In that sense we are all on the right track, or can be. My friend if you are depressed, if you are confused, if you feel you have been cheated, if you feel as if your back is against the wall, if you are being persecuted for righteousness sake and you feel like giving up, my friend Jesus cares for you. And popular music is its quintessential expression.
I Decided To Make Jesus Choice
He's all (All I need). But He's all that I need. Perhaps in heaven the angels will lead us in music so glorious that everything we have loved best on earth will fade away into insignificance, a mere shadow of what is to come. Estelle R. Jorgensen, Bloomington, Indiana.
I started out oh a long time ago and I've made up, I've made up my mind. Lyrics to i choose jesus. Has he forgotten that in the great religious revivals of the past it was the preachers who urged the musical education of their congregations? If so, those who love beautiful, refined, and intellectual things will be running for the exits of his camp meeting tent, and those who remain won't know the difference. D., South Lancaster, Massachusetts.
That thought came forcefully home to me as I listened to the Southeastern Conference camp meeting choir on a sweltering Sabbath morning last June near Gainesville, Florida. Roy Adams feels that one kind of music (good) feeds the soul or heart, and the other kind (no good) feeds the mind or head. Did I read Roy Adams' injunction to the camp meeting musicians right: "Keep it simple, stupid"? He looks on the heart, whereas we are distracted by outward appearance and by the sounds we hear. We are the heirs of that heavenly movement. I decided to make jesus choice. Every word hit home. It is no wonder that masterpieces like The St. Matthew Passion and the Messiah were written during this time, the glory of their age and every age since. 1 A few weeks later, we heard from one angry musician: "I daresay, " she wrote, "that Mr. Adams has shown that gospel music or the way that it is expressed is not something he appreciates and/or understands. If I wanted to criticize all educated musicians, for example, I think I had access to appropriate language for that. In no time, the entire congregation, with the organist picking it up, caught fire again. However, not all the musicians who wrote took issue with everything I'd said - a good sign, I think.
I Made Jesus My Choice
2 As the soloist articulated the words of the song, its lyrics spoke poignantly to the times: about the burdens of life that weigh us down, about problems on the job, about drugs and alcohol, about marriage on the rocks, about poverty and disappointment about the power of prayer. How music that sounds like finger exercises could accomplish this I'll never understand. Yet every so often, a death wish comes over me, and I make a hit-and-run foray into the war zone. I will choose christ lyrics. Give Me Jesus Lyrics.
But I keep reminding myself that on the subject of music in worship, our great God is no respecter of culture. 'Cause He's all I need. How would an English speaking audience take it if one of our gifted Bible scholars should present the sermon on Sabbath laced with technical theological jargon - or worse, in Greek or Hebrew? Here the Maranatha mass choir of Atlanta took the stage, under the direction of Dolores Patrick, with a piece by Shirley Caesar entitled He's Working It Out. I'm so glad to know He cares! Does he really want the Adventist Church to embrace an aesthetic of crass functionalism and ecstatic spiritualism? 1 Sitting under the nose of the director, I heard her give her final pep talk: "Sing those words as if you mean them, " she said with a twinkle in her eyes. This is a difficult assignment to fulfill, and frequently composers err on one side or the other. Some folks choose treasures and forget about their soul. God poured out an incredible stream of light on this world during the Reformation. But then intersperse it with Come, Ye Disconsolate, and then listen to the congregation hum as you play. Like other corporate giants, it doesn't spend millions of dollars on advertisements whose messages are unclear to its target audience. There is a place in our public worship for both the "easy listening" currently popular music and the more Costly music Adams disdains.
See Newsbreak, May 23, 1996, pp. It can be so important in lifting our thoughts to heaven. Yes, give us the heavy stuff, by all means. Now in response to a more recent piece, "Music is a Language, "2 other musicians seek to paint me with a different brush. AnAdventist Review editorial with response letters and a follow-up editorial... These observations were written by Roy Adams, Associate Editor of Adventist Review as an editorial in the September 12, 1996 issue and then reprinted with permission in the International Adventist Musicians Association Spring 1997 Notes.
I Will Choose Christ Lyrics
But none of these things compare. Their exposure to great church music has been minimal, and therefore they find traditional sacred music incomprehensible. The spiritual fervor that gripped these men while composing their sacred scores was so intense it spilled over into their secular music as well. Our ability to understand and appreciate various types of music depends upon our cultural backgrounds and our past exposure to different styles. Adams certainly expressed what many of us feel about church music ("Music Is a Language, " Sept. 12). You can have your fame and your fortune, but. Pastor Ronald Wright, sitting to my left, explained part of the reason: "Many of those in the choir, " he said, "are singing from their own experience. There are many different ways to look at this question. Such snobbery is unbecoming. I was familiar with the piece and, like many others under the big triple tent, could hardly wait for the point of high drama I knew was coming. If we were to use more educated professionals to provide the musical portions of worship, we might be able through constant exposure to counteract the deplorable influence of pop culture on our worship services. Adams' response to those letters, The War Department, was also reprinted from the Adventist Review at that time. Elder H. M. Richards, Sr., used to describe the music department as "the war department of the church. "
If you've never participated in something like that, you have no idea how powerful worship can get. Yet another aspect of the issue is that of intellectualism versus emotionalism. See Letters, Adventist Review, November 14, 1996. Some people will fight for a chance on stage. Because of space, our editorials are necessarily tight with no room for a single redundant word. And gratuitous caveats take up valuable space. What seems to have ruffled the feathers of these musicians was their assumption that (a) I was tarring all musicians with the same brush, (b) I was knocking all classical music, and (c) I was suggesting that suitable worship music should appeal to the heart only, and not also to the mind. What I'm trying to say is that there is a kind of music that primarily feeds the mind, and another that feeds the soul. Margarita Merriman of Massachusetts was "saddened" by what she regarded as my "barbed thrust" at our professional musicians. But that is not to say that no great sacred music has been written in the last 250 years. It was again reprinted in the Autumn 1997 issue of Notes, along with response letters that had been sent to the Adventist Review and another sent to IAMA when it was printed in Notes.
While I usually appreciate Roy Adams's editorials, I was saddened at his barbed thrust at our professional musicians. And our audience should be clear about what we are trying to say, whether it be in a Bible study, a sermon, or a musical rendition. I believe in high standards, and am often appalled by what's coming into some of our churches. Sharon Dudgeon, Berrien Springs, Michigan. This brings me to my final question. The fact is that I have a native love for the classicals. "The larger the church, " she wrote, "the less inspirational the music is at times.
Lyrics To I Choose Jesus
And the hills are hard to climb. Musically, the highpoint came in the late Baroque with the music of J. S. Bach and Handel. Under the direction of Panchita Mitchell of West Palm Beach, the group presented the piece I've Decided to Make Jesus My Choice. Words and music by Harrison Johnson, Copyright 1969-1971 by Planemar Music Company.
One that ordinary people find obscure, dense, inaccessible, and another that lifts their burdens. Ask us a question about this song. Some people live for, for [? Are we to judge the suitability of a selection by "audience" reaction? You can have all of this world. Sign up and drop some knowledge.
Whether amateur or professional, the Lord can use our talents, whatever they may be, for His work. " A more shallow and vapid environment can hardly be imagined. You can have your name in lights. One that appeals to our aesthetic sensibilities, and another that probes the deepest recesses of our spiritual beings. No one can show that He is more impressed with CWM Rhondda than Kum ba ya. We can't afford to write off either group. Peter Mathews, Freelance composer and conductor, St. Augustine, Florida. God is big enough to accept all of us as his children, so we need to try to accept each other and not condemn. You have to have been there.
Adventist Review, September 12, 1996. All this world) And He's all this world to me. As the piece ended, many people, including members of the choir themselves, were in tears.