I walked into the auditorium to find everyone deep in worship. I was running unavoidably late for the concert due to some traffic delay, so as soon as I arrived I immediately “keyed” into the corporate worship atmosphere-I do love to worship so this was really my “thing”.
No sooner had I joined than the worship session wound to a close and the compere for the event took the stage and asked everyone to kindly take their seats. I sat down and quickly made a mental note to “keep it together” as I really wanted to get the best out of the concert.
The compere introduced the next act- a rap group and I sat back in expectation- Sad to say I almost couldn’t hold back my disappointment as my mood quickly changed from excited to upset. Well, the crowd seemed to enjoy it, spurring the rapper on… but for me, there was one big problem… great rhythm, nice melody, and flow but I just couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Now you’re probably trying to figure out what my problem was…. Simple! The single most important difference between a Christian and a secular artist is that a Christian artist is a minister (a dispenser) of the word of God through music, so how could this qualify as a ministration when the word wasn’t getting dispensed? The artists might as well have been singing a nursery rhyme.
Effective communication is key to the dispensing of the word we preach and the gospel we teach. The bible says “how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
As the preacher in this context, it is your responsibility as a minister to know the word for yourself so as to be able to communicate the same to your hearers and ensure they can hear your words so that they may be saved. Remember, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. As you serve the word of God in music, your hearers are converted- music is great and can bring great merriness to the soul but it is the entrance of the word that provides the true light and creates joy as a product of the recreated human spirit.
Taking a cue from Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:4 which says “And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, I love to say “and my singing and ministering was not with the enticing rhythm of the drum and soulful melody of music but in a demonstration of the Spirit and power”!
We are word-based singers and must unashamedly dispense the gospel with the word as our foundation and clarity of speech as an aid. Never make the mistake of substituting the clarity of the word for the sake of artistry. This is how to be a vessel unto honour, fruitful, productive, and fit for the master’s use.
Remember, if there are questions about gospel music you have been meaning to ask… or maybe you just want some clarification on any of my posts, hit me up at breathings@pozytv.com. I will certainly try to answer, as long as the answer can be found on this side of God’s world… otherwise, we will just have to wait till we get to heaven😊😊😊😊😊😊
