HHBC Music Ministry

I need to take a little break from the usual use of my blog to write about the music ministry in our church. On Wednesday evening (9/5), I met with people who are either currently serving or are interested in serving in music at HHBC. I mentioned how our growth numerically has presented us with a number of ministry items that present with increased opportunities for the Lord. Music is one of those. The numerical growth of the church overall means there also are more and more people interested in serving musically, something for which I praise the Lord! So one of the purposes of the meeting Wednesday night was for me to share a little of what's in my heart as a pastor for the music ministry of our church. By the way, I wasn't thinking of all this as "fixing" anything, as much as simply continuing to articulate an existing foundation for strategies as we continue to grow. I also want to express how much I appreciate the sacrificial service of everyone currently involved, especially Jim and Greg who have provided so much effective leadership already.

So then, here's what is on my heart with regard to the foundation of our music ministry.

The music ministry of HHBC is intended to reflect our commitments to:

• MISSION - Our church mission is "Wholehearted love for God, Christ-like love for people" (Matthew 22:37-40). Our music is intended to be a means of expressing this mission.
• OBEDIENCE - Our music ministry is intended to be a response of obedience to God’s commands and models governing the use of music (e.g. Psalm 100:4). Part of an obedient response includes our having a consistent testimony in daily life, as opposed simply to a "stage presence" that makes one kind of claim about our walks with the Lord and a "private life" that reveals something else altogether.
• WORSHIP – adoration, submission, humility, and celebration from the heart, both directed to and about (throughout the Psalms). "From the heart" is an important part of this. The Lord is not please with just going through the outward motions of worship. He wants our hearts to be engaged. And when they are, it will show.
• CONVERSION - Psalm 40:3 speaks of God having put a "new" song in our mouths. This emphasizes that there is a difference between the music of the world and the music that comes from God through our having been converted to Christ. Christians have "messages" to sing about that the world does not have. Psalm 40:3 indicates that when we sing those new messages, people "see" it and put their trust in the Lord.
• CHRISTO-CENTRISM - We intend for our music to be a means of proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ (which encompasses everything about him from his pre-incarnate existence to his current session at the right hand of the Father to his Second Coming - Colossians 1:15-20). As important as it is to sing about "God"; what makes our worship distinctively Christian is the emphasis we place on Jesus as the Son of God, the One Mediator, the Savior, the Lord of all, etc.
• THE WORD – We intend for the music we sing and play to express Bible truth and its application to daily life (1 Timothy 4:13).
• DISCIPLESHIP and EDIFICATION - The music ministry of our church is not only intended to be a way of disseminating truth and application to others in the audience; it also is intended as a means of discipling our musicians. In this way, we are "building up one another" (Ephesians 4:29).
• BODY LIFE and SERVICE - Our music is intended as a means of serving out of giftedness while expressing our position and relationships in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12).
• EXCELLENCE – Our music ministry is intended to be a means of modeling “no higher calling, no greater honor than to bow before your throne” (Philippians 1:9-11).

More later on how these foundational values translate into specific goals.