Singing and Making Music, by Paul S. Jones

For a non-musician like myself, this is a very helpful book. Paul Jones is the Organist and Music Director for Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and has written something of a primer for understanding the role of music in the worship of the church.

There is no question that God's people are to worship him with music. The Psalmist tells calls us to "sing to the Lord a new song" (Ps. 149:1), and the apostle Paul exhorts the Ephesians to "[address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart" (Eph. 5:19). Exactly how we are to worship God with song and music, however, is a matter of no little debate, a debate which unfortunately has produced more heat than light.

From the perspective of a church musician, and a Christian committed to the Scriptures as the final authority in matters of worship, Jones seeks to add light to this contentious issue. His essential point is that the church, in her use of music in worship, must pursue excellence. This means both faithfulness to God's Word in matters of music, and offering to God the very best music and singing we possibly can.

I was personally challenged by his stress on the importance of church leaders having some degree of musical competence. He quotes Martin Luther as saying, "We shouldn't ordain young men to the ministry unless they be well schooled in music" (pg. 142). Ouch! - this is one area in which I am certainly lacking (every time we sing a hymn, I take a few steps back from the microphone). As a remedy, Jones calls for Christian colleges and seminaries to make musical education a much greater priority than it is now. I had never thought about that before.

Jones also covers everything from Contemporary Christian Music (of which he is critical), to the use of instruments in worship (which he enthusiastically advocates), to the myth that Luther used bar songs for his hymn tunes (which he debunks), to providing guidance on how a church can acquire a pipe organ (which probably hadn't even entered the mind of most of his readers!), to the musical genius of past Christian composers such as Bach (which was very technical, and above my head).

The book is thought-provoking, enlightening, and practical. I highly recommend it as a valuable guide in thinking through the current debates over music in worship.

Miscellaneous

October 13th.
This date is an unhappy anniversary for my family. Twelve years ago, on October 13th, my sister Meredith died after a long and heroic struggle with a failed bone-marrow transplant for leukemia. I wish she could meet Robyn and the kids, and see what "the boy" (as she referred to me) has been up to all these years. I'm sure she'd have something funny to say. It makes me sad to think about it.

Pastor's appreciation.
It's always good to be appreciated. October is Pastor Appreciation Month, and the church expressed their thanks with a nice cake and balloons. It was a very thoughtful gesture, and an encouragement to me. Several people also made a point of thanking me for my service. This is a good group of people, and I am thankful that God has led us here to serve them.

"Change-over."
A fall and spring ritual in Alaska, at least in this part of the state, is "change-over." This is where you take the summer tires off your car and put on the studded tires (and vice verse in the spring) . I arrived at the tire shop at 6:45 a.m. this morning, 45 minutes before they open, and already there were 13 customers ahead of me. Nearly two hours and 55 dollars later, our Suburban was ready for winter.

ESV Study Bible

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the brand-new ESV Study Bible. I've been reading the English Standard Version since it was first published in 2001, and it is the Bible I use exclusively in preaching and teaching.

I believe it is the best English translation of the Bible out there. It is both very readable and faithful to the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures. Whereas the New American Standard Bible is quite literal, the English is too wooden. And whereas the New International Version is very readable, the translators go too far in translating the "sense" of a verse, rather than the words themselves. The ESV strikes a good balance between the two: an accurate translation in natural English.

Morever, the ESV maintains much of the traditional language of the King James Bible. The "thees" and "thous" are updated, but the basic structure and wording of familiar passages remain essentially the same,, e.g., "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (ESV, Psalm 23:1).

Since it was first published, the ESV has really taken off, at least in Reformed and Evangelical circles. I think this is good for a couple of reasons. First, for the reasons I've indicated, it is a translation worthy to become, as its name suggests, the standard English version. Secondly, the more one version is uniformly read, and taught and preached from, the easier it will be for Christians to memorize Scripture.

I am excited about this ESV Study Bible. It looks to be a comprehensive resource for Bible study all in one volume: notes, maps, charts, introductions, diagrams, etc., etc. I'm going to order my copy soon.

Trueman on our financial crisis

One of the more thought-provoking seminary professors I had was a church history professor by the name of Carl Trueman. Carl (at Westminster, there was an unwritten rule that professors under the age of 45 or so were on a first-name basis with the students, all the rest were "Dr." so-and-so) is from England and is able to provide a perspective on American culture and politics that we Americans might miss. Plus, he's an historian which gives him a unique take on current events.

Carl has an article posted on one of the websites I frequent, Reformation21.org. It's called "The Freedom of the Christian Market" (click here) and is a very interesting analysis of our current financial mess. You may or may not agree with him on every particular, but it is definitely worthwhile reading.

Miscellaneous

Winter is coming.
We woke up this morning to a white dusting of snow on the ground. It wasn't much, and soon melted, but was a sure sign that winter is around the corner. Another sign was a number of cars that had slid off the highway which we saw on our trip to Anchorage today. In fact, a couple in our church slid off the road themselves on their way to church yesterday morning. The guardrails saved them from going off a bridge. Thanks to God, they were only shaken up and not injured.

"Cheap" gas.
I never thought I would rejoice at $3.98/gallon gas. But that is where it has dropped to now in Wasilla. Amid all the terrible economic news out there, at least this is something positive.

Bad news in the OPC.
The small denomination I belong to, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, recently decided it could no longer maintain a health insurance plan for ministers and employees. The plan was already prohibitively expensive for many, but it is the only coverage many pastors have. It will terminate sometime next year. I was not in the plan, so it will not affect me or my family personally. But I'm sure it will be difficult for some other ministers who depended on it for medical coverage.

We enrolled last year in a high-deductible plan with a Health Savings Account, which has worked out great for us so far. For younger families (or singles) with little to no ongoing health-care expenses, it is an ideal plan. You pay a relatively small monthly premium for a plan that will cover you for a major health problem, and then you are free to deposit a certain amount of money each year into a savings account from which you can draw money for regular office visits, dental work, eye care, or any other usual health-related expenses. It is an excellent option.

High-brow entertainment.
I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but our most recent selection from Netflix was "The Three Stooges." I thought the kids would enjoy it, and did they ever. The antics of Larry, Moe, and Curly, had them cracking up (and me, too). Who needs Pixar when there are the Stooges to provide quality entertainment?

Introducing the next big political star from Wasilla

Election fever has apparently gotten hold of our eldest daughter Meredith. Today she made the following campaign poster:

Vote for Meredith Johnson!!!
She will be the person to say NO! against bad laws!
Will cut taxes (maybe).
Vote for her!

This is the kind of stuff political gurus get paid the big bucks to produce. Passionate but meaningless resolve - against bad laws! A bold promise with a nice "out" in the fine print ("maybe"). We definitely have a politician on our hands.

When I asked her what office she is running for, she said, "Senator, I think." A perfect choice. First, she has a squeaky-clean past. Even the press will have trouble making a scandal out of a seven-year-old's occasional disobedience to parents (not that they wouldn't try, of course - "Meredith Johnson fails to brush teeth." "'Toothgate' scandal embroils candidate."). And, I should add, she has checked out hundreds of books from the Wasilla public library and not once has she ever advocated banning one!

But even more importantly than that, she would make a perfect Senator because she is a born lawyer. I pity the poor soul who will have to face her in debate. Trust me, they won't stand a chance.

So vote for Meredith. Heaven knows we need more Senators against bad laws.