Christian BOARDING SCHOOL WEST COAST
MAKING MELODY by Ralph Carmichael, Christian Musician, Composer, Conductor
Established, a c c re d ite d , coeducational Christian Day School investigating advis ability of Boarding School operation. Would welcome information concerning: prospec tive students; site, preferably rural estate with well watered arable soil; financing initial costs. For further information write Box 159 King's Business Magazine. FILMS AND FILMSTRIPS WITH A MESSAGE — For Sunday School Youth, Adult Groups, and Camps. IHANSEN'S Newest Releases CHURCH Projectors & Screens ■ pH Catalog on request (G ive name of church)- 1463 Vine St. Hollywood 28, Calif. HOIlywood 3-3155 CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY It is a pleasure to announce a l o n g overdue ministry: Christ- centered litera ture in the field of psychology. For one y e a r you will receive each month (1) A small month- ly maga z i ne pa c kefd with helpful articles on Christian Psychology, and (2) A valu able booklet. Booklets: Self-Confidence. How to Handle Fear, Your Courtship and Marriage, Christian View of Birth Control, Adopted Children, Children With Serious Problems, Why a Psychologist Believes the Bible, Married to an Unbeliever, Tech niques of Counseling, How to Save Time, Techniques of Teaching, others. A gift of ten dollars toward Dr. Ndrra- more's national radio and Christian Liter ature Ministry, will make you a member, receiving these materials EACH MONTH for a year. Valuable for daily living, writ ing, speaking and counseling. Receipt for tax purposes will be sent immediately. This is a non-profit, Christian corporation. (Dr. Narramore, graduate of Columbia Univ., is a credentialed psychologist.) USE THIS ORDER BLANK To: Dr. Clyde M. Narramore, Counsulting Psychologist, Box 206, Pasadena, Calif. Dept. KB $10.00 enclosed for membership ................ $5.00 end. today, $5.00 next month........... NAME: ........................................................................... ADDRESS: .....................................................................
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W e l l , at last I am giving to you my thoughts on music directors and music committees. Most of my adult life I have had a church choir. One of the first things the local choir director will have to recognize is that he is not standing in front of a group of professional singers. The profes sional singer is interested in two things; viz, the gainful employment in the field of music and the pure art form of music . . . its performance and interpretation. He has a reputa tion to maintain and a musical con science to which he must remain true. The volunteer church choir is made up of people who are interested in music in so far as its demands do not exceed their capabilities. They prob ably enjoy music, but their lives are not built around music. Their contri bution to the musical program of the church is their way of serving the Lord. This is their place of Christian service. Then, also, there is a need for social expression which they receive from their affiliation with the church choir. So, you see, the sooner you recognize the attitude of the people you are leading, the quicker you will be able to adjust to them and to find a common ground upon which to build a good musical organization. The discipline of a volunteer church choir must build upon a different premise from the discipline of a pro fessional o r g a n i z a t i o n . A music director may be a perfectionist, but if he discriminates against the members of his choir because of their imper fections, his ministry will be cur tailed. It is just as important that you understand human nature in working with the church choir as it is that you have great understanding of choral technique. I have seen church choirs diminish and disperse under the leadership of a great musician while other choirs have flourished and expanded under the leadership of a person who actually could not spell out the notes of a C chord. Don’t mis understand me. I am not taking sides one way or the other. I am merely pointing out that a balance is needed in the musical, spiritual, and social approach of a good minister of music. A minister of music can sit by
smuggly and give the congregation what he feels they need. He can set out to be a one man crusade to im prove the musical tastes of the con gregation. I feel that this is a mistake. On the other hand, I know men who have no conscience as far as choosing the music that will be enjoyed by the congregation. He gives them what they want whether it is good or bad. All he cares about is the effect that the music has upon them. Here again I take a stand for balance. I think that the music that we sing and play in our churches should be effective and, at the same time, our conscience should tell us that we must be con cerned with the kind of music that we give the people. It is necessary to give some thought to raising the standards of our music and teaching the people to appreciate lofty music . . . great music. But we must also guard against the danger of shooting over their heads with music that they neither understand nor appreciate. I think I owe you a specific sug gestion regarding what I consider the middle of the road approach to an effective ministry of music in a local church. The Sunday morning service should include congregational partici pation in the singing of great old hymns. The people should be encour aged to sing them with feeling and enthusiasm. The morning service should include a solo . . . carefully chosen to turn the heart of the listener toward worship and inspiration. This should be a sacred classic rather than a gospel solo. Each morning worship service should include a well prepared anthem by the choir. The policies of the Sunday evening service are large ly dictated by the attitude of the pas tors. In my opinion, the music of the evening service should inspire the heart of the believer and draw the heart of the unbeliever to the Saviour, thus preparing everyone present for the spoken word that is to follow. This means, of course, that the music of the evening service will be much lighter than the music of the morning service. It should include a couple of gospel solos, perhaps chosen for their topical similarity to the evening mes- (Concluded on Next Page)
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