A Music Library That Works

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volume 35 - number 3 2013

A Music

Library That Works TM

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getting your music in order Creator’s “Choral Core” Anthems TM the art of effective delegation

Select 20

Anthems

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alleluia

many voices †one song

July 23-26, 2013

on the Baylor University campus

Baylor Center for Christian Music Studies Presents the12th Annual Music and Worship Conference This one-of-a-kind enrichment event features superb clinicians to re-energize and inspire worship leaders, music ministers, children’s choir leaders, and keyboard ministers. Join us for exceptional workshops, music reading sessions, exhibits, concerts, worship and fellowship!

2012 clinicians include: Jerry Blackstone Randall Bradley Keith Christopher Rollo Dilworth Mark Edwards Nan Grantham

Bill Mathis Eric Mathis Joseph Martin David Music Joel Raney Vern Sanders

Ruth Elaine Schram Julie Scott Robbie Seay Tom Trenney

For a full list of presenters, a tentative schedule, or to register Visit: www.baylor.edu/alleluia Phone: (254) 710-2360 E-mail: alleluia@baylor.edu

Follow us on Facebook Continuing Education Units available for qualified participants Alleluia is brought to you by Baylor University, Jubilate!, Choristers Guild, YouthCUE, Texas Baptists, Celebrating Grace Hymnal, and Creator Magazine.

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The Newest Choral Releases from

Beckenhorst Press Fall 2012

We will send you one copy each of our 20 new Fall 2012 releases for just $5.00 to cover the cost of shipping and handling.

Send your check with a copy of this ad to: Beckenhorst Press, Inc. 960 Old Henderson Road Columbus, Ohio 43220 Church__________________________________________________ Attention_________________________________________________ Street___________________________________________________ City_____________________________________________________ State______________________Zip___________________________ Payment must accompany all orders before they can be sent. www.beckenhorstpress.com phone: 614-451-6461

The Choir in Modern Worship A 1 Day Intensive Master Class taught by Vern Sanders

2013

Registration includes FREE EBook & Anthems

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November 7

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The Intensive is NOT a Reading Session It IS an in-depth practical Master Class

how to make any group of singers sound better in 10 minutes or less specific rehearsal techniques using over 15 actual anthems the best way for a choir director to communicate with any group of instrumentalists... including a worship band how to teach your singers to sound great in any acoustic

AND MUCH MUCH MORE...

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Volume 35 - Number 2

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feature

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A Music Library That Works Sorting, Storing, and Managing a Growing Music Library

by Mark

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Bowers

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Front Page

Managing the Growing...

by Vern Sanders

DELEGATE OR DIE AT YOUR DESK

Creator’s Super 15 Anthems

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The Art of Effective Delegation

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by Rob Hewell

Getting Your Music in Order

by Lorraine E Burson

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Last Page

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It is All Worship

Creator’s “Choral Core” Anthem List

by George W Donovan, Jr

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Copying Bad – Borrowing Good

John Nelson

Reviews of new materials

28

20

Steal This Idea!

Select 20 Anthem Reviews

Spotlight on Ministry

Good Stuff

Twitter Feed

in this issue

we look at the “grand central station” of church music and worship ministry...plus a spotlight interview with John Nelson, the Select 20, and a reminder that it is all worship...

2013 | creatormagazine.com

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front page

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by Vern Sanders

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managing the growing...

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s the article by Mark Bowers teaches us, at some point you have to manage the chaos. Systems have to be created, and, of course, rules... sigh...

Too often, though, the rule makers (and I’m not counting Mark in that number) exert their will entirely too early in the growing process. The reality is that growing often involves chaos.

Ever watched a teenager go through puberty?

So the rock and the hard place. Managing things often leads to bureaucracy, which is a short step from “we’ve always done it that way before.” Chaos is, well... chaos. Most institutions, and I do include the church here, attack chaos with a passion. Fear of the unknown and all that.

As creatives (and most of you who are reading this are creatives) it is important to understand that as much as you are comfortable with chaos, the institution is not. And also the people within the institution. Particularly also the “non” creatives.

Look, folks, we already are different than most people who sit in management judgement against us. If we can’t manage the chaos, at least to the extent that those who look through the window don’t see “out of control,” TM

we eventually spend our time putting out the fires that get started. I should say “backfires,” because that’s the way to deal with a chaotic fire that’s out of control. Draw a line and set a fire to burn enough fuel so that the main fire stops for lack of combustible material.

One of the ways to manage the chaos is to delegate, as Rob Hewell teaches.

Which, of course, brings its own set of problems. Now there you are, a creative, managing people. You’re thinking “I didn’t sign up for that.”

But if you choose chaos over delegation, sooner or later somebody is going to “manage” you. And lots of times that means cleaning out your office.

This stuff is on my mind because we’re undergoing something of a “growth spurt” here at Creator. As I write this we are now routinely reaching the half million mark (that’s 500,000) for monthly page views at our website.

Routinely, we have 4,000 people visit our web site every day.

Which leads me to believe that we might be seeing that the chaos of this generation’s worship wars have settled down, and people are back to wanting the kind of helpful, practical information that we provide, both at the website, and here in the magazine.

I think we can manage that.

editor Bob Burroughs editorial board Christine Anderson Hugh Ballou Wendell Boertje Glenn P. Eernisse Allen Henderson Heather Hood Lloyd Larson Douglas Lawrence David Leestma William Lock Carl M. Peters, II Steve Phifer Paul Satre Pamela Urfer Edwin M. Willmington Paul Leddington Wright John Yarrington computer engraving Geyser Ridge Associates printing coordinator Pete Moceri Creator Magazine PO Box 3538 Pismo Beach, CA 93448 (800) 777-6713 creator@creatormagazine.com Creator Magazine (ISSN #1045-0815) is published bimonthly by Creator Magazine. U.S. subscription rates are: $35.95 - 1 year, $59.95 - 2 years, $79.95 - 3 years. Foreign subscriptions (sent printed matter – airmail): Canada and Mexico, add $10 per year to above subscription rates. Other foreign countries, add $25 per year to U.S. rates. (All foreign payments should be made by check in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank.

Unacceptable payments will be returned).

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Copyright © 2013 by Creator Magazine. All rights reserved. Printed and distributed in the U.S. by Emerald City Graphics, Kent, Washington.

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leadership network Throughout the magazine you’ll find these funny looking squares. Scan them with your smart phone and be taken directly to the more in-depth information at creatormagazine.com.

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publisher Vernon Sanders

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Join CLN. You’ll get regular emails to help you to do your ministry better, and access to special content on Creator’s website. To join, just use the Register button on any page at creatormagazine.com.

by Mark Bowers

feature

a music library that works sorting, storing, and managing

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o you’ve just left your pastor’s office after an extended worship planning session. You have the preaching plan for the next six months, and you have talked with one another about how to make God’s word come alive in worship. Now it’s your task to take those sermon plans back to your office and find just the right “Psalms, hymns and songs of the Spirit” to accomplish the task set before you.

But where do you begin? Your sheet music library is very large, but although everything is filed, it is not very accessible. There are no written records of what is in the library, much less a computerized catalog of the titles.

Whatever will you do?

a growing music library

That is where I found myself almost five years ago when I came to my current church. I inherited a music ministry that has a very rich heritage. The music ministry here had been under the leadership of only two folks spanning the forty years prior to my immediate predecessor. He was here for only a couple of years, much like an intentional interim for the music ministry.

Over that long span of time the library grew to an amazing size for a county seat town First Baptist Church. All three of my predecessors had invested in music of a very high quality across a wide array of musical styles. For years the anthems had been stored in envelopes, filed alphabetically by title, in filing cabinets.

For those who lead worship!

TheWorshipRenewalCenter.com has resources and ideas to help you do worship ministry better 2013 | creatormagazine.com

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I found no written record of the anthems in those files. It certainly was not on a computer. My immediate predecessor had begun the process of moving the anthems to file boxes on shelves, but only made it a little over half way through the chore before he left for another church.

For the first four years of my tenure here I often found myself in our music library, walking along the shelves of anthem storage boxes or browsing in the remaining filing cabinets. I was looking at the titles on the boxes or envelopes to see what I could find that might fit with the central idea of the sermons in my pastor’s preaching plan.

Sometimes I would find a title that sounded good only to find that the piece was out of print, or that there were only fifteen copies in the box or envelope. I need at least twenty-five copies for a piece to be usable. I soon realized, “This music library doesn’t work for me, or anybody else for that matter.”

building an “effortless” music library is not an effortless task Over the last year I have worked very hard, with the help of a tireless volunteer and my part time ministry assistant, to transform our music library into a library that makes sense and is easy to navigate, so that the process of finding the right musical materials to facilitate worship and build disciples becomes almost effortless.

Building an “effortless” library, however, is not an effortless task. It has taken many hours, especially on the part of

my volunteer. The process has been a journey of steps. We’re not finished catching up with the job quite yet, but we’re getting very close. I would like to share our journey with you.

To have a music library that works you must begin with the end in mind, especially when approaching a task the size of the one we have undertaken.

I had to decide what I wanted our “music library that works” to look like.

I wanted a music library that would be computer accessible by searching a variety of fields of information, including title, composer or arranger, lyricist, publisher, topic or theme, voicing, and related scripture. I wanted all usable anthems with over 25 copies on the shelves in a box with a library number. Pieces that we might use for a small ensemble that had fewer than 25 copies were to go in a filing cabinet.

I wanted to be able to identify where a copy of an anthem would belong on the shelf or in the filing cabinet at a glance so that it could be returned to

Creator’s Super 15 Anthems Staff

Where were you in 1998?

That year, Creator took a look back at all of the Honored 10 Anthem lists up to that point, and produced a “best of the best” list – the Super 15 Anthems.

It did not mean, as we noted at the time, “these are the best 15 titles ever printed,” and in fact many of these anthems may be unknown to a large percentage of church choir directors.

Part of this is the “tyranny of the new” attitude in many churches, and part of it is because tastes have changed. Be that as it may, we believe these anthems would all serve well for inclusion in any church’s choral music library.

Here’s the list. See how many you have in your library.

A Gift of Alleluia – Gilbert M. Martin (Exaltation/Lorenz #10/1165)

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A Look Back to 15 Years Ago A Star – Pepper Choplin (Purifoy/Lorenz #10/1048) Behold Calvary’s Lamb – Jay Rouse/Randy Vader (PraiseGathering #AO8189) Behold The Lamb Of God – Craig Courtney (Beckenhorst #BP1420) Can This Be God’s Son? – Lloyd Larson (Beckenhorst #BP1436) He Will Quiet You With His Love – Cindy Berry (GlorySound #A-6848) Is There Any Word From The Lord – Ken Bible (Lillenas #AN-8092)

A Hymne To God – Donald Busarow (Augsburg Fortress #11-4518)

Lord, We Come to You – David B. Leestma ~ Bryan Jeffery Leech (Fred Bock #BG2258)

All The Way My Savior Leads Me – Gregg Sewell (Lorenz #10/1096)

Lover Of Us All – Dan Schutte (OCP #9903)

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O Gentle Jesus – Joseph Martin (Shawnee #A-6753) O Vos Omnes (All Who Pass By) – John V. Mochnick (Hinshaw #HMC-1207) Send Your Word – Thomas Keesecker (Concordia #98-3133) To You I Call – Dale Grotenhuis (Thomas House/Fred Bock #1C1019505) What is your criteria for choosing repertoire at your church? Are you “all in” on the latest, greatest, or do you plumb the depths of your church’s choral library? Let us know by leaving a comment on Creator’s Facebook Give us your opinion at page. http://cmag.ws/4i

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start with the end in mind its proper file box or envelope. I wanted instrumental music filed in such a way that it would be easy to find in the files and easy to return to its proper place.

Knowing all of these things, there were several steps that we had to take to start the transformation of our library.

Here is what we’ve done, and these are the steps you will need to take to build a music library that works.

Identify an appropriate space This is just a given fact. Having a music library means that you must have storage space that is appropriate (large enough) for the library. Remember that most libraries will grow, so think ahead.

We happen to have one room that is large enough and in a good location to house our library. Shelves were built along one wall in that room and there is adequate room to add free-standing shelving as needed. We are getting ready to do that now so that our anthem library can continue to have adequate space to grow.

There is also room for several filing cabinets that house hymn sheets for our choir’s use and the instrumental library – which is divided by ensemble type and filed alphabetically by title. We have a drawer for hymn orchestrations, one for solo and solo/accompanied instrumental material, one for brass and woodwind ensembles, one or two drawers for full orchestrations of anthems,

and a drawer or two for orchestrations of musicals, collections and oratorios.

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You don’t have to have an entire room if your library is not that large, but you do need space dedicated just for the library. It might mean a wall of shelving in your choir room with a couple of filing cabinets. There might be a large closet or a small unused classroom that is big enough for your library. Fit the space to the library, with some room for growth, but find a dedicated space.

we run upon a snag in the process. This project would have never happened without her help, and I would still be looking at the prospect of perusing the titles on the music file boxes and filing envelopes for years to come. The task was just too large for me to do it alone and in a timely manner, especially while doing the other ministry tasks to which I am called. Get some help!

Enlist a volunteer or team of volunteers

Decide on a storage system and purchase adequate storage materials

The larger the library, the more extensive the process of cataloging it. Doing it well requires an immense amount of time. I have one very dedicated retired volunteer who was looking for something to do and came to me asking if I had some volunteer work in the music ministry that she could do. She has been just the right person for this job.

She is very organized, learns quickly and follows directions well. She is also creative and looks for solutions when

My predecessor began the process of buying storage boxes before I came.

They can be expensive, so this has taken us some time. Our library is quite large, with over 1300 anthems, not counting musicals, collections, or oratorios.

If storage boxes are not affordable for your situation you could start with an envelope system, but I have found that envelopes are not easy on the printed octavos and the music lasts longer in a box. For that reason I would encourage investing in anthem storage boxes. In our case, because there were so many anthems to move from the filing cabinet to the shelf we started the process by allotting a portion of our music budget every year for music library materials.

Since our anthem library was filed alphabetically by title in the filing cabinet, that is how my predecessor began to shelve the boxes, alphabetically by title. The problem with that system is that, even if you leave a gap in between each letter, once you run out of space in the “B” section everything after that point on the shelves has to

for further reading • Repertoire: Select, Prepare, Present (a 3 part series) – Don Fontana • Get Out of Your Musical Rut – Otis Skillings • Organ Repertoire List – Paul Oakley • Criteria For Selecting Children’s Repertoire – Jo Ann Butler • Publisher and Editors: Idiots or Ogres? – John Ness Beck • Do-It-Yourself Hymn-Anthems – Rebecca Smeltzer • Selecting Music Worth the Price – Timothy W Sharp • Music Search on a Small Budget – Bob Burroughs You can find many of these articles and/or buy the Choir Articles Compliation CD for just $19.95 at http://cmag.ws/6k. All articles are available by calling 800-777-6713.

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be moved forward to insert one box.

That could mean re-shelving your entire library.

We are still moving anthems from the last filing cabinet full of anthems to the shelves, so once that task is completed

we will assign a library number to each anthem in order of the copyright date, re-label the boxes with a library number on the box, and then rearrange them on the shelves in order of library number. Box 0001 will hold the oldest copyrighted anthem in our library. The more recent copyrighted anthems will have the highest numbers.

Alternatively, you can add newly acquired anthems at the end of your “first pass” alphabetical shelves, and depend upon a cross reference “card catalog” list – either digital or a printed copy. Whatever system you use, think it through before you begin, because the larger the library, the more difficult it will be to change the system going forward.

Once our boxes are re-labeled we will then stamp each anthem with the appropriate library number using an adjustable number stamp. This is a stamp with a rolling adjustable rubber band for the numeral in each place (ones, tens, hundreds etc.) You can buy one from most office supply warehouses for around $10. When a new anthem is added to the library we will then simply assign the next available library number and add that box to the end of the library.

Remember that I said earlier that I wanted to keep the anthems with less than 25 copies in the filing cabinet. Yes, it does complicate things a bit, but I believe that there are two good reasons for this: I can’t justify 1) the expense of a box or 2) the loss of space on the shelf for only 12 copies of an anthem.

For those that stay in the filing cabinet we will use the same process as with

•

Getting Your Music in Order

Lorraine E Burson

Anyone involved in church music has searched “endlessly” for that one piece of music that everyone “knows is here,” but no one remembers just where. Yet if you do a search you discover piles of music everywhere – stacks of old hymnals, piano books, vocal solos, and more.

Before you begin the cataloging process, the entire church should be scoured for all unclaimed and misplaced musical items. Don’t forget to look in all the cupboards in all the classrooms, because you’ll never know what turns up (Ask first, though!).

Sort what you find and attempt to return items belonging to church members.

Can’t figure out who a piece of music belongs to? You can fairly safely assume it is church property going forward.

Weed and clean what remains, discarding things that are beyond repair, and catalog everything else.

Now comes the fun part. Decide early on (see feature article) on cross-reference categories. One guide for this is the Sears List of Subject Headings, which was formulated by Minnie Earl Sears in 1923, and which you can find at http://archive. org/details/listofsubjecthea010576mbp.

Look below for a QR code which will take you directly to the web page.

Sears List of Subject Headings

Here’s a short list of sample headings to get you started: • Benedictions • Bible • Call to Worship • Easter • Evangelism • Faith • Holy Spirit • Introits • Masterworks • Prayer • Salvation • Spirituals • Testimonial • Thanksgiving • Unison • Youth

Interested in writing for Creator?

We are looking for a few good writers

Check out our Guest Blogger Guidelines

cmag.ws/8a

The Art of Effective Delegation Rob Hewell

In most church music ministries, the music librarian is a critical person. Managing the distribution, collection, and storage of the physical copies of music can be a full time job even in medium sized churches. It is a classic example of a job that needs to be delegated.

Once a task such as the management of the music library is delegated it has two immediate benefits. The delegatee develops a sense of ownership in the task, as well as the program or ministry.

Delegation increases the level of care and the atmosphere of trust; it makes for improved relationships between leaders and members, and develops the skills of everyone concerned. It places the responsibility (and the credit) for group success on more shoulders.

Delegation provides some ease from job pressures for the leader. The delegator gains the freedom to develop new and creative ministry opportunities that they might not otherwise be able to do.

Delegation at its best is ultimately done for the benefit of the program and everyone involved in it. It requires strong leadership and guidance. It should not be an exercise in power and authority.

Delegation doesn’t work when decisions are made under stress, or when there is fear of making a wrong choice. A leader who lacks a sense of trust in others, who

fears the success of subordinates, and believes they can always do everything better will struggle with delegation.

Great leaders, as Walter Lipman wrote “... [leave] behind in others the conviction and will to carry on.” That will only happen as the leader looks at delegating tasks to people as an investment in them.

The most effective delegation is more than a singular act, and carried to its highest levels becomes a process. As a process, delegation is concerned with more than just function or task; the leader’s concern should run deeper than just the job to be performed. Delegation seeks to bring out the best in others by allowing them to invest their skills in the purpose of the organization.

It is also important to realize that one of the greatest examples of delegation was performed by Jesus. A great deal of His ministry was spent in the process of delegation. He even had a name for those chosen to participate – disciple.

Jesus selected His followers carefully.

He told them what the job was, and helped them see the possibilities. He taught them by His own example and by offering them personal experience. Christ shared the resources they would need to accomplish the task, and told them they would be held accountable. Then He set them free to do the job.

Leaders must take the time and expend the effort to invest in others through delegation. We have much to offer, and they have much to give. The transfer of a task is only the beginning. It’s exciting to see others bloom as we: •

share with them a vision for what can be accomplished

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inspire in them a desire to get the job done

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develop in them the skills necessary to do the work

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impart to them the knowledge that applies to the task

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charge them with the responsibility for doing it right

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invest them with the authority to do what’s necessary to see it through to the end

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allow them the freedom to do it to the best of their abilities

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encourage them with the expectation of accountability

Far from being just another burden to the leader of any program, this process can become integral to the development and success of a ministry.

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those that are moving to the shelves.

To identify their location in the computer we will simply begin each library number with either an “S” for shelves (S-0001) or an “F” for filing cabinet (F0001). When we stamp each individual anthem with its library number we will use a black ink pad for the anthems on the shelves and a red ink pad for the anthems in the filing cabinet. That way we will know at a glance where it goes.

Keeping track of all of that data is where the next step comes in.

Decide on an appropriate software package You must decide how much information you want to gather from your music and how you want to manage that information before deciding on a software package for your library. I wanted to be able to do several things with the software that I bought other than just manage the music library. The additional things I wanted to be able to do helped me to determine my choice of software.

you must decide how much information you want to gather from your music and how you want to manage that information before deciding on a software package I looked for software that could help me manage attendance for the music ministry, communicate with people involved in the music ministry, and track and manage equipment. I wanted to be able to assign a topic or theme to each

piece so that by searching the database the software could assist me in worship planning. Since I did not want to spend a lot of time setting up a software program I chose one that was already set up to meet our needs.

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Creator’s “Choral Core” Anthem List Staff

In 1996, Creator’s Editorial Board came up with a list of 95 anthems that should be the core of every choral library. If you are serious about choral music in your worship services, start from this sampling of anthems from the list. To see the whole list go to http://cmag.ws/a0.

150th Psalm - Howard Hanson (C.Fischer #CM7699)

Ezekiel Saw de Wheel - (arr. William Dawson - Kjos #TI IO) Followers of the Lamb - arr. Phillip Dietterich (Agape #AG7223) For the Beauty of the Earth - John Rutter (Hinshaw #HMC550)

A Jubilant Song - Alan Pote (Hope #F979)

Gracious Spirit Dwell with Me - K. Lee Scott (Augsburg # 11-2198)

Agnus Dei from Requiem - Gabriel Faure (FitzSimons #2134)

Greet the Dawning - Jan Sanborn (Fred Bock #SG 2022)

Ain’t Got Time to Die - Hall Johnson (G. Schirmer #10301)

Halleluia from Messiah - Handel (G.Schinner #36121 • Novello #070137)

Alleluia - Ralph Manuel (Hinshaw #HMC927)

Halleluia from Mt. Of Olives - Ludwig Beethoven (G.Schirmer #36121)

Alleluia - Randall Thompson (E.C.Schirmer #1786)

Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal - Alice Parker (LawsonGould #51331)

Alleluia from Exsultate - W.A. Mozart (Alfred #6307 • G. Schirmer #10294)

He Watching Over Israel from Elijah Felix Mendelssohn (G.Schirmer #2498 • Novello #51.0568.04 • E.C.Schirmer #2786 • Plymouth #TR 119)

Arise, Your Light Has Come - David Danner (Genevox #4172-82) Ascription of Praise - David Schwoebel (Hinshaw #HMC6 15) Ave Verum Corpus - W.A. Mozart - (C.P.P.Belwin #64058 • G.Schirmer #50296850 • Hinshaw #HMC490) Awake the Harp from Creation - Franz Joseph Haydn (G.Schirmer #2357) Be Thou My Vision - John Rutter (Hinshaw #HMCI035) Before the Marvel of This Night - Carl Schalk (Augsburg #11-2005) Behold the Lamb of God - Craig Courtney (Beckenhorst #BP1420) Best of Rooms, The - Randall Thompson (E.C.Schirmer #2672) Cantate Domino - Hans Leo Hassler (Bourne #B201863-358) Cantique de Jean Racine - Gabriel Faure (Hinshaw #HMC933) Come to Me - Craig Courtney (Fred Bock #BG2065) Come Worship God - Joseph M. Martin (Flammer #A6919) Create in Me a Clean Heart - Carl Mueller (G.Schirmer #8682) Crucifixus - J.S. Bach (E.C.Schirmer #1174 • Novello #34.0720.09) Crucifixus - Antonio Lotti (C.Fischer #CM-750 1) E’en So Lord Jesus Quickly Come - arr.

Paul Manz (MorningStar #50-0001)

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Ev’ry Valley - John Ness Beck (Beckenhorst #BPI040)

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Hear the Voice and Prayer - Thomas Tallis (E.C.Schirmer #1638) Hide Not Thou Thy Face From Us, O Lord - Richard Farrant (Oxford #42705) Holy Is He - David T. Clydesdale (Royal Tapestry #DTE33032) How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings - Johannes Brahms (FitzSimons #2028) Hush! Somebody’s Callin’ My Name - arr.

Brazeal Dennard (Shawnee #A-1802) I Waited for the Lord - Felix Mendelssohn (G.Schirmer #3439) I Was Glad When They Said Unto Me (Gray #GCMR02404) I Will Sing With the Spirit - John Rutter (Hinshaw #HMC I386)

King of Love My Shepherd Is, The - Harry Rowe Shelley (Presser #312-00303 • Lillenas #AN-2262 • Oxford #3125) Kyrie Eleison - Hans Leo Hassler (Shawnee #A-I605) Last Words of David - Randall Thompson (E.C.Schirmer #2294) Lord for Thy Tender Mercy’s Sake Richard Farrant (Novello #29-0312) Lord Is My Shepherd, The - John Rutter (Oxford #94.216) Majesty and Glory of Your Name, The Tom Fettke (Word #CS2954) May We Praise You - John Foley (NALR #SJ-33) Miserere Mei - Gregorio Allegri (Novello #44.1298.02 • E.C.Schirmer #27) My Eternal King - Jane Marshall (Fisher #CM6752) My Shepherd Will Supply My Need - arr.

Mack Wilberg (Hinshaw #HMCI424) Now Let Us All Praise God and Sing Gordon Young (Galaxy #1.2108) O Clap Your Hands - John Rutter (Oxford #43.378) O Clap Your Hands - Ralph Vaughan Williams (GalaxylStainer #1.5000) O Magnum Mysterium - Tomas Victoria (E.C.Schirmer #1177) O Taste and See - Ra[ph Vaughan Williams (Oxford #43.909) Of the Father’s Love Begotten - arr. Paul Wolgemuth (Hope #A454) Open Thou Mine Eyes - K. Lee Scott (Lorenz #860) Praise to the Lord - F. Melius Christianson (Augsburg #11-0076)

If Ye Love Me - Thomas Tallis (Oxford #42-601)

Salvation Is Created - Pavel Tchesnokov (Plymouth #SC-30 • G.Schirmer #10804 • Bourne #BL2483)

Jesus I Adore Thee - arr. Stephen Caracciolo (Lorenz #HRD326)

Sicut Cervus - Giovanni Palestrina (Presser #352-00075 • G.Schirmer #6444)

Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring - J.S. Bach (H.W.Gray #1238 • CPP Belwin #747 • Mark Foster #214 • G. Schirmer #8387)

Silent Night - arr. Craig Courtney (Beckenhorst #BPI366)

See the Whole List http://cmag.ws/a0

Thy Will Be Done - Craig Courtney (Beckenhorst #BPI263) Ubi Caritas - Maurice Durufle (Presser #312.41253) We Are Singing for the Lord Is Our Light - Hal Hopson (Agape/Hope #HH3449) What Sweeter Music - John Rutter (Oxford #X319) When I Survey the Wondrous Cross Gilbert Martin (Presser #312-40785)

the director’s file is one copy of every anthem in the library to which I can refer in worship planning... I also make rehearsal notes on those anthems I decided to go with the WorshiPlanner software package developed by Jim Faull. It gave me the ability to send a stack of anthems home with my volunteer who then transferred all the basic publication data from those anthems into an Excel spreadsheet merge document that I can now merge into WorshiPlanner.

The pre-set merge file comes with the software and it is almost foolproof. You could share it with several volunteers and enlist a team to help you gather your information.

We are almost ready to merge the files into our library software but we want to make sure every anthem is in the merge file first so that we can assign library numbers before we merge the data. We also want to make sure that the anthems that will stay in the filing cabinet (because we have too few copies for a box) have been separated from those that will be on the shelf.

Quality

As my volunteer finished entering data from anthems starting with each letter of the alphabet, she sent me an Excel data file for that letter. Then she brought those anthem copies back to me and they formed the director’s file which now lives in my office.

The director’s file is one copy of every anthem in the library to which I can refer in worship planning. I also make rehearsal notes on those anthems.

My volunteer pulled those single copies from every individual box as she counted the number of copies of each anthem – all 1300-plus titles. The number of available copies is included in the raw data she entered. I now have a spreadsheet file for the titles of all anthems beginning with each letter of the alphabet.

I have found that just having the file with titles available to me is an invaluable help in planning worship. It keeps me from having to browse the shelves.

I can search the titles in Excel for key words, but I still can’t search by topic or theme. That will come later.

I am currently making the decision about which anthems that are in the filing cabinet will need more copies so that they can be shelved. Those will be put in boxes and placed on the shelf now and I will work from a list to order the additional copies we need for those pieces. Then we will create two separate merge files for the sake of assigning library numbers, an “S” file

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2013 | creatormagazine.com

15

the appropriate library number on the label. Then we can just swap out the old “alphabetical by title” label for the new “library number” label.

The process of reorganizing by library number will then take one good full day of work, but I’ll never have to rearrange boxes on the shelves again.

CONFUSE D ?

If you cannot afford to buy software for this task and already have Excel on your computer you could still accomplish the basic task of setting up your library on computer. It may just require a little more work on your end.

You could set up a spreadsheet with fields for Library number, Title, Composer, Lyricist, Arranger, Text source (if based on scripture, for example), Publisher, Publisher’s Catalog number, Voicing, and Number of copies. Your volunteers could be trained to pull this information from the printed anthems. Add a couple of fields for Topic or Theme, Related Scripture, and Seasonal Usage that you would fill in based on your examination of the anthems’ lyrics and meaning and you would have a searchable database that would help you find suitable music to plan worship.

HELP IS HERE The Choir in Modern Worship is now available for immediate download at www.creatormagazine.com http://cmag.ws/58

You would just need to remember that when you sort any particular field that you “expand the selection” to include all fields or your data will be completely scrambled and you will have to start all over again.

and a “C” file, based on our plan for differentiating shelf or filing cabinet.

Mark Bowers iserves

as Pastor of Worship and Music at First Baptist Church, Thomson, Georgia.

TM

While a spreadsheet or database program such as Excel or MS Access may meet your needs, but some of the added worship planning features of WorshiPlanner added to its specific value for us.

Before assigning library numbers we will sort each merge file (one for the shelves and one for the filing cabinet) by copyright date. That way, once the files are merged into WorshiPlanner, each individual anthem file will already have a library number.

One of the attractive features of this software is that once those library numbers are assigned it will print labels for all of our boxes (or envelopes) with

I will be able to build weekly worship services by pulling information from our music library and from the built-in hymnal databases included in the software. It includes databases from eight different published hymn and

TM

TM

TM

leadership network

need a new position? feeling called to a new ministry?

TM

Browse the resources at http://cmag.ws/v

16

volume 35 - number 3 | creatormagazine.com

Clip Art Sale Order our special Clip Art Package for just $12 (postpaid) by calling 800-7776713. The package includes all of our available books and CDs.

worship song sources that include lyrics which are importable into multimedia formats for congregational use.

Copying

I can also track attendance of choirs and send pre-designed e-mails to absentees with just the click of a mouse. This software has features that reach far beyond just the scope of managing a music library. That’s why I chose it. Choose your software based on what you want to accomplish.

The fact is that no one kept up with a catalog of the music in our library from its earliest beginnings, back in the mid-twentieth century. That is why the task here has been so overwhelming.

Because of what we have learned we are constantly working at the process of keeping the library database current even before our final data system is complete. As new anthems come in we are adding them to the database.

Once the merge happens all of the data from both old and new music will be in our database.

Once the raw data is merged into WorshiPlanner I will then begin the process of taking each individual anthem and assigning topics, themes, related scriptures, etc. to each anthem. Since my volunteer has also entered individual selection titles from songs in all of the musicals and collections in our library, this process will take a lot of time.

Once that task is finished, I will be able to search all of our titles by topic/ theme or related scripture. The speed with which I will be able to find just the right song for just the right moment in worship out of a vast library of music will be greatly enhanced.

Because my calling involves far more than just maintaining the music library I’m thinking it will take a couple of years to catch up with all of this work.

It is a process that will never end, but at least we will finally have a music library that works!

fine

5!

“The best investment you’l make this year”

Bad –

Borrowing Good

By now, most people know that if you use a photocopy machine instead of buying music it is illegal. But perhaps you don’t know that borrowing (and lending) music is not illegal.

Add new music to the database as you purchase it

Get 7 Steps to a $ just 7 Perfect Music Ministry http://cmag.ws/8d Budget

Steal This Idea

Without getting too deeply into the copyright laws (and, we must add the disclaimer that this is not legal advice), the original purchaser has a limited right to lend their music.

The bigger question is, however, whether you are a good borrower or lender. If you were to borrow from us, we’d expect you to not mark up the music, get it back to us promptly when you promised to do so, and replace any damaged or missing copies. If you were to lend music to us, we would want to know what condition the music was in and whether you had enough copies.

Think of it as being like renting a car and you’ll have a good idea of how the process should be.

Got an idea worth stealing? Send it to creator@creatormagazine.com

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2013 | creatormagazine.com

17

good stuff

new stuff Easy Anthems for Classic Worship

Compiled and Arranged by Jane Holstein Hope Volume 3 of this series contains 9 arrangments for the smaller choir.

Things we think would be helpful resources for church musicians and worship leaders...

Worship in Heaven

Glory in the Highest

The Essential Collection for the Church Organist II

and why on earth it matters Tom Kraeuter Training Resources

Marty Parks PraiseGathering An encounter with the Christ of Christmas.

Compiled and Arranged by Jane Holstein Hope

Tom Kraeuter sent us this material prior to its publication. As we read, we found ourselves nodding in agreement. A lot... Style – particularly music style – is not the issue; instead, attitude and focus are all important when it comes to worship.

Highly Recommended.

The second volume in this series contains 50 arrangements from 17 different arrangers.

Handy subject and tune indexes make it easy for an organist to find exactly what they are looking for on a given Sunday morning.

Return to Me Taylor Scott Davis MorningStar Music A choral service based on the Stations of the Cross.

Come Messiah King

Randy Vader, Jay Rouse, and Rose Aspinall PraiseGathering The PraiseGathering team’s latest Christmas musical.

Contemporary

Classics

Bringing The Word To Life Engaging the New

for two voices

Choral Responses Daniel E Gawthrop Dunstan House Ten responses each for Introits, Prayers, and Benedictions. Half are set for SATB, the other half for SAB.

Testament through

Lloyd Larson Hope

Performing It

As the title implies, the collection contains ten mostly contemporary worship song arrangements for medium voice duet.

O Lord of Light

Richard F Ward and David J Trobisch Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Divided into three parts, this book moves from an academic investigation into oral performance and practice in the early church, through the study of a specific manuscript, to examples and exercises designed to help the modern performer tell the story of the Word in a more captivating manner.

Collected by Scott C Weidler MorningStar Music All the music in this collection of 9 two part anthems for the church year was commissioned by Immanuel Lutheran Church of Chicago.

A Heart of Wisdom Pamela Ree Pearson Inspiring Voices

Interludes for Worship

for piano with optional C Instrument

18

String Reflections

Sing with the Angels!

Joel Raney Hope Raney’s new Christmas musical.

The author of this pithy book was charged, over thirty years ago, with creating sayings for the sign outside the church she served. Perfect for any “sign ministry,” the collection of wisdom is a quick read.

for solo violin and piano

Mark Kellner Hope

Joshua Evanovitch Hope

Eleven short and fairly easy (especially for the optional instrumentalist) interludes which will function well as service music, transitions, or underscore music for a worship service.

This is a nice alternative to finding “classical” music solos for the violin. The collection contains nine arrangements based upon familiar hymn tunes.

volume 35 - number 3 | creatormagazine.com

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Worship is Not a Lifestyle Worship is neither a lifestyle nor benevolent actions toward others. It is always, from a biblical standpoint, an act directed toward God...

3 Reasons to Stop Buying Mediocre Music

http://cmag.ws/9y

Why the new performance practice repertoire is probably not being written for your church group... http://cmag.ws/82

4 ways your hurt feelings can “kill” others

http://cmag.ws/a2

4 specific ways your hurt feelings are having a negative impact on others...

Twitter Feed We’ve found that twitter is a great way to find people and information in the areas of our interest. Twitter shouldn’t be intimidating, but its primary ground rule – no post can be more than 140 characters – does take some getting used to.

The good news? You don’t have to spend much time to find out whether something is important to you.The bad news? You can’t always tell if people’s intentions are good. Here are some suggestions of people we find add value to our lives via twitter.

@Creatornow first notice of new articles at Creator’s website @DougLaw Doug Lawrence tweets about church music and worship @gettymusic news and information from Keith and Kristyn Getty @iamanoffering tweets from a “Free Lutheran” worship leader

@jkoerts James Koerts writes about church music and worship

@MSMPublishers what’s new and interesting from MorningStar Music @oldworshipnew some Luther Seminary Masters of Sacred Music

Has it become the Great Comm$$ion?

The realities of running an institution mean that often our most altruistic motivations have to take second place in the contest for our attention, time, and money...

20

http://cmag.ws/9s

volume 35 - number 3 | creatormagazine.com

alumni curate worship articles

@paulbaloche tweets from the well-known singer-songwriter @PhiferSteve Steve is the voice of The Worship Renewal Center @singerlink network with singers and directors all over the planet

@vernsanders Creator’s publisher finds interesting things on the net @theworshipcomm news and information curated by Fred McKinnon @WorshipStudioMM Marcia McFee writes about worship

spot light

ministry

John Nelson

Associate Pastor First Baptist Church Regina, Saskatchewan Creator: Welcome to the “spotlight” John. Can you tell us your specific job description?

John Nelson: I am Associate Pastor of Music and Seniors Ministries.

Creator: How long have you served in this position, and are you full- or part-time?

John Nelson: I am presently completing my 27th year as a member of the FBC pastoral staff, having been Acting

Senior Pastor on two interim periods during this time as well. My role has always been as a full time pastoral staff member.

Creator: Where did you serve before you came to this church?

John Nelson: Prior to being called to Regina, I lived in Calgary, Alberta, where I was registrar and music director at Baptist Leadership Training School for 11 years. This was a post high school educational institution where

young people came for one year instruction in leadership training, taking 1-2 week modular courses in areas of theology, Christian Education, Fine Arts (drama, puppetry, music, etc.), counselling, personal growth, etc.

In the early 80s, my brother, Dr. Gary Nelson (who is now at Tyndale University and Seminary in Toronto, Ontario), had been on staff at this church. After his departure he had maintained a close friendship with senior pastor Dr. George Baxter, and informed him in

creator celebrates every church musician and worship leader... and the ministries of which they are a part. We regularly turn the spotlight on people involved in ministry in order to help inspire and provide ideas for others. If you would like to recommend someone for our spotlight let us know.

2013 | creatormagazine.com

21

1986 that my wife and I were considering a move.

One morning Dr. Baxter phoned me to ask if I would consider a move to Regina to become “part time” associate pastor in music. I told him that we could not consider a move to a part time position, and the short of the long is, after two visits to Regina and meeting the people, we realized that as much as we desired to remain in Calgary, the people and community of Regina had touched our lives during

our short visits. We both felt truly “called” by God to accept the now fulltime Associate Pastor position of Music and Adult Education.

Creator: Do you have opportunity outside the church to participate in events that are close to your heart? I know you just participated in a big bell festival, for instance?

John Nelson: Our church firmly believes in having their pastoral staff involved in what we call “borderland” outreach –

our church believes in having their pastoral staff involved in what we call “borderland” outreach – reaching beyond the church’s walls and being active in the community 22

volume 35 - number 3 | creatormagazine.com

reaching beyond the church’s four walls and being active in the community at large.

For 22 years now I have had the privilege of directing a 45+ mixed community based choir. For three years I was choral director of an adult choir at the Conservatory of Regina.

I have also been encouraged to accept opportunities to work with choral and handbell choirs in the local school systems and surrounding areas, adjudicate at festivals, accept conducting opportunities at various handbell festivals in both Canada and the U.S., be on the Saskatchewan Choral Federation board, accept an invitation to be interim conductor of the Regina Philharmonic Chorus, and have filled in as interim band director at Luther College High School.

Creator: Do you find it difficult to manage ministry in your situation? Do you find your people up to the task of church music?

John Nelson: Music Ministry has become more and more challenging

due to the changing culture and the nature of music in and of itself. More and more of Canadian churches have moved away from a traditional style of worship to a more contemporary or blended format.

Churches who have not adopted the contemporary worship style are challenged by what “face” to put on their worship experience when confronted by the lack of accompanists, directors, and even a choir itself in some instances.

For churches possessing all of these resources, the challenge then becomes maintaining a music program that is relevant, ministry not entertainment oriented, and one that involves dedicated and committed “volunteers” that sense the awesome privilege of serving Him and offering up ones very best to the real audience – The Great Musician.

I am fortunate in that our congregation sees music as being more than an art, but truly a matter of the heart. During my time at FBC, the “music family” of FBC have tried to instill the belief that there is a wonderful power in music.

Our people are up to the task and this is revealed in the over 100+ years of music ministry legacy of the sanctuary choir – the longest serving “small group” ministry in our church.

Creator: What about your colleagues? I know you have hosted an annual conference called Meet Your Musician – tell us about that.

John Nelson: I think that there is a misunderstanding on the part of church leaders and administrators when it comes to seeing the true value and impact that music can have on lives and institutions. Too many still view music as mere entertainment, instead of accepting the life changing influence it has had, and continues to have on our society.

Where this reality is present and encouraged, church music, whether traditional or contemporary, flourishes. Churches need to give life and breath to one of Martin Luther’s sayings, “Second to the Word of God, music deserves highest praise.” The combination of Word and music, compliment one another and make for a very powerful ministry team.

Creator: What are some of the unique challenges facing church music and worship in Canada?

John Nelson: This is a most difficult question to answer. The Canadian church music scene is coping with

When it comes to music and/or worship, we all sing the same notes and many of us offer up musical offering to the same God. The challenge for all of us is to discover our uniqueness, notable unity, and harmony through the music mosaic, in the midst of a once Christian society that has become more secular in nature.

Creator: What keeps you active, interested, challenged, and excited to be where you are now and challenges you to look to the future?

John Nelson: I firmly adhere to trying to understand God’s viewpoint when it comes to church music and worship.

Epheisans 5 gives me pause, pleasure, patience, persistence, passion, and acts as an energizing force that keeps me active, interested, challenged and excited to be where I am now.

A CHRISTMAS CHORAL CELEBRATION From Brookfield Press

An EArly AmEricAn SErvicE of lESSonS And cArolS arr. Tim Sharp

John Nelson: Meet Your Musician was a workshop concept developed to maintain a choir ministry until at least the end of May every year. I invited two friends from Calgary, an organist and a composer, and we worked on a number of Allen Stevenson’s compositions that had never had published. Madge Clarke was the organist and acompanist for the week-end, and also performed a mini-concert as well.

Word leaked out about this workshop after our first concert in 1988, and 26 years later we have had many renowned composers come to Regina to work with singers, directors, accompanists, and music appreciators. This workshop has provided a “lifeline” of encouragement to all musicians and I believe has sustained and nurtured both music ministry itself, and participants alike.

similar challenges to those experienced by our educational and community Fine Arts programs and leaders – budget cutbacks and a misunderstanding of the true value of a music education.

Tim Sharp, Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association, has created this unique and captivating service of lessons and carols in the Early American style.

Characteristic harmonies and sounds of the era can be heard in this one-of-a-kind Christmas celebration. Readings and outline for the service are included. Includes: Away in a Manger; Go, Tell It on the Mountain; I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day; O Come, Little Children; O Little Town of Bethlehem; Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow; We Three Kings of Orient Are; What Child Is This?

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Creator: Tell us about the state of church music in Saskatchewan and Canada.

2013 | creatormagazine.com

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This passage gives me hope for what I pray will be even more years of ministry service. “We are to be filled with the Spirit, speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, giving thanks to God...and submit to one another” (v. 19, 21). There is nothing more revitalizing, challenging, and exciting than being involved in the discovery each day that, “At the heart of worship is worship from the heart.”

Creator: Tell our readers a bit about your background. Where did you go to school and what was your major?

John Nelson: I was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to two very musical parents. At an early age we moved to

surpassed both the NHL hockey and CBC news telecasts.

have Men’s and Ladies’ Choruses that sing once or twice a year.

Hymn Sing provided me with a valuable choral experience, singing with 15 other outstanding vocalists, gaining an appreciation for a wide variety of choral repertoire, and being able to pay for my University education at the same time. I received a Bachelor of Arts, a teaching certificate, and a Licentiate Music diploma in voice. I taught junior high school in Winnipeg before moving back to Calgary and completing a Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Calgary.

In the past we have also had a Christmas orchestra. Meet Your Musician takes place in May and involves over 130 musicians, working with such noted musicians as Joseph Martin, Lloyd Larson, Don Besig, Hal Hopson, John Leavitt, Joel Raney, Mary Mcdonald, Patti Drennan, Allen Pote, Austin Lovelace, Patrick Liebergen, and others.

While at the Baptist Leadership Training School, I got more experience

Unfortunately we no longer have vital youth or children’s choirs, mainly due to being a downtown church and the challenges that this location presents.

At one time my wife directed the

I think church music can be much more than craft and art – it can be a calling of the heart, mind, and soul Calgary, where I took my elementary and high school education.

My high school teacher and church choir director were both very influencial in my music education, providing me with a wealth of rich musical experiences, such as singing in summer professional chorales under the direction of Walter Ehret, Roger Wagner, Jon Washburn, Sir David Willcocks, and others.

My mother also played a key role, as she was the junior choir director in our church, so there was no question that I was going to sing in the choir.

At the University of Manitoba I was fortunate enough to sing for 7 years on the Canadian Broadcasting Company’s television program “Hymn Sing,” which originated from Winnipeg. It was a half hour program on Sunday afternoons, and its ratings on many occasions

24

conducting choral and handbell groups in both school and church settings, and developing skills and insight in worship leadership, puppetry and drama., This summer I will celebrate 51 years of choral conducting and my enthusiasm and passion continue to keep me young at heart!

Creator: How large is the music ministry program for which you are a part?

John Nelson: We have a sanctuary choir of 35 voices singing every Sunday from September to June. They also do three major seasonal choral presentations.

Our JuBELLation Ringers is made of 10 ringers who play faithfully once a month. We also have Exaltation featuring anywhere from 12-20 singers who come together for the seasonal presentations. On occasion we also

children’s choir that numbered 30-40 children, and then directed a youth choir of 10-14 singers.

On occasion now we do pull together a seasonal children’s choir to sing for either Christmas and/or Easter. One of my greatest regrets is that I have been unable to sustain these groups, even after attempting many creative approaches!

Creator: What else goes on around there that is noteworthy?

John Nelson: First Baptist has very active ministries including a Family Night program and a Faith and Culture series held in the local public library.

Our church motto is “A Place To Belong” and we are always endeavouring to communicate that in this church, people are much more important than programs.

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Creator: Do you have strong feelings about the direction of church music today? Would you be willing to share your feelings with our readers?

John Nelson: I will say that most publishers are still endeavouring to publish quality music. However, with the challenges that churches have faced when it comes to providing answers to today’s culture and congregational expectations, I think some publishers allowed themselves to focus more on the economic challenge and published music of less quality. I am encouraged, though, that this minor music detour has shown signs of reflecting a return to a higher level of excellence.

Creator: Tell us about your family. Are they involved with you in the music ministry of the church?

John Nelson: I have been married for 31 years to Debby, who is a teacher at Luther College High School, teaching Christian Ethics and Girls’ Choir. She is also a community choir director of children’s/youth choirs called Cantate.

Our son Rob is head of the choral department at a local high school, and he has over 220 students in choir out of student body of 700. Daughter Becky is also a teacher and is an accomplished accompanist. Our youngest son David is a middle school teacher.

All three involve themselves in the music ministry at our church when time permits, but are always a part of the seasonal presentations. Rob fills in for me as choir director when I am away, or directing another group, while Becky fills in for both Debby and my ac-

companists when they are unavailable.

Having ones family involved in ministry is a major highlight and joy.

Creator: How do you manage your time with family responsibilities and multiple tasks that face you day after day, month after month, and year after year?

John Nelson: Managing family time can be a challenge, but we have always endeavoured to set aside special time for getting together and sharing what is going on in our lives. Our kids knew that mum and dad always got together on Fridays for lunch so they would phone from high school to ask if they could join us. We learned more about each other in that 45-50 minutes than we would have sitting around the kitchen table, for it was so challenging schedule wise for everyone when it came to home meals.

To this day, almost 10 years since our kids graduated from high school, we meet as a family at noon for lunch.

Our family five now on many occasion mushrooms to include boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, children who are being babysat. For the majority of these gatherings, the kids still ask, “Lunch...

Saturday noon?” I would not change this moment in time for anything....and my church knows this too.

Creator: What do you do for “fun” – or just pure enjoyment?

let your fingers do the talking join the conversation http://cmag.ws/4i

http://cmag.ws/4k

John Nelson: I enjoy watching sports, be it on tv or live. For many years I played 2-3 games of hockey each week, but after accepting the call to FBC, my schedule made this most enjoyable aspect of my life impossible to continue.

2013 | creatormagazine.com

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Listening to a wide variety of music is also a source of pure enjoyment, although my family would say that my listening always includes previewing possible choral pieces for consideration for various choirs I am conducting. It is “fun” to me though.

Creator: What about professionally? Do you try to attend music conferences to keep yourself updated, fresh and on the cutting edge?

John Nelson: I am always previewing new releases from over 15 publishers to keep me updated and fresh. One conference that is high on my list of “must attend” is the Global Leadership Summit. Although not a music conference, it offers a wealth of rich leadership information that both revitalizes and inspires me in my church ministry.

I also find great enjoyment in the invitations to conduct at workshops, conferences, or in smaller settings like a church that is seeking to improve and grow.

Creator: What advice or tips would you provide our readers concerning the “art of music ministry?” In other words, how can the church musician keep him/ herself sharp and in tune with the craft and art of church music? Or is the art of music ministry no longer an “art?”

John Nelson: This is a very complicated affair. Sometimes I think we seem lost in the business of getting a choir together, trying to get the best sound, and getting ready for Sunday. We need

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volume 35 - number 3 | creatormagazine.com

to stop and remind ourselves of the overall view of what the scriptures say regarding church music.

We can stay sharp and refreshed by remembering that music is a part of all that we are: part of our history and tradition, our theology, and faith.

Indeed, our very existence.

Church music is many things...glorious sounds, experiences, joys, and feelings.

It is people in many circumstances, states, and stages of life – young and old, rich and poor, skilled and unskilled, educated and uneducated. Wondrously though, we all find common ground in music!

Sadly, I think church music in many situations has become only a skeleton of its original intention, with a lost sense of its mission. Personally, I think church music can be much more than a “craft and art” – it can be a “calling of the heart, mind, and soul.”

As Dr. Bruce Leafblad says, “The purpose of music in the church is nothing more than, nothing less than, nothing other than the work of the church, which is ministry – ministry to the Lord, ministry to the Body of Christ, and ministry to the world for which Christ died.” This is a calling for all church musicians to live out in their very lives as they work with God’s people.

Church music is for worship, edification, evangelism, and fellowship. It is essential that no church musician attempt to focus on any one of these

at the exclusion of the others or all will fail. Our programs must be balanced, growing, and vitally functioning as a Christian ministry.

Each church music leader can take their “art” to the next “heart” level by nurturing the above four functions of church music, for together, as Paul Wohlgemuth says, they reflect the purpose of church music: “It is the right and privilege of every Christian believer to use music in his or her Christian experience. The effective use of music in the total work of the church, however, does not come automatically.

It must be nurtured and taught.”

Instilling the reality that church music ministry is about people has influenced my ministry greatly and has inspired me to aspire to reach the “hearts” of the people through the gift of music. It is a simple expression: No community without belonging...

No belonging without commitment.....

No community without common beliefs and values.

As Elda Hilts said in a 1988 Creator Magazine article, “Music ministry is more than music, more than a three minute anthem on Sunday, more than weekly rehearsals, more than concerts for special occasions. It is a means of praising God, individually and collectively; it is a means of witnessing for God, individually and collectively; it is a

means of serving God, individually and collectively.”

Creator: What was your greatest challenge or struggle in the last 3 years?

Church music is a ministry that is the song of the Good News that Christ has given us to share with the world.

John Nelson: Letting go of those areas of church ministry that were not my responsibility and letting God have control.

Creator: In your opinion, what are some ingredients that can make a person effective in music ministry?

John Nelson: A heart for God and a heart for His people. Sensitivity to where one’s congregation is coming from, as you cannot force personal preference upon a congregation. A personality that encourages and inspires a congregation to join in worship.

Creator: Could you tell our readers the names of a couple of your personal heroes... those who have meant a lot to you in your career, musical and/or spiritual pilgrimage?

Creator: What is the name/author/ publisher of the last book you have read and would recommend to us?

John Nelson: I am presently reading Mentoring Wisdom: living and leading well by Dr. Carson Pue, published by Castle Quay Books.

pastor that he had been blessed by the sermon, but other aspects of the worship service ``were not to his liking.`.

Upon hearing this the pastor inquired of the man, “what exactly did he think God didn`t like?” The man fortunately had the grace to reply, “I don’t suppose there was anything He didn’t like. But worship isn’t really about me, is it?”

Isn’t that a lesson all of us need to take to heart? We need to focus upon God’s viewpoint and not allow our own opinions or preferences to create dissonant harmonies. God only desires to listen to His children lifting their praying and singing in praise to Him. He takes great delight in this, for we are lifting Him up and encouraging others.

Hymn Sing was a half hour program on Sunday afternoons that often surpassed the NHL hockey telecast in ratings

John Nelson: I would mention my former Junior High phys ed. teacher who pulled me aside to tell me that I needed to get the chip off of my shoulder and grow up... because I had something special within me. That brief but caring conversation caused me to make a positive change in direction in my life.

Another name that immediately jumps out is Joesph Martin. He came along at a time in my ministry journey when times were extremely challenging, giving me renewed hope and encouragement to walk worthy and walk in the light.

Creator: If you could do anything you wanted to do at this time in your life, what would it be – or are you doing it now?

John Nelson: I am fortunate to be working in the ideal church and community and being able to experience sheer joy and fulfillment that is only surpassed in importance by breath itself. “The gift of music is a way of expresing grateful hearts.” Where else can one receive a gift that keeps giving one note after another?.

Creator: What was your greatest accomplishment in the last 3 years?

John Nelson: Celebrating 25 years of ministry at FBC.

Let us not allow the Gift of church music and worship in general create a barrier that will divide us, instead of uniting us.

In our churches we must always refrain from offering mediocre sacrifices Creator: What is the title, composer or of praise and worship, for it is a very arranger, and publisher of the bestpoor reflection on the Great Musician, received anthem, hymn arrangement or our theology, and our standards. We spiritual you used in 2012? must reflect what the church is, and not allow the “dumbing down” syndrome to John Nelson: Canticle of the Cross, offer up anything less than excellence in a cantata by Joseph Martin that is our music ministry. To do anything else published by Shawnee Press. deprives our church music ministry of integrity and credibility, characteristics Creator: What was the last concert you that cause the congregation to take us attended and who were the performers? and church music more seriously.

John Nelson: Luther College High School students’ presentation of The Wizard of Oz. Creator: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to leave with our readers?

John Nelson: Is it just me, or has the sound of worship and/or church music hit a dissonant chord? Many churches have become divided over worship styles, with battle lines being drawn between those who prefer a traditional service and those who are demanding for a more contemporary or blended service.

Mart De Haan tells the story of a lesson learned by a man while on a business trip. After the man had attended a church service he mentioned to the

Music ministry is a mystery of immense proportion. It posseses the power to communicate a universal message to all peoples. Our Christian heritage is a witness to God’s original purpose for music. Why is it that we have closed our eyes to this gift from God? I believe that today’s church is calling forth for renewal, retooling, and revitalization. It is not idealism when I say that I believe church music should be ready to once again assume its Old Testament and New Testament role of conveying His message to the people of God. Creator: Thanks, John. May the Father continue to bless and encourage and lead you in your ministry.

fine 2013 | creatormagazine.com

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TM

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select twenty TM

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codes

what it is Creator’s Select 20 has always featured the best new church choral music – 20 anthems that will serve most any ministry. We choose by using criteria which include the full spectrum of musical and worship styles. We draw from all publishers, traditions, and styles, regardless of our personal taste.

On the actual review (see below to find the detailed reviews) we include a “worship-style bar-graph” to assist you in applying a S20 title to your ministry.

The graph, and the “theme” graphic identifiers on the next page, are not used to “pigeonhole” music, but to help our readers in understanding style.

The left edge of the graph would be complex music which is less predictable, often incorporating mixed or no meter, and less familiar tonalities. Texts here focus on poetry or more abstract word painting. The graph’s center represents present-day anthems written in a traditional, non-pop, non-gospel style, with texts that are commonly scripture based and written in second or third person. The right extreme would be pop, gospel, and rock musical styles, commonly including chord symbols in the accompaniment.

Texts will be less poetic, more straightforward, and primarily written in first and second person.

V

voicing

#

catalog number

C

composer

M

music sources

E

editor or arranger

T

lyricist and/or source

A

accompaniment information

U

usage

P

publisher imprint

©



copyright year and holder highly recommended

The following are used at the end of each full review/comment: L End

read the full review online Creator has changed the way we list Select 20 titles. We now list important information for each Select 20 title here in the magazine, with complete reviews on our website at http://cmag.ws/2m.

Our general rules for inclusion in each issue through the editorial selection process are as follows:

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volume 35 - number 3 | creatormagazine.com

• No more than two titles by any composer, arranger, or publisher

D

length using (S)hort, (M)edium, and (L)ong dynamic level of the ending difficulty using (E)asy, (M)edium, and (D)ifficult

Advent

Easter

Palm Sunday

All Saints

General

Pentecost

Baptism

Good Friday Maundy Thursday

Praise

Benediction

Lent

Call to Prayer Prayer Response

Call to Worship

Lord’s Supper

Offering Stewardship

Christmas

Missions

Thanksgiving

• Copyright dated this year or last year Scan the QR code to the left of each title to be taken directly to the complete review. The graphic gives an indication of the anthem’s primary use in a worship service.

All My Heart Again Rejoices

Pater Noster  V: SATB Divisi #: 98754493 C: Michael Eglin A: A Cappella U: Adult • Prayer, Concert P: H. T. Fitzsimons ©: 2013

It Is Good to Give Thanks  V: SATB #: BP1959 C: Dan Forrest A: Piano, opt. Brass Quintet and Timpani (BP1959A) U: Adult • Call to Worship, Thanksgiving, Praise P: Beckenhorst Press ©: 2012

Service Music from Salisbury V: SATB #: HMC2303 C: Mark Patterson A: Piano with opt. Handbells (included) U: Adult • Call to Worship, General, Benediction • Small Church P: Hinshaw ©: 2013

Come You People Rise and Sing V: SATB #: MSM-50-2526 C: Kenneth Dake A: Organ U: Adult • Call to Worship, General P: MorningStar ©: 2012

Jerusalem V: SATB, Cantor, Congregation #: 008367 C: Feargal King A: Guitar, Keyboard U: Adult • General • Small Church P: World Library ©: 2012

A Child of the Snows  V: SATB #: 7896 C: Christina Whitten Thomas A: Piano U: Adult • Christmas, Concert P: ECS ©: 2013

Were You There?

V: SATB #: SBMP 1080 E: Kevin S. Foster A: A Cappella U: Adult • Lent, Lord’s Supper, General P: Santa Barbara Music ©: 2012

Fairest Lord Jesus V: SATB #: A08662 E: Jay Rouse A: Violin U: Adult • Prayer, General P: PraiseGathering ©: 2013

For All Good Gifts  V: SATB #: BG2584 C: Douglas E. Wagner A: Piano, opt. Handbells or Handchimes (included) U: Adult • Thanksgiving, General • Small Church P: Fred Bock Music ©: 2013

Faithfulness  V: SATB #: C 5834 C: Joel Raney A: Piano U: Adult • General P: Hope ©: 2013

scan the QR codes to the left of each title with your smartphone for the complete review, or go to http://cmag.ws/2m

scan the QR codes to the left of each title with your smartphone for the complete review, or go to http://cmag.ws/2m

V: SATB #: 978-1-4514-2392-1 E: David Lasky A: Piano U: Adult • Christmas, General P: Augsburg Fortress ©: 2012

Cornerstone V: SATB #: 0 80689 250231 E: Joshua Spacht A: Piano, Opt. Orchestration (0 80689 10208 0) and Trax ( 0 80689 97332 1) • General P: Word Music ©: 2012

No Hands But Yours  V: SATB #: BG2589 C: Dale Peterson A: Piano or Organ U: Adult • Mission Outreach, General, Prayer P: Fred Bock Music ©: 2013

Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know V: SATB #: 7L0184 E: Walter L. Black A: Piano, opt.

Orchestration (005603319) and Trax (005602217) U: Adult • General P: Lindsborg ©: 2013

Deep River  V: SATB Divisi #: MSM-50-5912 C: Matthew Culloton A: A Cappella U: Adult • General, Concert P: MorningStar ©: 2013

I Was Made to Bring You Glory V: SATB #: EH1033 E: Brant Adams A: Keyboard U: Adult • Call to Worship, General P: Epiphany House ©: 2013

Sweet Babe Carol V: SATB #: F2361 C: Michael Eglin A: A Cappella U: Adult • Prayer, Concert P: H. T. Fitzsimons Co ©: 2013

O Winter Winds, Be Still V: SATB, Solo #:7970 C: Paul Gibson A: Flute (included) U: Adult • Christmas, Concert P: ECS ©: 2013

Jesus, Lover of My Soul V: Two Part Mixed #:978-1-4514-5162-7 E: David Simmons A: Keyboard U: Adult • General • Small Church P: Augsburg Fortress ©: 2012

Tune My Heart to Sing God’s Praise!  V: SATB #:BP1962 E: Lloyd Larson A: Keyboard U: Adult • General, Call to Worship • Small Church P: Beckenhorst Press ©: 2012

2013 | creatormagazine.com

29

by George W. Donovan, Jr

last page

P

it is all worship

R

ecently I was asked

how I personally gauge how a congregation feels about specific styles of worship. To me, it is their response, or how much they are singing that forms the answer.

I hear arguments for and against musical styles on a weekly basis in the church I serve, where we have a “blended” style of worship. It has been their worship style for the better part of 15 years, since they “switched” from a high-church, traditional worship format.

comes back to how unique our worship has made our church in our denomination and local community, and that it was all worship, however we labeled it.

We work hard to connect every worship participant – even the “spectators” – at some point in worship, but it is not possible to ever do it 100% of the time, every time.

To those who think that one way is better than another, I would pose 3 questions:

George W Donovan, Jr. is Director of Music Ministries at Bethel Lutheran Church in Winchester, Virginia.

gather together to worship an audience of One. But there is not currently, there has not always been, and there will not be in the future a “perfect way” to sing church music.

Someone in every sanctuary is always going to be excluded in some way, shape, or form.

And that is simply an “is.”

But as a whole, how are we working to use music to connect ALL who enter our doors to God? That’s the most important question in my opinion.

B

O

fine

we work hard to connect every worship participant – even the spectators – but it is not possible to ever do it 100% of the time TM

TM

TM

Some “love” our blend. Some “strongly detest it.” Most could care less – and simply come to worship, regardless of labels.

I am in the latter group. I detest the labels.

When I select music, rehearse an ensemble, or lead congregational singing, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the top 25 CCLI contemporary tune or the oldest, most sacred hymn of ages ago. It is all supposed to be simply worship music.

We have been in discussion for over a year now about labeling our worship, even offering different worship styles at different times – but in the end the conversation always

30

1. Have you invited your congregation to sing with you? Or do you just assume that they will start singing?

2. Have you taught your congregation the song? Have they heard it repeated a few times over the course of, oh, say a six month span?

3. Have you encouraged your congregation to participate? Or have you turned up the lead vocal mic so loud that they can’t compete? Is the organ registration too full?

Is the pianist playing the melody to support, or just the accompaniment?

Yes, worship should be communal. We

TM

TM

In each issue we give one church musician or worship leader a chance to have their say. There are no restrictions on topic here (other than the obvious ones of slander, libel, and silliness). If you’d like to contribute your thoughts email us at creator@creatormagazine.com.

M B B

volume 35 - number 3 | creatormagazine.com

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these are our stories... these are our songs...

a Church Musician is a high calling for me.

Being One hundred years from now we all will be a part of the history of church music--the “story” of church music. Like

our predecessors, we all have our role to play. Some are composers, some are lyricists. Some are paid directors while others are volunteer choir members or accompanists. Some sing solos from the platform and others sing God’s praises from the back row of the congregation. And, like our predecessors, our calling is to carry the “song” forward for the next generation. Whatever the role, our contribution will only be fully understood by those who look back on what we planted, nurtured, and passed on to them.

The story of church music started before the birth of Christ and will continue until we are all singing at His throne in Heaven.

For me, just being called to play a part at all is the most important thing. This is why I am proud to be a Church Musician.

Richard A. Nichols Composer, Choral Director, Greer, South Carolina Get to know more about Richard Nichols and a free packet of his music at FredBock.com/richardanichols

moving our heritage forward...

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