​           (Part of presentation to musicians, artists and worship leaders in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 2017)
Lesson 2.  SOLA SCRIPTURA.  The Bible must be the primary focus and ultimate authority for all aspects of creativity, ministry and life.  
Because the Catholic church believed that the authority of human reasoning could equal or even surpass the authority of the Bible, many teachings were present that did not agree with the Word of God. However, Luther elevated the Biblical text far above all commentators or church fathers and had an overriding passion for the superiority of the Biblical text by itself.
        "He who is well acquainted with the text of Scripture is a distinguished theologian. For    
​          a Bible passage or text is of more value than the comments of four authors”.[1]
 
To better understand the impact of Luther’s questioning and preaching, let us briefly review some important historical information. From the 14th to the 17th centuries, there were two completely opposing answers given to two important questions. What gives unity to life? What gives meaning to life and to morals?
 
In the south of Europe, the Renaissance provided one answer while in the North the Reformation provided another. 

The term Renaissance comes from the Italian word “Rinascenza” which means rebirth.  The rebirth did not refer to the rebirth of man; instead, it referred to the rebirth of an idea about man. There was a change in thinking that put man at the centre of all things. 

The Catholic church believed that the authority of human reasoning could equal or even surpass the authority of the Bible. This belief began around 1270 when Thomas Aquinas, a scholar at the University of Paris, attempted to reconcile Aristotle with Christian faith. He believed that the will was fallen after man had revolted against God but not the mind.   According to Aquinas, humans must use reason to understand “natural law,” which comes from God. This led the Catholic Church to believe that the authority of the Church was equal, and in some cases, greater than the authority of the Bible.
   
The poet Petrarch (1304-1374) was influenced by the teaching of Aquinas. Traditionally called the father of Humanism, he believed Scripture and human reasoning were compatible and inspired a humanist philosophy that led to the intellectual flowering of the Renaissance. Humanism stresses an individual’s dignity, worth and capacity for self-realization through reason. The Renaissance was based on the belief that man was good and that his mind, not Scriptural teaching and supernatural power would present the answers needed for life. The Renaissance’s answer added the teaching of man to the teaching of Scripture and in some cases even surpassed the authority of the Bible. 

The Reformation answered the two great questions of man solely on the basis of Scripture. The Reformers understood that the Bible was God’s inspired word and supplied all the answers to life’s questions. They understood that the Bible is the only source of final authority and that salvation comes only through Christ and his work.  In contrast to Aquinas, the Reformers presented a biblical concept of the Fall that showed the heart of man to be deceitfully wicked.  They believed that when sin entered the world, every aspect of man—his heart, his soul, his mind was tainted.  Therefore man was not capable of thinking for himself. The Reformation believed that Scripture supports the idea of the great potential of man but only AFTER experiencing the rebirth that repentance brings. Even then, the renewed man was seen to be totally dependent on the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

I love music, drama, video, composition, creativity. I have spent my life working with creative artists of many different disciplines. Yet during my life, I have observed—personally and in others—that it is easy to fall into the trap of valuing creativity and the creative output more than faithfulness to the Word of God. At times  it can be difficult to let go of a wonderful creative idea that compromises the truth of Scripture. Certainly the style of music, the presentation, the creative touches, the artistry should be engaging and attract, yet the contents tested for correct teaching.

Is the biblical teaching attractive because the presentation underscores the message or is there a tension between the message of the genre or style and the textual content?  I encourage you to study text separately, then also study carefully what further "teaching" is taking place as a result of the creative artistic touches. Don’t do this alone. Involve people who are students of the Bible. 

​How important is faithfulness to Biblical truth in your creative output?  How do you understand the depravity of man and the redemption of man?  In the arts, the Reformers believed that the creative output of man must be redeemed

Like the Reformers, do you elevate biblical truth far above the comments of worship leaders, song writers, Christian artists, blog writers and authors? Be careful of groups that place ‘prophetic’ teaching at a level equal with, or even above Scripture. Be careful of teachings of popular artists concerning worship that are not rooted in scripture.
 
How do you understand the work of God and the work of the Holy Spirit? The arts can have a powerful effect on people. Do you find yourself trying to accomplish through emotion, beauty and creativity, that which only the work of the Holy Spirit can accomplish? 

When you perform or lead worship, you are teaching and preaching.  Every time.  Look at your songs.  Is Sola Scriptura a landmark of your creative output? May the Bible always be your primary focus and ultimate authority for all aspects of creativity, ministry and life. 

[1] What Luther Says: An Anthology, Vol. 3, p. 1355.

We hear a lot about singing “to the Lord”.  A valid exhortation that is repeated numerous times in the psalms and throughout scripture.  However there is another, often overlooked focus in the singing of our corporate worship – “to one another”.

Paul presents this perspective in Colossians and Ephesians.

Colossians 3:15–17  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  (NIV)

Ephesians 5:19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

So often we only focus on God but we should not forget that there is also a human horizontal dimension to our time together.  Not only are we to sing to each other, we are also to teach each other. This is not the normal teaching of teacher to class, preacher to congregation, worship team to worshippers.  Instead, Paul presents the rather unique perspective that believers should teach one another!  Peer instruction!

These words are not directed at worship leaders; rather, they are directed at members of the body of Christ. It is the believers in the body of Christ who are to speak or sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to one another! 

As worship leaders we need to draw attention to this important exhortation.  I believe that it will help move some people away from a very self-centered mentality in worship – what am I getting out of this? What am I learning?  Perhaps they will be less demanding in having ‘their songs’ sung “their way” and be more sensitive to the needs of other believers.

As worship leaders we need creative planning that will facilitate the process of peer instruction.  Here are a few questions that I hope will trigger creative practical ideas that you can implement in corporate worship.

1.    To what extent do we understand the importance of this form of communication between believers?

2.    To what extent do we facilitate this when we lead believers in corporate worship in song?

3.    What is there in our planning, structure, physical arrangement of the room or sanctuary, song structure and musical form that will facilitate powerful teaching and admonishment between believers?

4.    What is there in our formal teaching or comments that creates awareness and mobilizes believers to do this?

5.    How conscious are we of the power of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to minister to others?

6.    To what extent do we direct and empower individual members of the congregation to do this not only in corporate worship but also outside of corporate worship time - family time, home fellowship time, travel times, spending time with friends?

7.    Is there evidence that faith, obedience, love, and joy of fellow Christians are stimulated and increased—not by the work of the worship team, but by the actual singing of the members of the congregation to one another?

8.    To what extent do we think about the edifying content of the songs that the Body of Christ sings?

9.    To what extent do we consciously choose songs that the congregation can teach one another? 

It is helpful to review the content of our worship songs at regular intervals to see what is being taught? Are all the important doctrinal truths being covered over a period of time?  What are we teaching about relationship, Christian life, emotion, response to life’s sorrow and joy? 

(This blog is based on material found in Chapter 2 of the author’s book Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs: the Road to Unity and Spiritual Maturity.)

For some time I have intended to write about an invitation that I accepted from Music in World Cultures (MIWC) to be involved as a Missions Associate. The invitation came from Stephen Benham, MIWC president. For many years we have met at various events related to the Christian Music Academy and participated in music and worship activities of the Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine. Increasingly over the years we have worked with the same people in Ukraine and Eurasia, collaborating on projects and spending many hours sharing ideas and experiences. When MIWC received an invitation to work in Germany, I was invited to join the organization because of my German language skills and connections.

But the connection goes back even further. Steve’s father, John Benham - founder of MIWC, helped start the ethnomusicology program at Prairie Bible Institute and was a guest lecturer in the early days of the program.

So what is Music in World Cultures and why am I excited to be a part of this organization?

Many reasons for my excitement. High respect for all involved in the organization. Opportunity to work with dearly loved brothers and sisters in the Lord. Opportunity to formalize existing relationships, increase the impact of current ministries and facilitate new endeavours. But mainly because as the years have rolled by I have seen that issues of culture are at the heart of so much tension and misunderstanding in worship, family, church, education, relationships and the arts.

Culture has been succinctly defined as “the way we do things around here.”

The following paragraphs are strongly influenced by some of the key ideas found in the teachings of John and Stephen Benham. These ideas are at the heart of what MIWC does. Since these ideas resonate strongly with my experience, I was glad to accept the position of Mission Associate within the organization.

“The way things are done” is a mixture of theology and the essential pragmatic rules that are core to healthy community. Knowing the difference between the two and their respective roles is important for living in harmony and with understanding.

Culture is multi-layered and within each group or culture, there are subcultures, based on several factors: age, gender, belief systems, ethnicity, race, values—to name a few. When the existence and characteristics of each group is understood and recognized, significant steps can be taken in understanding the presuppositions and values that drive behaviour. Approach and perspective changes when we realize that tensions and conflicts are really issues of culture.

When people want to “do things” differently and try to make decisions about what matters and what doesn't really matter, it is important that those involved do not place a higher value on culture than they do theology. When people join (or leave) a Christian community, many do so not just for theology, but because they are joining (or leaving) a cultural community where they agree with the shared values, beliefs, traditions, and lifestyle of that culture.

The meaning of culture is assigned by the individual and interpreted by the individual through the lens of his or her own personal experience. We cannot assume that our understanding of culture will be the same as the person sitting next to us. Neither can we impose our cultural understanding on an individual, assuming that they will accept it or vice versa. When we criticize another person’s musical preference, style of worship, theology, personal belief systems, or other cultural elements, we are not only criticizing the individual’s culture in general, but the person as an individual, which in turn may be interpreted as a judgment on their spiritual inferiority.

Our cultural beliefs are directly connected to our personal identity. Identity is extremely important to most people in terms of their religion, faith, and basic belief system. It is the most localized understanding of culture, because it is extremely personal. As a result discussions that are not supposed to be personal in nature, are suddenly perceived as a personal attack with the ensuing emotions that accompany such attacks.

So worship wars, as an example, are really culture wars. However, because culture and identity are so closely related, the war ends up feeling like an attack on personal values and identity.

There are no quick fixes or easy answers for the common tensions and misunderstandings in the church but an understanding of this process and the dynamics at work, can be the beginning of true communication and understanding.

In practice, those involved in MIWC consider themselves to be translators of culture. Because every culture embodies its view of the world, life and its system of beliefs in its music, music is used to access the culture in order to break down barriers and build bridges to establish cross-cultural relationships. As an international faith-based organization, Music in World Cultures is dedicated to the establishment and advancement of the use of music as a strategic tool in developing cross-cultural relationships. The web page  http://miwc.orc  sums it up as follows.

Music opens doors.

Musicians build bridges.

Christ transforms cultures


I have believed and practiced this for most of my life. This was certainly a focal point for the Performing Arts and Worship program at Prairie Bible College and was lived out in a very practical manner during each of the three one-month ministry trips of the Ambassador Choir to Ukraine (1999, 2004, 2008).

I am excited to have found another place where can I practice this.