now, am I saying that all or songs have to be epistles, or that we can't write a song that doesn't contain the name of Jesus? No, I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying that we are wrong when we look for ways to be more subtle, when we are afraid to mention Jesus, when we are coming from a base of compromise and fear, or worse, from some base of trying to look "cool" to, or be accepted by the world. I see the function of subtlety, but when God gives us that subtlety, it's called "wisdom", when we manufacture that subtlety, it's called "compromise". I see the validity of the idea of recording an album of songs, some of which speak of issues of life, of human dilemma, as long as that by the end of the album, the gospel's answers to those issues and dilemmas are clearly indicated. Or that someone might record an album of songs which speak of positive things, the beauty of nature, the wonder of your new-born child, but by the end of the album, you realize the praise and glory for that beauty or wonder is ascribed to God. I even see the validity of a more subtle single record being lifted off of an album and becoming a hit on secular radio, as long as the people who are drawn to that song hear the gospel when they go buy the album or when they go to a concert by that artist. I'm reminded of the time when LOVE SONG was contacted by missionaries in the Philippine Islands when the title cut of our first album became the #1 song on the secular radio in Manila. The song was the least "Christian" sounding song on the album, and I offer you the lyrics here, just for the sake of the discussion. "Lend a year to a love song Ooh a love song, let it take you, let it start What can you hear in a love song If you can feel it then you're feeling' from the heart All the emotions, true feelings of life Is what music of love is about If you are listening with peace in your heart, and no doubt So listen now to a love song If you can hear it, we will never be apart" Now, this song is very subtle, but by the time we got to Manila a few weeks later, most of the songs on the album were being played in anticipation of our visit, most of them with very strong gospel messages. We played and preached without compromise to over 50,000 people over five nights there in a big stadium, and hundreds of thousands more in universities and other locations as well. The missionaries told us that over four thousand commitments had been made in the weeks that followed from personal contact and cards that had been handed out at the events: but a few years ago, ten or more years after our visit, I was told that over the years, nearly six thousand more responses to the gospel had been linked back to that week of ministry in the early 70's. On the other hand, a friend of mine who at the time was a worship leader at one of the largest charismatic churches in South Africa has released three records there, all of which have made top 10 on the secular airwaves, and each of which has a strong Christian message. The third hit was his recording of the DeGarmo and Key song: "Destined to Win". Nothing subtle here, and yet secular airplay and hit status was achieved by all three songs. But God told him to do it, you see so God brought it to pass, and tremendous were the results. The bottom line is that God can work in many amazing and diverse ways, but when we are trying to make things happen by manipulation of our audience, or watering our message down, we are missing it. Some musicians are so caught up in the technical and professional aspects of their music, that they often become insensitive to the fact that they are not themselves growing spiritually, and are beginning to write fewer songs with any power or message. They rehearse all the time, but never pray. Or they get caught up in the world, and I don't necessarily mean in blatant sin. They get so locked into the media, the news, newspapers, Rolling Stone or Spin magazine or whatever that they begin to neglect prayer and the Word of God. Soon they begin to write more and more songs about social issues, or about the beauty of nature, etc. and create a music having a form of "Godliness, but denying the power thereof." The gospel of Matthew tells us "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak." When all we attend to is the input of the world, it's going to affect our music. More and more we will yield to the temptation and pressures to water down music. And when we get to the point where all we're doing is reflecting the problems of the world, and declaring that "love" is the answer or only writing songs about nature and love, we will be reinforcing humanism, and there's nothing worse than these kind of ideas being espoused, consciously or otherwise, by Christians. I'm not saying that we would do this consciously, I'm saying that it's what begins to happen when more and more we leave the power of God out of our music. So what's the bottom line? I believe that whatever we do, we make sure that God is behind it. If God tells you to be subtle, He'll give you His wisdom to be subtle His way, To accomplish His purposes. If you hunger for crossover, make sure God is guiding you in that direction. We no longer have time to pursue ideas that seem right to us, without seeking God for confirmation of our direction. We can postpone the effectiveness of our ministries for years while we're off chasing personal rainbows, no matter how right they may seem. I challenge you to ask God to purge you of any ideas you may have about your music and ministry which may be based on wrong motives or careless assumption. Believe me, if it all fell because God wasn't supporting it, you would be better off. CHAPTER 13 A LOOK AT CHRISTIAN HEAVY METAL Of all the forms of Christian rock, none is more controversial than heavy metal. Christian punk and some hard rock is similar, and can be included in this category, but for simplicity, we will examine all forms of heavier rock under the heavy metal heading. I myself have used it in this book in comparisons between kinds of music as an example of "radical" Christian music. Because it is so radical and controversial, it begs discussion, but for these same reasons, it's going to be difficult to present ideas without seeming to be biased. So let me be up front, I am biased, and have some serious doubts about the ability of this kind of music to be used, inspired, or commissioned by God. I'm probably in the same boat as many of you, just as mystified by the claims of these musicians to be doing the will of God, with so many seeming contradictions in evidence. Still though, let me remind you of my own rule, which I intend to follow. I have covered this rule in an earlier chapter, but here is a simple paraphrase: I don't have the right to say their music is or is not of God, but I do have the right to make determinations about whether or not they are a part of my life. Let me also clarify here, that if you were so convinced that some music was truly born of the devil, I would allow you the right to "mark" the music, if you were willing to take the responsibility for making that evaluation. But I am more referring here to the casual way that some Christians condemn music that is not their personal taste, or that they do not understand, without really praying about it or trying to understand the perspective of the musician who is creating the music. Many of the observations we will be making in this chapter will be able to be applied to other forms of music as well. With this in mind, let's proceed. The most common apologetic or defense made for heavy metal Christian rock is that the lyrics are bold and up front, which many of them are. The very aggressiveness and boldness of heavy metal music lends itself well to uncompromised lyrics, and many heavy metal songs have some of the boldest lyrics in Christian music. But more than the lyrics need to be considered in an evaluation of a group's spiritual validity. We must look at the whole picture, the spirit of the music, but also the spirit of the whole presentation. What overall message is being communicated by the manner of dress, hairstyles, by lighting, smoke bombs, etc.? One of the more popular metal groups of years past has made several statements in defense of their presentation, and I'd like to look at a couple of these statements one by one. This group of men appear in very tight pants, heavy make-up, and long hair, which gives them a feminine look in the context of the overall uniform. They've said that people shouldn't judge their look, because the Mafia wears the same kind of suits that the president wears, so if you judge one, you have to judge the other. The difference is, that although Mafia members may wear conservative suits, nobody who's contributing anything valuable to society in religion, politics, medicine, or any field, commonly dress in the garb of heavy metal rockers. The business suit is very generic, while, heavy metal garb is extremely individual to heavy metal musicians. In fact, as we discussed in the chapter on what is "normal", there is a wide range of attire that would be acceptable to society as a whole. You can dress in a very hip way all the way to the most conservative way without offending the standards of society. But let's face it, the symbolism and imagery that is characteristic of the heavy metal or punk scene oversteps the bounds of what secular society considers acceptable, much less Christendom. Now the issue here is not long hair or unusual dress per se. The issue is what is projected by the overall moral statement of the group. Many would compare my group LOVE SONG to some of these "metal rockers" and say, "What's the difference, you had long hair and wore jeans on stage". But the truth is that there was a difference between how we looked before we met the Lord and after. An overall darkness that was about our demeanor disappeared when we became Christians, and even though we did not change much physically at first, we did not project darkness from the platform. It was clear in our music and our demeanor that we were born again, and as anyone would attest who ever heard us play or heard a record, we were anointed, and offered answers instead of questions. Another argument is that the metal rockers dress and act like they do to reach a group that no one else can reach. This kind of reasoning carried just a step further would justify us dressing up our youth group girls like prostitutes and parading them down in the red light districts to witness to pimps and customers. I personally don't believe that the gospel needs that much help. For me the problem here is that a group of Christians have exceeded the parameters of what is acceptable in being "all things to all men", and stepped over into an area where they can no longer say they have "come out from the world and be ye separate" (I Cor. 6:17), or "to avoid all appearance of evil" (1 Thes. 5:22). One scripture is leaned on at the expense of others, and I don't believe that this is the intent of the Word of God in this area. What of chains and the bondage spikes, and leather, etc.? Symbols are not redeemable. The type of chain worn by the metal rockers will always mean bondage, and though they may not mean that in the mind of a Christian rocker, they do mean that to others. Chains will never be perceived as a symbol of Christianity, even when worn by Christians. (See chapter 4 "Haggai Principle".) What of the role model involved? Do metal or punk rockers bring more lost people into the kingdom, or more Christian youth to the door of compromise? If it's ok for the Christian band to dress and act like that, why not ok for the Christian kid who's a fan? I have been involved in some "Christian music nights" in theme parks where there have been several heavy metal or punk Christian bands on the bill. You see a majority of the Christian kids walking around the park all punked out, looking just like their unsaved counterparts, and it is very confusing. For the most part, these are kinds who normally would have nothing in common with the punk world. Because the dress styles of these groups so represent rebellion and lack of regard for authority, it has to be confusing for a young person, Christian or otherwise, to observe supposedly confessing Christians dressing in this manner. The bottom line here is, what gospel is being preached? Not just in words, but in the whole spirit of the presentation? There is little cost to a gospel which requires no change, a gospel which says, in a way "you can have all this, and Jesus too." Some have said we are to be "fruit inspectors"; that we can determine the validity of a ministry by it's fruit. But here you really can't tell. Just because a metal group may have an altar call and many people respond, we don't really know WHAT THEY'RE RESPONDING TO. If it's an easy gospel being preached, it will be easy to respond. Numbers are not necessarily a yardstick in this case. At the very least, these groups certainly don't belong in church. There may be some effectiveness, some way that God can use their efforts, but at best they belong in the battlefield, in situations where they can speak to the people they want to reach, but not in church. My concern is that I doubt that any are spiritually mature enough and qualified to go forth into the devil's territory to win the lost without being picked off themselves by the temptations which abound. As I said in earlier chapters, these groups may have a function as a stepping stone for young Christians coming out of heavy metal backgrounds in the world, or in a soul-winning context, but by and large it's an easier call when deciding how they relate to your own life. I encourage parents and young people alike to take a hard look at some of this music, and not just assume that it's all ok because the musicians profess Christianity or claim to be called of God. There is a real possibility of danger in this area, and a cautious, prayerful approach to the issue of Christian hard rock would be prudent. CHAPTER 14 THE POWER OF MUSIC: IS MUSIC MORE IMPORTANT THAN LYRICS? Music in itself, when viewed from outside of the context of the anointing or any other spiritual considerations, still has tremendous power. This has to be considered in any discussion of music from a Christian perspective, because sometimes we minimize the importance of the music in regard to Christian music. Most of us who were brought up on pop or rock music, who fall somewhere in the age range of what we call "baby boomers", would have to agree that when we were so entranced by the emerging pop/rock music of our day, it was the music, not the lyrics, that captured us. When I hear an old tune on the radio now that was a part of my teenage years, I'm sometimes shocked when I listen to the lyrics that escaped me for the music when I was younger. The music was so overpowering to me that I sometimes never realized what the lyric was saying. How naive then, for us as Christians, to dismiss the importance of the music in favor of the lyrics. Now I'm not saying that the lyrics aren't at least equal if not somewhat more important than the music, obvious especially in a message song, but we have for too long excused some pretty inferior Christian music with the idea that all that is important is the lyrics. Meanwhile, Satan has captured the youth of the world with clever, innovative, powerful music where the lyrics are in most cases just window dressing, while the church has made this music one of the most divisive, contentious issues ever to hit Christendom. We argue over it with intensity unrivalled by nearly any other issue confronting the body of Christ in our day. The harm done by the bickering and name calling far exceeds the potential harm that could be generated even by the most misguided youth with an electric guitar. I honestly don't believe it's that important to God in the first place. It's time we look more seriously at the effect of the inherent power of music on our listeners, and how it can be more effectively used to communicate our message. Music touches every part of our being. It makes us dance, tap our foot, it makes us think and imagine, it touches our emotions and our human spirit with it's power and beauty, or with it's ability to depress us, or make us sad, nervous, or excited. It is a powerful force, and is probably the only form of artistic expression other than film which so totally captures every aspect of the human makeup. (And where would film be without music?) Should not this power be harnessed to accomplish the purposes of God? BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT Music should be viewed from a Christian perspective as a tool, to minister to the deepest needs of man, and used accordingly. Some music involves our physical man, and may move us to dance, clap, sway, etc. There is nothing wrong biblically with physical expression, and it should not be automatically judged to be a sinful or even an inferior expression. Throughout scripture we see not just a suggestion, but almost a command to worship God with upraised hands, with clapping and with dancing. When the Holy Spirit moves us, physical expression is a holy, joyful, even therapeutic exercise. Some music moves our mind and imagination, although this is admittedly probably more the province of the lyric than the music alone. Music touches our spirit and moves us to commune with God. It causes us to worship Him, and to reflect and meditate upon Him. And music touches our emotions. Emotions, when connected with the expressions just discussed, can put us uniquely in touch with the reality of God for we all want to feel God, we want tangible communion and fellowship with Him. Emotion can provide this, as long as we observe the difference between God induced emotion and emotionalism. Emotionalism is the practice of emotion for emotion's sake, where we work ourselves up into an emotional state, possibly parroting some true emotional experience of days past, for the purpose of feigning spirituality, consciously or not. The job then of the Christian musician is to channel this power of music to minister to the needs of the people. The first consideration is to "marry" the music with the lyric when we write the song, and later to arrange the song to most effectively convey the mood of the song. This even extends down to the sound man in the area of live performance or the mixing engineer when making the final mix for an album, but we'll discuss this later. "Marrying" the music and the lyric successfully will be a product of several areas working together effectively. We've already mentioned the need for our minds to be renewed to the Word of God. The more we grow in God, the more mature we become, the less likely it will be for us to miss God and insensitively combine music and lyric. Our spirits will "bear witness" when we have come up with the right combination, as it will be given by the Holy Spirit. We also need to unplug from being overly influenced by the world's music, and go directly to God as our source. Consider this.....most secular musicians to some degree or another are receiving inspiration from demonic sources. Seldom consciously, but nonetheless, factually, they are tapped in to a negative spiritual source. I don't believe that a true born again Christian can unconsciously receive demonic input. So when we imitate the music of the world, we are imitating the counterfeit of something that was originally inspired of God, but is now only natural music. How could our music ever be better as long as we are doing this? It's like taking the devil on in the natural, we will never win. Demons have been around a long time and are much more clever than than we are. We cannot combat them in the natural and win. And we can't compete musically with them and out do them either. Not that all demons are necessarily musical, but have you ever wondered why it seems that worldly music is usually better than Christian music? Demonic inspiration coupled with the usually superior natural talent of secular musicians, often produce music of such excellence it is beyond natural ability. How often does a secular musician get saved and the quality of his music go down? The devil takes a hike, and if the musician doesn't plug into God, he's off creating music which is limited by his natural ability. The only answer for the Christian musician is to plug into God for inspiration and get back on the spiritual plane. This is a matter of prayer and meditation, enabling us to hear from God, and get the music and the lyrics and the mood of the song direct from the source! And I'm not suggesting that when we do this, all our lyrics will sound like scripture, and all our music will suited for pipe organ. I believe that depending on our function in the body of Christ, God will give us what we need. He will give us evangelistic songs that will touch the emotions and human spirit of the unsaved in ways which no song written from our own mind or experience could ever do! Worship songs, teaching songs, whatever, but when born of the Spirit of God, how much more effective. So many Christian musicians are writing only from their souls, their minds, and that we are missing the the power of God in our songs. A young man recently asked me how much would his own mind be involved in the writing of an anointed song. He happened to be involved in writing soul-winning songs, and wondered how extensive would his personal role be in this process. I answered that just as our "humaness" is involved in prophesying, or any other spiritual activity, so it would be in song writing. God is limited in what He can convey through us by our level of maturity, our lack of knowledge of His Word, our degree of talent and other human considerations. Now, we can reduce these limitations in many ways. Let's use the area of our talent as an example, we can rehearse and study, and God can produce more with our talent. It's the same with the spiritual element. We can reduce God's limitations and get more power in our music by attending to the Word, prayer, by commitment to church, personal worship, etc. We can write very good songs that will be anointed and "used by God" from our personal experience or from our unrenewed minds, but how much more effective will our songs be when the Holy Spirit gives us the words and melodies to penetrate hearts as only He can. Instead of God using our efforts, we can use God's efforts through us. We can write a song that is inspired from some lesson we've learned, or trial we've been through, but it's effectiveness will be limited to people who may be going through the same thing or who relate to the song in some other personal way. But the Holy Spirit knows the deepest needs of all hearts, and can give melodies and lyrics that will touch the depths of the need of man in a nearly universal way. Our own personality and musical background will still come through, as God does not desire to repress us. He will always bring out our best, and maximize our effectiveness - if we realize we are co-laborers with Christ, we can begin to enter into that partnership with Him which will bring forth one hundred fold, and produce maximum fruit. Secondly, we need to learn how to use the power of music to minister in live situations. Let's use a typical "song service" in the church as an example, to assess both good and bad aspects of this subject. Usually we start with uptempo praise oriented songs and work down to the more worshipful, mellow songs. I think that generally this is a good format. The people in the congregation are in widely varying states of spiritual maturity, and are not all tuned in together. Sometimes the hand-clapping, foot-tapping kinds of songs break the ice and begin to focus the people, and as they are progressively drawn in, we can begin to move them to more unified and intimate expressions of worship. And although this should not be made into a formula, since the Holy Spirit will often do things very differently, this format can work as a general structure for a Christian concert as well. On the other hand, you seldom see a worship service give place to an instrumental interlude, just praising God on the instruments. Few groups feature instrumental solos in their presentations, when this could be a beautiful expression to the glory of God. While we're at it, let's take a closer look at the power of music by examining the diverse effects, the "personalities" of different instruments. If you wanted to convey boldness and power, you would probably not use a solo flute. You would more likely use a bold bass pattern, a driving drum rhythm, overlaying it with mid-range piano chords or guitar riffs, etc. Each instrument has it's basic personality. A flute can convey peace, gentleness, meditative emotion. A clarinet can be humorous, plaintive, or peaceful. A bass is bold, solid, foundational. Piano and guitar, because of their more solo orientated nature, can express a full range of emotions. So as not to belabor the obvious, the point is, that seen individually, each instrument has it's own power. So does each combination of instruments, each arrangement, each performance. How can we deny then, the importance of the music itself, the ability of music alone to move us, to touch the whole man? The music alone of Pink Floyd or Alan Parsons Project, or some of the so called "New Age" music can transport listeners into an almost trance like state. The music of perhaps Radiohead or The Cure or others, has power so strong that the music alone attaches itself to the emotions of the listeners, creating moods that the devil can seize upon to manipulate the listeners into states of depression, or false peace, hopelessness and even suicide. We ought to be transporting our listeners into heavenly realms, producing moods of joy, true peace, encouragement, repentance, or worship. The potential of the power of music so channelled, coupled with anointed lyrics, and the anointing of God is unlimited in scope. On the other hand, this inherent power of music can be confused for the anointing of God. We can be carried away in just the emotion of music by the excitement and power of exuberant music in our praise service, and think we've really touched God, when all that's happened is that our feelings have been touched. We've all gotten "goose bumps" when listening to a secular song at some time, moved by the power of the lyric, the emotion of the music, the charisma of the singer. We would all agree that when we feel this from a secular song, it's not the anointing of God we're experiencing but the power of the music. (I do not dispute the fact that God could speak to someone in a personal, sovereign way through a secular song, to meet a specific need or to convict of sin, etc. But I do not categorize this as the anointing of God that energizes and inspired Christian song.) This power is what Satan capitalizes on to bring his own kind of "anointing", to play on our weakness and vulnerability, to bring depression or hopelessness. This satanic anointing is prevalent at worldly rock concerts, as Satan uses the power of music to bring forth a spirit of rebellion, of sensuality or lust. Look at vintage footage of concerts three of the most popular acts in the history of music, Frank Sinatra, Elvis and the Beatles. You can see the demonic activity, as spirits descent in waves, causing hysteria, swooning, adoring weeping as the audience is over powered by the spirit of the presentation and the charisma of the singers. It's interesting to see the exact duplication in the effects on the audiences of these three acts, though they represent three different generations. That's because the same spirits are involved. It has occurred to me when viewing footage of huge arena concerts, such as the Stones, how similar to Biblical praise and worship are the audience reactions. People lift their hands, clap their hands, sway and dance, and shout the name of their favorite group member. I believe in this way, Satan counterfeits the worship of God. I do not say, just for the record, that everyone who attends a rock concert and gets involved, is a Satan worshipper. Most of this activity involves ignorant participants, and in my opinion, even most of the groups who play the music are really not consciously aware of the connection they have to the spirits of darkness. I do not believe that the Beatles for instance, had a conscious clue of how they were being manipulated and used by the power of darkness, nor do the majority of secular groups. There are of course, a small percentage who have a conscious commitment to the devil, but as in most situations, Satan uses the ignorant. So we must learn to discern even in our Christian music, when it is we are being touched by the true anointing of God or the sheer power of music. I don't believe there is any grave danger in just experiencing the music once in awhile, but if that is all we ever experience, we will not grow, and may begin to lose our ability to discern the Spirit of God. We can be lulled to sleep by such music, and in these end times with Satan on the rampage, we have to keep our spiritual discernment keen to hear the voice of the Lord. The Bible says in Matthew 24:24 that "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, eve the elect." (NAS) This may sound radical to some, but just as some meaningless Christian rock music can dull our senses, so can some of our soft, one-sided, gentle-only, worship music. Anointed it may be, but people can put it on in the privacy of their own homes, close the doors and windows and be wooed by the peace and gentleness of it into the false impression that "all is well in the world". Well, all may be well in your world, but it's not well in the world around you. It can become almost a narcotic if we refuse to open the windows and see the death outside. The job of the Christian is to reach out to a dying world, and a true worshipper, being conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus, will begin to develop a heart for the lost and hurting. CHAPTER 15 NEUTRAL OR "G RATED" SECULAR MUSIC "The Devil is using Christian rock", is a statement heard in many quarters in recent years. It is basically sounded forth by today's "Old Testament prophets" to our New Testament times, to establish the idea that all rock is "of the devil", even Christian rock. Well, let me say that I agree with them. The devil is using Christian rock. He's also using Bible scripture. He's using Christian T.V., and Christian books. He's using many Christian things, perverting and twisting the realities of these situations and things, to achieve his own ends. The devil used scripture to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. Just as God will often use secular situations and things to reach men, as pointed out earlier, so does Satan use Christian situations and things. To throw out all Christian rock because Satan has used some of it, would mean that we would have to throw out these other things as well, and I don't believe anyone thinks we should throw out the Bible just because Satan sometimes uses scripture. The ability of the devil to use something for his own purposes, does no automatically consign it to the rubbish pile. I want to use this as a springboard to discuss what I call "neutral music". What of music, written by non-Christians, perhaps having a lyric about nature, or love, or something beautiful? Should we not listen to it just because a Christian didn't write it? I'm reminded of the Joe Cocker song; "You Are So Beautiful", which I've heard sung at Christian weddings, or "the Rose" by Bette Midler. I even once heard a Christian singer sing the oldie by the Shirrelles "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" in concert, as if a question being posed by God to a new Christian,: "Tonight you're mine, completely You give your love, so sweetly Tonight the light of love is in your eyes, But will you love me tomorrow?" So what about these "neutral songs"? Let me say, with qualifications to come, that I don't believe there's anything wrong in listening to some secular music sometimes. I said earlier that there's some secular music I'd have my kids listen to before I'd let them listen to some Christian rock, because I can at least draw the parameters. Easier to say, "This is ok, but it's not Christian, so don't form your philosophies of life by it, just enjoy it and be entertained", than to say, "Well, I know they're Christians, but some of what they do I don't agree with, and I don't endorse the way they dress, etc., but go ahead and listen to it because it's Christian!" Now, let me say that I don't believe anybody should feed on a steady diet of any secular music. Music that comes from the soul of a person who is not born again will not likely produce fruit in the life of a Christian. Anybody who is born again and reached any level of maturity, should be striving to eliminate secular input from their lives. But sometimes we come to a standoff with our kids, and sometimes in our own lives we just want to be entertained, and I feel that properly selected and in moderation, it's ok t listen to some secular music. Careful selection is important. We can easily fool ourselves and become deceived in regard to what is "neutral" for us and pretty soon we can be liberalized without consciously realizing it. But I am not a legalist, and feel that the Christian needs to reserve the right to make his own determinations in areas where the Bible is not absolute but liberty is not license. Paul said "All things are lawful to me, but not all are expedient.", (fit or suitable). Is what you listen to "Fit and suitable" for you as a Christian? I have been asked many times if I feel it's ok for a Christian to listen to secular music, and my answer is that the best place in which to be is not to listen to any by choice, but if you are not mature to that degree, ask the Holy Spirit if you should be listening to what you listen to. Would Jesus listen to it? I can't decide for you. And last, I do think that most secular music, in rock and other styles as well, is not "fit and proper" for a Christian. There is very little that you can find that is truly "neutral", and it is truly a matter of integrity to honestly incorporate any secular music into your life. CHAPTER 16 WHAT'S A MOTHER TO DO? This chapter is for you parents. What do you do when your kid brings home an album by some exotically named secular group who's name you can't even translate much less be familiar with, and tells you they borrowed it from a Christian friend or even his youth group leader? Or brings home a "Christian" album with a bunch of effeminate looking guys on the front with scowling faces and skin tight pants, and the music sounds like it came from the local torture chamber. Let me tell you----it ain't easy in either case. The first thing to do is pray for wisdom. A wrong move can alienate a teenager for a long time, up to and including for life. It takes great wisdom to balance those two non-productive extremes, legalism and license. You have to learn when to give, and when to take. We have found in our home that balancing the two is often a trade-off. At one point our twelve year old was heavily into a Christian artist who's messages we found to be a bit too sarcastic and cynical. She would staunchly defend him against any attempt to constructively criticize him, until we finally backed off. Within a year she outgrew him, and stopped playing his music for a long time. She recently began playing him again, but in moderation, and we have no objection to her involvement at this time. On the other hand, our oldest daughter rejects Christian music categorically as "out of it", and listens only to secular music, which we monitor with the "give and take" principle. We wish she'd get into the guy our other daughter liked! Our ultimate desire would be that our children would be drawn only to edifying Christian music, but at twelve and fourteen years of age, living in L.A. anyway, that's just not the real world. A survey taken a number of years ago among the youth group at our church, one of L.A.'s prominent charismatic churches, revealed the "Beastie Boys" to be the top favorite group of the Christian youth, and "Top Gun" the favorite movie. Today I'm sure it would be someone like Alanis Morissette or Smashing Pumpkins, and the movie would unquestionably be "Titanic", complete with full breastal nudity. It takes great wisdom to deal with these kinds of statistics. First of all, I do believe you have to draw some absolute lines. Certain secular groups and certain "Christian" bands are off limits at our house. You have to draw the line somewhere. But within the confines of the "acceptable" range, much dialogue is needed, and a parent cannot bury their heads in the sand and ignore the problem, hoping it will take care of itself. When I find one of my daughters inordinately interested in a certain group, I get an album by them and listen to it. I discern the spirit of the album, scrutinize the lyrics, and then have discussions with her in regard to what I find. I have pointed out lyrics that they didn't catch, and had her discontinue listening to that group upon realizing their philosophy or message. We have rules governing the amount of time per day she can listen, and times when other activities (ie, homework, chores, etc.) take priority and preclude listening to any music. We feel at this point that she is responsible in discerning what she listens to, even though of course we would prefer she listen to no secular rock music at all. But parents must know what's going on! I listen to some secular radio to stay on top of it, so when I'm asked about a group, I have something to say. I do not want to be like so many parents of yesteryear. "What's wrong with this group daddy?", "They're satanic", "But why", "I don't know, they're just not of God". We need to be able to point out to them the specifics of what's wrong. I find that by reading about groups when they're interviewed in magazines or on T.V., I keep up to a degree with what's happening, without partaking of it myself. When we were dealing with the Christian artist that my other daughter was into, I had her write a short essay on the meaning of each of his songs. Although she strove to find a positive Christian message in each one (all of which weren't necessarily there), I do believe it got her to think about what he was saying, and though it didn't seem to accomplish anything at the time, I think it demonstrated to her the shallowness of his work, and she eventually stopped listening to him. The bottom line is that you have to work it through prayerfully, step by step, and it will be different in each situation. Being totally legalistic will lead to rebellion, and being totally liberal will lead to downfall. Christian liberty is a tenuous thing to define sometimes, and delicate are the lines we must draw around it. The values you build into your kid from day one are going to play an important part in his listening habits, and sometimes we want to start building those values only when we see his musical taste deteriorating. It really doesn't work that way, and you have to begin from where you are, not from where you'd like to be. Prayer is of utmost importance. We have asked God to change our children's hearts in music and other areas as well, sometimes to see things change without any intervention at all in the natural. God can give you the strategy, but you must lean on Him. You need to hear from God when to "give", and I don't mean "give in". If we hadn't heard from God when we went to the secular concert, the results could have been disastrous. The girls might have had a great time and come away more convinced than ever that we were "all wet" to be concerned. You must win their respect in this area, and that will not happen overnight. Kids are convinced in their teenage years that they are invincible and all knowing, and that you are from the stone age. Building respect is a process of love, understanding, firmness, example, consistency, patience, and sometimes "tough love". Getting back to my first examples in this chapter, the answer to both situations is communication. I've seen both things in these examples happen, youth leaders or Christian friends loaning or recommending a secular album or heavy metal "Christian" album coming home. What to do? Face it! Jump into the fear! Sit down and listen to it with them. Discuss it! Don't be haughty or holier-than-thou. Don't be wishy-washy either, you have the right to an opinion. And don't ever, ever pretend you like it if you don't. They can spot that from a hundred yards. Nothing is more disgusting to a kid than a parent trying to appear "with-it" or hipper than they really are. You can communicate your distaste for something without putting your kids down. They'll respect you for it. Talk about why you object to a Christian group wearing make-up and tight pants, if you do. Discuss why you disagree with their youth group leader or friend about the acceptability of a certain secular group's music for a Christian if you have cause. But make it a discussion, not an argument or a one-sided dictatorial mandate. I also want to say that I feel it's more dangerous for a kid to have an attachment to a group that to a specific song. I was in Japan years back, just before Madonna came through on a tour, and there was tremendous anticipation on the part of the Japanese. I asked my hosts if the Japanese were as dedicated to artists as American kids are. They said that Madonna could come to Japan next year and not do well if the Japanese didn't like her subsequent music as well, as they are more taken by the individual songs, than artists. In America, kids are often committed to certain groups so much that it sometimes doesn't matter very much if the groups newer music isn't as appealing to them. There is much more danger in this than in an obsession with a song. A song will pass in a few months, but a group stays around a while. A group can be a role model, can influence the thinking, the lifestyles, the philosophies of a kid, in a way that just one song can't. I say this, so that if your kid is just into a certain objectionable song, it may be best to just let it blow over. But if they get too locked into a group, much more serious measures may need to be taken. Extreme as these cases are, many incidents of teen suicide and murder have been linked to an obsession with the music and lifestyle of one of the more satanic secular groups. This is where Christian groups can favorably serve as a alternative. If your kid is into a hard rock group, it may be good to turn him on to a Christian hard rock group, especially if he is unsaved. Even some of the heavy metal Christian music has a function as an alternative when the issue is AC-DC or Ozzie Osbourne. At this stage, even a piece of thread could possible serve as a life rope. But don't rely on the music alone. You must be there to guide the kid through his transitions, so he doesn't get "stuck on the bridge". God will give you wisdom. CHAPTER 17 A LOOK AT STYLES OF MUSIC OTHER THAN ROCK Rock is undoubtedly the most controversial form of music in the world today. Born out of rebellion, reputedly responsible for inspiring murder, suicide, anarchy, depression, etc., it is certainly worthy of controversy. But is it the only music of which we need be wary? Can harm come to us in the melodies and lyrics of other styles of music? Certainly no one could deny the negative effect of much country and western music. Country, with it's twangy, melancholy steel guitars, it's lyrics and hopelessness, despair, adultery, drunkeness, and emptiness has to come close to rock when it comes to negative influence. Country music has probably inspired more divorces and affairs and reinforced more alcoholic tendencies than even rock. It can't be left out of a discussion of this kind in any degree of fairness. One of rock's leading opponents, Jimmy Swaggart, owes much to the melancholy aspects of country in his own gospel music. The spirit of self pity and an erosion of faith comes across in many of Jimmy's songs as he sings about how miserable is life on earth. Some of his songs get people so wrapped up in the negative side of the trials of life, that many break down and weep in services because what is being said in those songs reinforces the hardships they are experiencing, and gets their eyes focused on a future time, when heaven will rescue them from this valley of tears. Many of Swaggart's piano licks comes from the same musical influences as his cousin, Jerry Lee Lewis, one of rock's pioneers. Jazz has many elements of the satanic. Besides the headiness and high- minded-ness it can inspire, there have been many artists who have used jazz to espouse satanic philosophies and eastern religions. The music of Sun Ra, John and Alice Coltrane, and much of what we call New Age music, is equal at least to rock in it's ability to convey occult and spiritual power. Alice Coltrane is a swami in the Hindu religion, and many of the New Age artists are openly into Eastern religions. Some of the later recordings by the late John Coltrane such as "Om", are demonic and hellish in their musical atonality and eastern influence. What of the classics you say? Many of the masters were into drugs such as hashish, morphine, and opium, and composed symphonies under the influence. Liszt and Mozart were the rock degenerates of their day, adulterers and fornicators of the worst kind, and the spirit of their ungodly lives can be transferred through their music. Some of the more avant-garde and neoclassistists have hellish elements in their music that would rival rock. One of Frank Zappa's influences, Edgar Varese, composed a piece for the World's Fair which was accompanied by visual impressions that were synchronized with the music as patrons walked through a labyrinth. The overall impression was very frightening, as Varese's music is very atonal and disturbing, and I believe someone listening to it for long periods of time could have real problems with depression and heaviness, to say the least! Many forms of ethnic music convey the godlessness and despair of the groups they represent. Much Indian music is high-minded, mystical and reflects the spirit of the Hindu religion. Some Russian music reflects the melancholy and hopelessness of the Russian psyche, and on and on. Good ol' John Denver! Colorado Rocky Mountain High. Drop out and move to the high country and your troubles will be over. Humanism! In the early 1900's, a song called "Goin' Home" was banned from the air because it was inspiring suicides! You see, we wrestle not against "flesh and blood" or rock or jazz, but against principalities and powers, ruler of the darkness of this age. The devil is our problem not the music! And it's certainly not just rock music we should be concerned with, but should take a discerning look at all the music we listen to. CHAPTER 18 THE MINISTRY OF THE ARRANGER AND SOUNDMAN Just as important as the song, singer or musician, is the ministry of the arranger and soundman. Yes, I said ministry. How many times have I been playing a concert where the sound was so bad that it was all I could do to get through the concert, struggling with an out of tune piano, no stage monitors, or worse, the knowledge that the sound out front was barely passable for the audience. And by contrast, how wonderful are nights when the sound on stage is like in a recording studio, and I am confident that it sounds just as good out front. This is all a part of excellence! The soundman has a role to play in facilitating the anointing! If the audience is uncomfortable because the instruments are too loud or soft, or mixed insensitively, or they can't hear the vocalist, or there's too much vocal, losing the pressure and power of the instruments, it hampers their ability to receive. But if everything is well balanced, at comfortable volume, and the music is enjoyable, the anointing doesn't have to get through so much distraction to bless the people. I am not advocating the idea that the technical side alone is all there is, and if faced with the hypothetical choice of having excellent sound and no anointing or a beat up piano with the anointing, obviously I'd take the beat up piano. But why can't we have both? I have actually come to do concerts on a few occasions over the years, where no care at all is taken for the sound, the piano has missing keys or is grossly out of tune, and my hosts will actually say, "Well, we couldn't get the piano tuned in time (they had six months notice) but God will move anyhow". Well, he will, but now much more can He move when the sound system sounds like heaven, and the piano is a 7 ft. Stieinway Grand? These factors do matter, and you can spiritualize all you want, but don't think you will get the same results from tacky equipment. And don't spiritualize the situation to excuse your lack of attention to details. I'm not saying you have to put $10,000 into your sound system because a musician is coming to play, but do get your piano tuned, and give them the best you've got. If your best is really inadequate, rent or borrow adequate equipment for the one night. It makes a difference. I do believe the role of music is increasing in importance in these end times. With the revelation of the power and place of worship and praise that is being imparted to the church, with the revolution that I believe is coming in contemporary Christian music, the church needs to be ready technically. We'll spend thousands on new carpet or plush pews, or big bucks for choir robes etc., while or speaker systems are often so inadequate that you wouldn't have them for a home stereo. Or there'll be one or two cheap microphones, barely fit even for speakers. The churches that have made investments in high-tech, state of the art systems, are reaping the benefits with praise and worship that fill the building with glorious sound. They can host special concerts, and accommodate artists who come in to minister with at least adequate, if not excellent sound. Maybe you aren't a big enough church to go "state-of-the-art", but for a one time investment of a few thousand dollars, you can get all you need to enhance your music ministry 100%. And don't say you can't afford it, and it's too much money. You first of all have to see the need and the value, and you could do it. What of arrangers? We don't often think of something like musical arrangement as a ministry, but it should be viewed that way. How important is the person who takes an anointed song and places it into a musical setting to enhance that anointing? How often have you heard an anointed song arranged so insensitively that instead of blessing you, you couldn't wail until it was over. I'll never forget hearing one of the greatest choruses ever written, "Majesty", done by a worship group so fast in tempo and so poorly arranged that I remember thinking what a travesty it was to the very title. It was anything but majestic. I have heard worship groups play chords to songs that don't remotely resemble the original intent of the composer, robbing the songs of their beauty and uniqueness. This often because the groups often don't bother to get a music sheet or to even try to faithfully reproduce the chords from an album or tape. This shouldn't be. And while we're at it, since when have polka, country, and Israeli rhythms been installed as the official "beats" of worship music? So often I hear such insensitive rhythms being played being praise music that it robs me of all enjoyment. More care should be taken in these areas as we move toward a greater standard of excellence. Let's look at Christian pop and rock arrangements for a bit. So many Christian arrangers are guilty of the same things a songwriters - going for the clone of the world's sound. They are so concerned with trends and relevance that most of our music sounds like so much computerized formula junk. I can sometimes tell a Christian record when I happen on it by chance just by it's sound. We have our own little arrangement cliches and things we do that we have come up with our own brand of formula. I don't want to retread the same ground we've already been over earlier in this book, but arrangers need to see their talent as a ministry to enhance the spiritual qualities of the songs they are arranging. Arrangers need to pray over arrangements, to get ideas from God, to look for the uniqueness in the song, and bring out its God given qualities. They need to consider the sensitivities of the listeners, and put the song across. I believe the ministries of the soundman and arranger are going to have to be seen in a new light of responsibility in the days to come, and I encourage young people interested in these areas to view themselves as ministers of God, and act accordingly. CHAPTER 19 "HAS-BEEN" OR ELDER? One of the greatest tragedies I see in contemporary music is the inability of the veterans to speak into the lives of the up and coming young artists. A number of years back a group of fifty or so of the journeymen of this genre came together for a three day conference. Most everyone had been in contemporary Christian music at that time for twelve to fifteen years, and as we gathered one night to hear a word from a speaker and just to fellowship, one of the senior members, a name you all would know, broke down and wept. "I feel so out of it. My records don't sell anymore, I don't feel like I'm doing anything of value anymore." He felt like a has-been. The commercial system of contemporary music can do that to you. When you are no longer marketable by their standards, they will often drop you from their roster, and you are out on your own, feeling very out of it. You may have a valid ministry, but often that is not recognized in favor of bottom line sales figures and trendy new up and comers. Well, a word came forth that night from the Lord that encouraged all of us "old-timers", that we were not has-beens, but elders. This is the only area of Christian service where people who have been in it for a long time, but may not be on the edge of commercial success, are not viewed as elders or at least held in esteem for experience and wisdom. Many have been in effective service for God for twenty-five or more years, and have a deposit of wisdom and experiences to pass down to the next generation of musicians but no forum of any consequence exists for this kind of dialogue. The music business system is a ghetto.....relationship is so slim that once you are outside the ghetto, you have no voice back into it. The existing conferences and seminars are so business oriented that very little of any spiritual value is ever imparted. Few 'elders' are invited to speak at these functions in favor of the new blood, or speakers who have more business oriented messages. How much could be imparted by those who have been through so much - who could spare the younger generation so much of the pain of ignorance and lack of knowledge, who could shield them from making the same mistakes. Those who have been in this for say, fifteen years or longer have gone in one of three main directions. Either they have dropped out to raise families or into more fruitful ministry or the like, or they have stayed in and have come to the place where they've had some fame, some bucks, and they've said "There's got to be more". This second group is the one that is beginning to take shape as the more ministry oriented group within the system, often linking up with missions groups or the like, thrashing around for some vision and purpose of God. Some in this group have exceeded the thrashing stage, and have really gotten hold of God, and are moving out with valid power in their ministries. Either one of these groups have much to say to the younger generation, and I believe that God is going to provide them with a platform to speak into the lives of the next generation of musicians. The third direction is the veteran who's stayed in, but hasn't grown. They coast on the momentum of past success, sometimes exceeding that success from a commercial standpoint, but really offering nothing of consequence to their audience. These too, could benefit from the input of their peers. Nowhere in the Bible does it say you are a "has-been", when you are walking with God. Age and experience bring wisdom, and that wisdom needs to find a way to invest itself in the new generation. Let's be praying as God makes that way! (c)1998 Chuck Girard Ministries