When I picked up Darrly Tippens\u2019 book, Pilgrim Heart<\/em>, I knew something was different: anyone who has a chapter on singing in a book about spiritual disciplines has my interest. Why? Because, no matter how much we talk <\/em>about discipleship, singing music<\/em> plays a role in the development of Christians far more than most realize. In my lifetime, the biggest change I\u2019ve seen in Sunday morning services is the music \u2014 we\u2019re still preaching sermons and taking offerings and greeting one another with The Peace \u2014 and we\u2019re still singing \u2014 but we are singing in a way unlike ever before. When I picked up Darrly Tippens\u2019 book, Pilgrim Heart, I knew something was different: anyone who has a chapter on singing in a book about spiritual disciplines has my interest. Why? Because, no matter how much we talk about discipleship, singing music plays a role in the development of Christians far more than most realize. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[476],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cMusic,\u201d he says, \u201cmay well be the most overlooked of all the spiritual disciplines\u201d (154). What do you think of this?
\nTippens begins with the potent story of Anne Lamott: music drew her into a church and it was the music that washed over her and drew into personal faith. Augustine, too, was overwhelmed by music in the church at Milan. Kathleen Norris thought \u201csinging was the purpose of religion\u201d (147).
\nWorship in the Bible inevitably resorts to symbolic language, image and song. I like this statement by Tippens: \u201cWithout music we are left with talk\u201d (148). Thus, he speaks of \u201cmusic\u2019s power to take us where the intellect cannot go\u201d (148). Further, \u201cthe force of hymns is often extraordinary because, when we sing, body, emotion, and intellect are mysteriouisly connected\u201d (150).
\nPerhaps, he says, \u201cthe day is not far off when congregations will devote as much attention to worship music as they do to the preaching or youth programs\u201d (153). I\u2019m not so sure that day has not already arrived in some churches.
\nWe fight about music so his statement from George Ives is so apt: \u201cYou won\u2019t get a wild, heroic ride to heaven on pretty little sounds\u201d (154).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"