MUSIC OF THE MESSAGE

Contains two articles

The Singing Evangelist, a Minister

By CHARLES KEYMER, Singing Evangelist, St. Louis, Missouri

A singing evangelist in an evangelistic team should be considered as much a minister as the evangelist who preaches. Too often the work of the singing evangelist has been considered an apprenticeship for preaching, and when he finishes this part of his training he advances from a singing evangelist to a minister. The aim of the singing evangelist is the same as that of preaching—to turn people's hearts to Christ and to win souls. Therefore, the singing evangelist is definitely a minister.

There is no question about the singing evangelist's being a minister if his aim is to win souls. Then the songs he sings will have true appeal and hearts will be touched. But this is only a part of his work, because he should visit in the homes of the people, study the Bible with them, and talk to them about their soul's salvation. He will show an interest in them personally, and will try to help them to understand the truth and walk in" Christ's way. This is the work of a true shepherd. This is the work of a minister, whether he preaches or sings the gospel.

Why should not a singing evangelist be able to preach too? He will do well to train himself for ministerial work. The question has sometimes been asked by college students who de sired to become singing evangelists, "Should I study to be a musician or a preacher?" "Should I major in music or in the ministerial course?" It might be the better part of wisdom to major in both, for if you desire to be a singing evangelist, both these fields of service should be combined. The singing evangelist should be a minister as well as a musician.

It is generally planned for evangelistic teams to work in the larger cities where more intensive evangelism is carried on. If several churches in the area participate, it is a good arrangement for the singing evangelist to be able to pastor at least one of them. This tends toward uniting the churches into one program and securing full support for the evangelistic meetings. It also gives the singing evangelist an opportunity to use his preaching ability as well as to have the experience of assuming complete charge of a church with all its duties and responsibilities. In this way the conference is relieved of caring for one of its smaller churches, and the singing evangelist is recognized as a practical worker.

As singing evangelist in the St. Louis evangelistic center, I have been pastoring the St. Louis South Side church. So in addition to singing solos, directing song services, preparing the advertising layouts for the evangelistic services, visiting newly interested people, I have also been serving as a pastor.

Needless to say, I enjoy very much this opportunity of preaching as well as singing, and in my case the combination has worked most successfully. Now when visiting in the homes of the people, I am not merely a singer to them but their pastor, who is truly interested in their spiritual welfare. It establishes a strong confidence in the worker on the part of the people.

Yes, a singing evangelist can be a minister— singing and preaching the Word. We hope that more of our young men desiring to enter the work will prepare for this type of ministry.

The Hour of Worship

By GEORGE W. GREEK, Professor of Music, Australasian Missionary College

The music of the morning service should be like an all-pervading, ascending fragrance, a thread of rich beauty which unifies and unites the service into a reverent whole. From the carefully selected prelude there must be no awkward gaps or breaks in the smooth flow of the service. Soft instrumental interludes should fill every break. The secular sounds of seating latecomers and other delays must be filled with the sweet influence of heaven-born melody. These short interludes must fade in and out delicately, cautiously, so as not to disturb the atmosphere of worship.

There must be unity and coordination in the service. The message of the hour should be threaded right through the service. It is disturbing and disconcerting when the minister and the musician are too careless or indifferent to plan the service together beforehand.

"Haphazard programs open the way for humorous incongruities. To have the choir sing 'Art them weary, art thou languid?' after a soul-stirring sermon, or a baritone sing 'It is enough, O Lord, now take away my life,' after an eloquent prayer, does not make for reverence and dignity. The service should be built up as a whole, and whenever possible the music should have some bearing upon what precedes or follows the singing. By proper selection the hymns may add immensely to the effect of sermon, prayer, or Scripture reading, and this is equally true of anthems and responses. For lack of attention to these matters much of our church music sinks to the level of a sacred con cert, as it has no vital connection with other parts of the service."—Northwestern University Bulletin, Aug. 25, 1930, p. 6.

If there is an earnest desire on the part of all concerned to honor God in this way, the problems involved can easily be solved. It would be better in most instances to omit the anthem when it is not related to the sermon. A hymn on the subject would be a greater contribution to the service.

In our denominational effort to avoid formal ism in worship there has been, and still is, a strong tendency, especially in our smaller churches, to conduct the church service with less carefully planned order than would characterize a farm bureau meeting or secular club. I have attended many such meetings when I was sure the angels bowed their heads in shame.

A service fragrant with the divine presence is not a haphazard occasion, nor is the atmosphere of heaven dependent on an elegant church structure. If the room is clean, properly decorated with evidence of good taste and reverent care as to detail, it will merge into the atmosphere rich with the presence of God. Incidentally, one can usually read the barometer of spiritual fervor in a church by a glance at the churchyard. There is a definite relationship between the care and interest shown outside and the orderliness and reverence within.

The fundamental consideration of a truly worshipful service is not necessarily the particular form of standard arrangement of the various items that constitute it, but the planned sequence and fitting together of the program. It has been my privilege to participate in many services in widely separated places which filled my soul with the true joy and uplift of worship, and yet were very different in arrangement.

If there can be a choir, it adds beauty and reverence to the service far outweighing the time and expense involved in maintaining it. Suitable responses, a call to worship, choral in vocations, and benediction can be fitted in to add "beauty" to the "holiness" of the occasion. When all concerned are in tune with the In finite "angels will unite with them in their worship. The praise and thanksgiving from grateful hearts will ascend to God as a sweet oblation."—Christ's Object Lessons, p. 298.

When all of self is removed and the Holy Spirit is given His way, there will be an intrinsic vitality and power in every phase of the service that will be in sharp contrast to the ordinary, casual meetings that are so common. The first great need is spirituality. Then an orderly, beautiful service will be the natural consequence, for order and beauty are from the same divine source.

Singing in the service must not be minimized, for "to praise God in fullness and sincerity of heart is as much a duty as is prayer."— Ibid., p. 299.

"The melody of praise is the atmosphere of heaven ; and when heaven comes in touch with the earth, there is music and song,—'thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.' "—Education, p. 161.

"I have been shown the order, the perfect order, of Heaven, and have been enraptured as I listened to the perfect music there. After coming out of vision the singing here has sounded very harsh and discordant," —Testimonies, vol. i, p. 146.

"He [God] bids them [His people] come up from their low, earthly level, and breathe in the clear, sunny atmosphere of heaven. Our meetings for worship should be sacred, precious occasions."—Ibid., vol. 5, p. 607.

"No words can properly set forth the deep blessed ness of genuine worship."—Ibid., vol. 9, p. 143.

 


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December 1950

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