Annotated Bibliography 2

Source #2 Bibliography

10 pts

Evans. Open up the doors : music in the modern church. vols. London : Equinox, 2006. Available: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/6888.

Annotation:

This book/excerpt is primarily about the modern church and controversies within it specifically relating to worship music. It addresses mainly the adherence of many churches to old hymns and choir based music, while the evangelical church sticks to a more secular form of worship, both with its downfalls. It debates the pros and cons of each, while searching for the best and most rational middle ground.

Potential Quotes:

“… some Christian musicians have proposed that modern life in the Western world is far more affluent and enjoyable than previous decades. If so, then Christians’ desire to see the return of Christ, or to take their place in heaven immediately, might have diminished. Combine this with modern teaching on the abundant life that can be experienced by the believer, or the general positivism present in many contemporary churches, and it’s easy to see why thoughts of the ‘end times’ have been pushed further back in the collective psyche.” (p. 148)

“Now to be sure this is not the most uplifting topic to sing about—but it is a major theme of the Bible. To ignore it is to pick and choose our theology. As with Eschatology songs, hymns dealing with the judgement of God were a common feature of older hymnbooks. The ‘fear of the Lord’ was often the source of musical deliberation, with a strong rhythm and urging organ the perfect accompaniment.” (p. 152)

Assessment:

This source is written by a christian and also a music professor. He is musically talented and educated, giving him the credibility to comment on both the history of music in churches and the current state of music in churches. As a christian he also has a certain leeway to criticize the music in churches, as he is an insider who has experienced this. He is well educated in all the topics he discusses in his book.

Reflection:

I think I could use it to show ways in which the church could improve and become more relevant to outsiders while retaining substance. It is also of particular interest to me because I am a worship leader at church.

Summary:

This book/excerpt is primarily about the modern church and controversies within it specifically relating to worship music. It addresses mainly the adherence of many churches to old hymns and choir based music, while the evangelical church sticks to a more secular form of worship, both with its downfalls. It debates the pros and cons of each, while searching for the best and most rational middle ground for church attraction and progression. It explores the modern day predicament in the American church of traditional versus modern, or what many see as legalistic and complacent. Through the world of music this book is able to pinpoint the differences between each and criticize it for hope of improvement. Multiple quotes from the portions I read stood at to me as ones that I could use within my project and to aid me in research, such as: “… some Christian musicians have proposed that modern life in the Western world is far more affluent and enjoyable than previous decades. If so, then Christians’ desire to see the return of Christ, or to take their place in heaven immediately, might have diminished. Combine this with modern teaching on the abundant life that can be experienced by the believer, or the general positivism present in many contemporary churches, and it’s easy to see why thoughts of the ‘end times’ have been pushed further back in the collective psyche.” (p. 148)

“Now to be sure this is not the most uplifting topic to sing about—but it is a major theme of the Bible. To ignore it is to pick and choose our theology. As with Eschatology songs, hymns dealing with the judgement of God were a common feature of older hymnbooks. The ‘fear of the Lord’ was often the source of musical deliberation, with a strong rhythm and urging organ the perfect accompaniment.” (p. 152) This source is written by a christian and also a music professor. He is musically talented and educated, giving him the credibility to comment on both the history of music in churches and the current state of music in churches. As a christian he also has a certain leeway to criticize the music in churches, as he is an insider who has experienced this. Others who may be outside of the church would not have the experience or credibility to be critical of either the modern or foundational church. He is well educated in all the topics he discusses in his book. It came from a credible website as well as all these other things. I think I could use it to show ways in which the church could improve and become more relevant to outsiders while retaining substance. Also, it particularly speaks to me as a worship leader as I feel music is a large part and draw of modern day churches. Worship can be a large draw or it can be the element of a service that turns others away. It is interesting to explore the effect music can have on my essential question and my research as a whole.