From B.B. King to The Sugarhill Gang: How Music informs ministry
I’ve been taking a class on Tuesday evenings for the last few weeks entitled “Bless Your Soul”. I was intrigued to take this online class offered by Union Presbyterian Seminary initially because one of my favorite people, Rev. Bill Buchanan is leading the course. Bill was the Associate Pastor of my home church; he was the youth minister there and without him I doubt very seriously I would be in ministry today. Bill was the pastor who baptized me when I was fourteen years old and preached at my ordination service in 2010. I do not exaggerate when I say he is one of my favorite people on the planet.
The class that Bill is leading explores theology and faith through the lens of American music history. Each week we’ve explored a different genre, each one building upon the ones before it. We’ve explored the roots of the music, the types of instruments and musicality, and the culture from which the genres stemmed. We have discussed blues, jazz, soul, funk, and hip hop. After we spend time talking about the music, listening to various songs, we talk about how the genre’s notable elements might inform life in the church. This doesn’t mean we talk about how we can incorporate jazz music into a worship service (although I have seen that done beautifully). Rather, how the structure of the music might inform us.
For example, in Jazz music, a defining feature is that there is room for every instrument to have a solo. The solo space isn’t defined, nor is it only for the percussionist or the guitar, but everyone has a chance to let loose and put their own spin on the song. Furthermore, you get your one opportunity to have a solo, then you slide back and let someone else take the spotlight. This could apply in the church as we remember that every member has a voice to be heard, whether that be in church leadership as an elder, or teaching and preaching. You may recall an important of the Presbyterian faith is being “the priesthood of all believers.”
Another example would be hip hop. Bill calls hip hop the music of reformation. Now considering that Bill once came on stage at Montreat Youth Conference under the name The Right Rev. Smooth and sang a rap about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation… I was really excited to hear him talk about hip hop. When hip hop first came on the stage it was in response to disco. Where disco was the upbeat, dazzling dance party of the upper class…hip hop was that which illuminated the extremely difficult and troubled experience of black people living in the Bronx. And at a time when music and the arts were not available in schools, young black artists who didn’t have access to the instruments of the previous generations used ingenuity to create their own sound by pulling beats from their parents’ records and rapping over those beats. Much like the blues they spoke hard truths. Much like jazz, there were often collaborations among artists. For our context, hip hop can be a reminder to build upon our traditions and find ways to honor them while also retooling them to speak into a changing worldview.
It has been a really interesting exploration of the intersection of music and faith, and something I would not have participated in had someone whose wisdom I deeply value had not been leading the class. I don’t know a lot about music, but I do enjoy thinking metaphorically and creatively about ministry and faith. It has been a good reminder to put ourselves into situations that challenge and ultimately inspire us if we are open to it.