Making the Leap

After three-and-a-half years serving in music ministry, I am still amazed at the interesting places this job has taken me! If you had asked me when I accepted the job if I would one day be blogging you would have gotten quite a chuckle out of me. But here I am, preparing to share my thoughts, prayers, and vision for worship ministry with anyone who stumbles across this site, and it is both an exciting and humbling experience.
My family will chuckle,too. After all, only a couple of years ago I was asking them to limit their dinner table discussions to things I could also discuss, and the world of technology was not one of those subjects! But standing still, both literally and figuatively, is not healthy for anyone. Over the last five years, as I have struggled to learn to use current technology, I have continually reminded myself that the culture is not going to "stay put" for me, and if I don't move with it, I will soon be a dinosaur!
I believe we are experiencing some of that same tension in the world of sacred music. Being open to new things (like technology) doesn't mean that I don't still use the written word to communicate my thoughts about the theology of worship, but it does allow me into the conversation that is necessary to remain in a relationship with our culture. And, in the church, being open to what might be useful for communicating the Gospel through music, while requiring the exploration of new forms, doesn't mean I will be "throwing the baby out with the bathwater", either. While I struggle to learn, grow, and discern God's desires for our particular congregation, I hope to express my thoughts about the process here. Perhaps others will also share their reflections. Let's have a discussion!