Destroying the Malachi Mindset

There is a mind-set that has unfortunately been pervasive regarding Music Ministry for a number of years.  It's similar to Nathanael’s remarks to Phillip when he said he had found the Messiah, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  Our culture, together with many musicians and artists have a similar disdain for the capacity of the Church to produce anything worthwhile, stating, “Can anything good come out of the Church?” 

The viewpoint is: if an artist wants true recognition and success, he or she must find it outside the realm of ministry or Church involvement.   Church ministry is not usually a consideration, and is even disdained by those who are serious about fulfilling their career pursuits and dreams. 

To make matters worse, many of those in Church ministry have accepted the premise that maybe they can’t ‘make it’ in the world, so they just settle for a non-competitive ministry position. 

All of this stems from the general conclusion that local church (or the Church at large) is irrelevant to current culture, even unnecessary.  It certainly is not viewed as a place where high artistic achievement can exist. 

There was a time in Israel’s history that people had a similar mind-set.  The people through whom God chose to carry His Name had come to a place of ambivalence and even neglect of His temple.  It was as if they had grown cold to their calling, nonchalant to the richness of their heritage.  The prophet Malachi wrote to the people of Israel: 

“ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master.  Then if I am a father, where is My honor?  And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name.  But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’  You are presenting defiled food upon My altar.  But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’  In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is to be despised.’  But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?  And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil?  Why not offer it to your governor?  Would he be pleased with you?  Or would he receive you kindly?”  says the Lord of hosts.  “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us?  With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts…You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’  And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the Lord of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering!  Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord.” (Mal. 1:6-9,13) 

The priests had grown weary in the administration of temple service, and the people were not bringing their best anymore.  They were giving God their ‘leftovers’.  The temple (which represented God’s presence in their midst) was being shunned for other ‘more important things’ in their lives. 

Today’s artistic community has become a place in which fame, finance and dissipation has supplanted discipline, sacrifice and a desire for integrity (even at the expense of obscurity).

The local church, to today’s artist, has come to represent the death of an otherwise successful career.  The path is an exact reversal of what today’s artist hopes to achieve. 

Our community, much like the Israelite’s in Malachi’s day, has willingly walked away from God’s presence, while still wanting to receive His blessing.

Even many of our priests (those called into the service of the local church) have longingly looked away from the altar of sacrifice, to the approval of pop culture and compromised integrity. 

What does integrity as a dedicated artist look like in today’s world?  What does pure dedication, holiness and honor look like for someone who is ‘sold out’ to God, having a passion for worshiping His Name and exclaiming His excellencies with whole-hearted commitment?  Is it even possible that the phrases: ‘dedicated Christian minister’ and ‘artistic excellence’ can be uttered in the same breath? 

King David, who established a pattern of whole-hearted worship in his reign in Israel, had become a distant memory to the Israelites in Malachi’s day.  His passion would have been distasteful to them.  Had David lived in their time, he may have even been persecuted or killed for his ‘extreme’ views.  (Interestingly, today’s media culture demonizes anyone who is ‘passionate’ in their religious convictions, calling them ‘radicals’ and ‘extremists’.)  

Here is just one of many accounts in David’s life revealing his whole-hearted passion for God’s presence: 

When the Ark of the Covenant had come to Araunah the Jebusite, David wanted to offer a burnt offering.  Araunah offered to give David everything necessary to do so, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight.  Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.  Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.”  But David’s response, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” (2 Sam. 24:22-24) 

David wanted to give God his very best.  Nothing less would be congruent with his heart of gratitude, respect and honor for all that God was in his life. 

At a time, historically, when numerous artists are struggling to be heard above the myriads of voices in the world, a time when community for the artist seems to be closing in with greater isolation and fewer opportunities, perhaps the long forgotten venue of the community of the local Church is prime for renewed artistic expression. 

Perhaps the hollowness of today’s secular ‘success’ will give way to a new generation of artists who are ‘sold out’ to a higher purpose of extreme spirituality, commitment, dedication and sacrifice, those who are willing to be motivated by the approval of God rather than the approval of man, willing to release the pursuit of fame for the motivation of pure craftsmanship in His Name rather than their own.

Perhaps the true prophetic role of the artist will return to those whom God can trust, vessels of honor through whom Almighty God will speak, artists who have become instruments in His hand, through whom He changes the course of human culture, yet are incapable of being changed by that culture.

Such artists are fearless among men, highly esteemed in secret places.

(for more, see The Three Uses of Music and the Arts)

7 Attributes of a Complete Contemporary Musician- Part 3

Attribute #3: The Complete Contemporary Musician, along with having a meaningful purpose for his life and art (Attribute #1), and having a solid understanding of those who came before him, with the ability to perform their works (Attribute #2), must also be familiar with the current styles of the day, not only of his own geographical and philosophical region, but of those regions beyond.  He should desire to be relevant to the times in which he lives, yet not at the expense of excellence.

Having a firm grasp of past historically successful artists gives him ‘food for thought’ and creativity, but the modern artist must not be stuck in the past if he intends to successfully connect with a contemporary audience.  Being aware of cultural trends, the likes and interests of his current day should be like a whetstone, sharpening his own artistic edge.  “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Prov. 27:17)

It is important that the artist have a solid understanding of his artistic direction, being firmly established in his own unique giftedness, while looking about the landscape at the works of others.  Otherwise, he will be tempted to abandon the inner-plan of his heart to chase after someone else’s success.  An artist who has no grounding in his own predetermined pursuits will be invariably “tossed about by every wind of doctrine” he sees coming his way. 

There is a successful balance, or ratio, that must be struck between identity and cultural relevance.  If an artist becomes so aware of all the cultural swirlings of ideas and ideologies that he loses his sense of personal destiny, then he must back-up and regain his equilibrium of who God has created him to be. “For we are His workmanship (lit. work of art), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10) (for more on this see, “My Vision- the Community- History”)

While firmly grounded, the artist must not be afraid to step beyond the familiar, to see what others are doing.  The very nature of artistic endeavors is to focus on creativity and innovation; however, if the artist stays in that state of focus and creativity, he may realize that the world has passed him by if he doesn’t look up (and out) from time to time.  Whether we like to admit it or not, we artists are not an island unto ourselves.  We are ultimately not independent at all, but are dynamically involved in the flow of history and community, having relationship within our own lives, those around us, and God himself. 

Not being aware of the surrounding culture would be like trying to drive a car through the city blind-folded.  It doesn’t matter how pretty or powerful your vehicle is, at some point, you’re gonna crash!

The artist should not only be aware of his surrounding culture, but also challenge himself to move beyond his own levels of comfort, into new areas of knowledge and study, not just of past artists (as was discussed in Attribute #2), but of new geographical and philosophical possibilities.  For example, one who is familiar with the latest advances in American techno-pop genres could look into what is currently happening in Bali music or tribal rhythms from Africa.  It’s about having a curiosity of life and a sincere appreciation for the successful creativity of others.

Technological advances are changing at a fever-pace, and this opens another wide door for new possibilities, challenging our very paradigm of how the creative process functions.

Igor Stravinsky is a great example of navigating change.  He went through several stages of artistic development, starting with large orchestral works for the Russian Dance Theater, then developing Neo-Classicism through works of smaller scale.  He went through periods of experimentation with jazz and serialism but somehow he always sounded like ‘Stravinsky’.  His unique giftedness never swayed as he moved through these vastly divergent musical styles.

He could have easily been so enamored with Gershwin, that he ‘copied’ his style, or so impressed by Schoenberg that he mimicked his every stroke, but rather, he stayed true to his own uniqueness at the expense of ‘caving’ to the pressures of what was ‘hot’ at that particular moment in history.  He included the cultural leanings without compromising who he was as an artist.  This is what prioritizing excellence above relevance successfully looks like.  Success as an artist is the ability to give the world uniquely who you are, while using the current cultural language to do it.

Could there be any greater example than Jesus, who identified with His culture on every level, yet brought a revolutionary message that transcended that culture.  He was intrinsically woven within the fabric of the culture’s history, yet He stood out from it, pointing to a new destiny.  This is the goal of the successful artist, to touch culture, yet to transcend culture, to excel in the midst of the mortal weaknesses of that culture’s communication tools.

The complete contemporary musician must be willing to ride the edge of these truths, constantly navigating and negotiating: 1) Who God has made him to be, 2) What he can learn from others, and 3) How he can speak truth to an audience that understands his message. 

This is the sojourn of the one who hungers and thirsts to fulfill his destiny as a successful artist in both relevance and excellence.



10 Lessons I've Learned from J.S. Bach (part 6)

The sixth lesson Bach taught me is to be persistent, even in the face of opposition and misunderstanding.

I've already enumerated several of the trials and tribulations Bach had to endure in previous blogs, but let me just sum it up by saying that it wasn't an easy ride for him.   Most people think that if you're talented enough, then you can just sail through life on easy street.  Obviously, that concept doesn't work in the real world.  At some point all of us are going to have to fight our way through the difficulties life throws at us.  The Apostle Paul admonished his student Timothy to "fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience". (I Tim. 1:19)  Again, the Apostle Paul writes, in his letter to the church at Ephesus, "Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand firm therefore... (Eph. 6:13)

Bach, a Bible student, had undoubtedly read these passages.  To whatever extent he meditated upon them, I don't know.  What I do know is that he lived them in the life-decisions he made.  He always seemed to 'weather the storm', even when it looked like the odds were stacked against him.

He probably knew the Bible story of Nehemiah, who fought against insurmountable difficulties and persecutions from people who were trying to stop him from achieving his dream: re-building the walls around Jerusalem.  There is a Scripture passage that says, "Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon." (Neh. 4:17)  His team of volunteers had to both build and be ready to fight while they were standing against the enemy, pursuing their vision.  

Bach patiently, and almost defiantly stood against the numerous misunderstandings he had to endure.  I don't know what his personality make-up was, but based upon my study of him, I would guess that he was what I refer to as a Melancholy-Phlegmatic.  In other words, he was detailed, yet stable, not wanting to 'rock the boat', unwilling to be moved from his convictions.  One weakness of this type of personality mix is that they hate to be misunderstood.  They will do almost anything within their power to help others understand why they do what they do.  This seems congruent with Bach's high motivation to teach and train those around him, through the music book 'teaching tools' he created and his daily schedule of training his family and community.

Yet he was constantly plagued by situations of misunderstanding, those who really didn't care about the whys.

As artists, we deal with materials that cannot be easily understood.  Take sound, for instance.  It's a subject that can be scientifically measured, but yet it's unseen.  Everyone has a different set of ears, and different life-experiences which cause them to 'hear' (psycho-acoustically) a little differently from someone else.  The subject is fraught with subjectivity.  And yet for those of us who have spent our lives working in music and sound design, there are foundational truths that we have come to rely upon in our creative processes.  But these things are not easily explained, especially to someone who really doesn't want that much information in the first place.

It's easy for people to make knee-jerk assessments of what is good or bad, whether they know what they are talking about or not.  Everyone has an opinion.  Many opinions, unfortunately, are driven by popular culture, peer-pressure and a desire to 'fit in', rather than careful perception of excellence.  Pop culture changes like the wind, but that which is excellent withstands the forces of nature.  It takes on its own stability, even beyond the control of its creator.  It stands undaunted by the whims of culture and takes on an almost 'eternal' quality.  Why?  Because it is standing on Truth.  Truth doesn't move.  (I know I'm speaking contrary to popular situational ethics in these concepts.)  Nevertheless, Truth, Integrity, Character...these things can be, and are, present in the works of art that have been handed down to us through the ages.  The depth of these characteristics that are present in the works are directly proportional to their lasting nature.  A little compromise here and there will mean a shorter life-span of historical impact.

Bach knew, created and lived these principles unmoved by the situations, murmurings and antagonistic attitudes around him.  "Having done all to stand, stand therefore..."  He just kept standing.  He just kept creating and living a life of integrity to the best of his ability, because he knew it was the right thing to do.  He knew that if he continued to stand on the Truth, that the Truth would eventually defend him.  And you know what?  It did! 

In conclusion: Don't allow people's misunderstandings and negativity to 'get under your skin'.  Just know that they can't see what you see.  Just stay steady, keep 'building the wall' with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other.  Keep fighting the good fight of faith. (I Tim. 6:12)  As you stay steady, weathering the storms, God will bring you to the other side victoriously.