Communication and Curation by Creator Magazine

music ministry worship leadership TM

creatormagazine.com

volume 35 - number 1 2013

Communication Curation TM

Weed Out or Bridge the Gap? Essential Rules for Communication Between Staff Members

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

the balanced repertoire pyramid TM

Select 20

Anthems

Steal This Idea!

alleluia

many voices â&#x20AC; one song

B 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, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

ou ot fr ge nu

Th Fo

R C

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.

Richa

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... FredBock.com/richardanichols

RichardNichols.indd 1

2/22/13 11:35 AM

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

music ministry worship leadership TM

Volume 35 - Number 1

Curation

Vernon Sanders

Front Page

Feature

Curation/Communication

Communication

Vernon Sanders

The State of the Music Publishing Industry

Spotlight on Sheldon Curry Staff

Staff

28 Steal This Idea Staff

Weed Out or Bridge the Gap? Betty Thompson

17 Integrating a Variety of Musical Styles in Worship

10 5 Essential Rules of Communication Between Staff Members Mark Deakins and Jeff Bullock

20 A Church Musicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bookshelf

Prayer and Scripture Reading

Non-Verbal Communication Nancy Chinn

Annette Bender

28 Staff

Select 20 Anthem Reviews

Good Stuff

Jill Monaco

Vernon Sanders

26 Staff

Last Page

Attitude is Everything Marshall Sanders

29 Trending Articles on Creatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Website

in this issue

we look at the age-old balancing act between curation and communication...plus a spotlight interview with Sheldon Curry, the Select 20, and a look at non-verbal communication in worship... 2013 | creatormagazine.com

front page

by Vernon Sanders

curation/ communication

en years ago or so,

Roger Hicks wrote an article for Creator called Faddist or Museum Curator. In it he told the story of two church services in the same sanctuary on the same day. One service was “modern contemporary in sound.” The other was a “choir, soloists, and ochestra... presenting us with eighteenth century high society musical fare.” His conclusion? They were both boring. In the end, he said,

“Perhaps I had subconsciously percieved as mere faddists those who were attempting to lead me

don’t believe so, but, as John Sebastian once wrote: “I think you’ll have to finally decide...” On the other hand, is musical style just a pawn in this game? How about if we replace “musical style” with “ministry” in the last sentence? That’s a bigger question. I used to think I had all the answers, but “I was so much older then...I’m younger than that now.” So let’s start a conversation, shall we? By the time you read this, we will have started asking some of these questions on Creator’s

I have found myself increasingly contemplating the “eternal struggle” of communication and curation in worship. The impression I had... was that we’re singing these songs because it’s the ‘in thing.’ [And I] perceived the evening’s performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion merely as an exhibition by museum curators of a prized art treasure.” As we have discussed what should go in this issue, I have found myself increasingly contemplating the “eternal struggle” of communication and curation. Does one prohibit the other? I TM

Facebook page. Please join me in grappling with these questions. Finding the answers will help us all do ministry better. If we work together, we can thrive together. fine

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 Thomas Vozzella 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: $32.95 - 1 year, $55.95 - 2 years, $73.95 - 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). Unsolicited articles cannot be returned. Electronic TM and email submissions are encouraged. Submitted photographs will be returned if a stamped, selfaddressed envelope is included. Article Guidelines are available by request.

Single copy price: $7.00. Back Issues: $7.00, subject to availability.

Visit Creator’s Facebook page http://cmag.ws/4i

leadership network

look for the QR Codes

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. TM

publisher Vernon Sanders

Volume 35 - Number 1 2013

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

Join CLN. You’ll get weekly email 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.

feature

by Jill Monaco

communication W

e have a plethora of

communication tools at our disposal these days. In our society we have access to sharing words, ideas and intentions in ways never imagined a century ago. We can share how we feel through a picture on Instagram or a dream on Pintrest. We can share what we are eating on Facebook or say hello through a tweet. We can text, call, email, and Skype. Yet, with so many communication tools at our disposal, why are we still struggling to communicate with each other and unbelievers? I hope to address this question and empower you to live the life of a great communicator! I recently had a conversation with a family member that was looking for a new church. I was shocked to hear how badly these churches communicated with her. Not just the covert communi-

are you a good communicator? cation, but the overt communication. She was ignored at one church’s information desk and at another church the greeters didn’t say hello as she entered the door. In thinking about her experience, I was forced to look at myself and ask if I’ve grown comfortable in my exclusive “bubble” of church friends. Do I exclude others? Even though others can’t see the bubble maybe they can sense it? Remember the movie The Boy in a Plastic Bubble? Anything bacterial could kill him. I think churches sometimes think like this. We act like the “infected ones” can hurt us or our families. We forget that we hold the cure to the illnesses of the world. We don’t have to live in a bubble because we have Jesus as our protector, defender and Savior.

For those who lead worship!

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

Having been a worship director, a worship leader, and a choir member, I know that I have had to work extra hard to not give the appearance that my bubble was to keep out anyone not a part of the worship ministry. Over the years, I heard the worship team referred to as a clique. If that thought came from the people in the congregation, how much more did it occur to those that are visiting? Anyone and everyone involved in worship leadership has an opportunity to be a great communicator of God’s love. Not just from the platform but more importantly, off the platform. You could be the game changer for someone. The mere nature of your visibility gives you an opportunity to make a difference! The difference starts with what is going on inside of you. When I look for solutions to problems I start with how to strengthen my core. If we want more unity in the worship team we don’t start with a party (although that may be fun!). We start with character development in each individual member of the team.

Let’s look at three reasons why we may be bad communicators. Let’s get at that core!

We aren’t sure what to communicate We don’t know who we are or Whose we are. If we don’t know who we are in Christ, and what God thinks of us, how can we communicate the joy of being His to others? If we don’t believe how powerful God is in our circumstances, how can we tell others to confidently look to Him? When we put our identity in the opinions of others we end up being people pleasers or idol makers. If we don’t know who God says we are we conform to what others say we are. To protect ourselves we can use rhetoric that is heavy in theology or tradition. Jesus addressed this with the Pharisees. Their bubble kept them from the cure to their sickness. It kept them from life itself. We must know we are saints, highly valued, heirs to the Kingdom and precious in His sight. We belong to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We

are being defended from the accuser as Jesus sits at the right hand of God. We have a destiny and purpose in this life and hope in the life to come. We are more than conquerers. God is for us and not against us. We always have a defender and counselor at our disposal. If you live fully the way God created you to be, the unchurched will believe the truth about themselves too. Show them God the Father.

We are communicating exactly what we are and no one wants it Unfortunately people who are not Christ followers often say that if being a Christian looks like “that” then they don’t want it. It’s a sad truth. I’m convinced this truth grieves much of the church. Until we can properly show humility in our failures, unbelievers won’t understand that we are saints that sometimes sin. Born a sinner but redeemed and called Righteous by the blood of Christ is a concept the unchurched can’t truly

Weed Out or Bridge the Gap?

Betty Thompson

“We don’t want Jane to sing in our ensemble! She doesn’t think like the rest of us. Maybe I should just drop out,” Tim said in a threatening tone of voice. His wife, Nancy, had dropped out of the choir. “Being a perfectionist, it’s just too difficult to handle,” she had said defiantly. Her personality didn’t make many allowances for weaknesses and imperfections in others. Tim, and Nancy, who was also in the ensemble with Jane, had definite ideas about “how” the singing should sound. They were like mother hens – protective of their position and ruffled when anyone tried to invade their territory. On the other extreme, there’s “positive Andy.”His favorite answer, when suggestions are made is “no problem.” Unfortunately, there is a problem – he’s simply too positive. He’s cooperative and admirable, but we can’t get an opinion out of him.

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

The church must learn to deal with the incredible diversity of personalities that make up its body. With the problems that face a church, especially in an active ministry, it is no surprise that there are those who believe God would want us to “weed out the undesirables” from our programs, and those who just want to “go along and get along.”

Tim and Nancy were presenting themselves as ground wires – a negative necessary to balance and harness the electrical power of a ministry. Their opinions, though delivered with a lack of tact, could be used as a “check,” rather than just a critique. Criticism can usually be rerouted to afford a positive and often needed change.

The apostle Peter was a prime candidate for weeding out. He was full of strange contradictions, and somtimes selfseeking. One time he could declare Jesus to be the Son of the Living God, then later deny that he even knew Him. Perhaps the other disciples thought, “let’s get rid of this impulsive man who doesn’t know how to conduct himself.”

Change certainly can be painful, but it can also be healthy. If the criticism is unjustified, then the attention most probably needs to be moved from the issue, and ways be sought to balance the criticizer rather than the criticism.

Jesus always stood willing to help Peter. Instead of weeding him out, he saw possibilities and balanced him out. If Jesus could exercise patience with Peter, surely He could enable a ministry troubled with the likes of Tim, Nancy, or Andy.

Weeding out is an easy way of convenience, often causing the loss of a potentially gifted contributor. Going along and getting along is an easy way out as well, but the lack of challenge often gets in the way of the change which can cause everyone to improve. Ministry is, in part, a job of restoration, both of the lovely and unlovely.

CMY

Often when we are not communicating love it is because we are acting out of fear embrace and understand until they see it in action and walk it out too. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t blame them for identifying the reality of the truth â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whether that truth is sad or good news. We can only give away what we have. If we have a fresh revelation and intimacy with God we give that away. If we have hurt and bitterness we give that away. The unchurched are coming to us because what they have isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t satisfying their inner longing or helping solve their problem. They are looking for God.

We need to have a living and active relationship with God so that when someone new comes to church we have plenty to give away. We need to love by considering others more highly than ourselves. By showing repentance, extending forgiveness, and walking in love, we can communicate the value of being in relationship with Jesus. If you are healed from your past and walking in forgiveness the unchurched will run to be embraced by you. Show them Jesus the Redeemer.

Jill Monaco is the Founder of Jill Monaco Ministries (jillmonaco. com) and a regular online contributor to the Allume Blog.

We are not communicating what Jesus wants us to communicate Jesus asked us to share the good news of the Kingdom, not to share our traditions and list of commandments. Out of love comes the good works and obedience. But to require obedience and good works before knowing Love is futile. We need to communicate to the unchurched that God loves them unconditionally, and just as importantly, we love them unconditionally. Jesus wants us to communicate and be love. Often when we are not communicating 2013 | creatormagazine.com

5 Essential Rules for Communication Between Staff Members Mark Deakins and Jeff Bullock

How Often have you entered into a job without knowing the “do’s and don’ts” of your employer? How often have you entered into a personal relationship without seeking the “rules” that will keep that relationship together? The most likely answer is “too often.” A good working relaltionship is somewhat like marriage – you see one another every day, you experience one another at their best and worst, and you seek to know the “do’s and don’ts” so the relationship will grow stronger. The experience of many music ministers has proven that it is essential for staff members to thoughtfully consider both personal and professional relationships and the dynamics that make them work. Following a few basic guidelines can not only instill a great deal of power into a teamwork relationship, but protect it from a variety of difficulltes. Here are 5 rules that can help facilitate better communication and better working relationships between staff members, and between staff and volunteers.

love it is because we are acting out of fear. The enemy to love is fear. But, perfect love casts out all fear. Sometimes the Church fears change. We get stuck in traditions because the fear of the unknown feeds the flame of

ONE Do allow ideas to develop naturally Don’t implement ideas without warning TWO Do planning and scheduling together Don’t fail to fulfill your individual responsibilities THREE Do allow yourselves to disagree, but... Don’t be disagreeable when you disagree FOUR Do form a personal and professional relationship Don’t fail to separate the two relationships FIVE Do encourage one another Don’t criticize without offering a possible solution

insecurity and causes a brush fire with anything or anybody else that is dry. Raging out of control and not responding to living water the problem grows and everyone can see it except the people in the heat of the moment.

for further reading • The Benefits of Longevity – Cecil J Riney • The Dynamics of the Director-Accompanist Team – Rob Hewell • Going Behind the Faces – Gary W Matthews • Working Relationships – Mark Deakins • Dealing with Criticism: A Family Systems Approach – Doug Haney • Picking Your Battles – Danny VonKanel • Identifying Tensions Over Musical Style – Henry Schellenberg • Creating and Sustaining Healthy Teams on a Church Staff – Hugh Ballou • Think in Threes: Triangles and Leadership – Margaret Marcuson You can find many of these articles and/or buy the Leadership Articles Compliation CD for just $24.95 at creatormagazine.com. All articles are available by calling 800-777-6713.

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

Leaders may stay the same because they don’t know what to do when the way they’ve always done it isn’t solving the problem. The congregation stays in routine so to not upset the apple cart. The fire, unseen, and unfelt, rages out of control. Leaders may continue in traditions and programs that used to work not out of laziness, but because they haven’t received a fresh vision of the love of God. It is then that leaders can reach out to try “something new” and, in the process, create another tradition (“Let’s try making the message more relevant, adding a new worship song, a new media strategy, or a fancy new graphic for the mailer.”) In reality, leaders need a fresh revelation from God about how He loves us so we can communicate that love to people. Too many leaders think the solution is to try harder at communicating to the people instead of trying harder to listen to God’s guidance and remember God’s grace and love.

MondayMorningEmail.com is a great educational tool to enhance your music ministry. Now even better with a fresh focus on Leadership! Sign-up TODAY at MondayMorningEmail.com to get the best in leadership articles and resources for your ministry.

And now Thursday Morning Email Is all about Worship! Featuring these writers…

Tom Kraeuter

Marcia McFee

Steven Phifer

Chris Alford

...and YOU!

Thursday Morning Email is a gathering place for sharing creative worship ideas and staying on top of worship resources. Thursday Morning Email has thousands of subscribers! Sign-up TODAY and add your voice to the conversation... Join the discussion at ThursdayMorningEmail.com.

Creator Magazine is focused on giving you the BEST information and resources for ministry. Don’t miss ALL that Creator Magazine has for you online at CreatorMagazine.com…articles, interviews and reviews of the BEST music from ALL publishers.

Creator Magazine is…

...come join the discussion.

2013 | creatormagazine.com

social media... instant connections in

let your fingers do the talking

Say!

everything you need to know on one DVD

Your Choir und o S n ca Better!

http://is.gd/aWC3Cw

join the conversation If you know how much you are loved then you are free to give it away. Show them the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

http://cmag.ws/4i

We need to communicate that the church loves and knows they are loved We need to communicate who God is by our relationship with Him. We need to know who we are in Christ. We need to know Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power. We need to receive his love and give it away. God has given us plenty of tools to communicate His character well. Twitter and Facebook, and yes, even the telephone, are good tools, but without Love they can be just noise and intrusive clanging cymbals into your self-constructed bubble of comfort.

http://cmag.ws/4k

The challenge is to remember what we want to communicate, communicate exactly who we are and who Jesus is. And most of all to communicate that we, as members of the church universal, love and know that we are loved. fine

Subscribe to Creator Start a new subscription, renew and existing subscription, change your address, or gift a subscription with just a few clicks @ creatormagazine.com or call 800-777-6713.

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

leadership

by Vernon Sanders

curation I

does your congregation sing with one voice? can remember it as

if it were yesterday, even though it was over 40 years ago. The church I then served was having an “open meeting.” Since the topic concerned music and I was the music professional, I decided it would make sense for me to attend. I was too young to know I was walking into an ambush. I said some things that, today, seem idiotic and elitist. Little did I know that, for me personally, the notion that the Jesus Christ Superstar album should be considered church music, was the first shot across the bow in what has been wrongly called the worship wars. I was a graduate student by then, studying music history of all things. How dare anyone think that they knew better about what should be appropriate for the church’s music than I? It was musical theater. That just wouldn’t do.

Fast Forward. In the late 90s, the list of Select 20 anthems in the first issue of Creator magazine for which I was publisher featured 3 pieces set to latin texts, a movement from a mass, Mark Haye’s large scale Psalm 150, and John Tavener’s Song for Athene – a terrific but very difficult piece which was sung as the recessional at Princess Diana’s funeral. But it also included music from Bob Krogstad and a David Clydesdale piece from (gasp!) a musical. Fast forward again. Now serving at a small church, I find it difficult to imagine ever doing the Mozart Requiem again. It just wouldn’t work, no matter how much I love the piece. Why? Because it doesn’t communicate. How do I know? Because I am the church’s musical curator.

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

“The best investment you’l make this year” 2013 | creatormagazine.com

if you serve in music leadership at a church you are by default a curator of the church’s music If you serve in musical leadership at a church, you are, by default, one of, if not the main curator of the church’s music. You can’t help it. The choices you make will become part of the church’s musical heritage. Whether you like it or not. As a young church musician, I expected that the church had hired me, in part, because of my knowledge about what was “good.” My repertoire choices were made with the supreme confidence that no one knew more than I about what music would be heard in worship. Or whether or not it was relevant. My primary filters were

As a (much) older church musician, I now know that the church has hired me because of my knowledge about what is good. My repertoire choices are made with the confidence that no one knows more than I about what music will serve in a worship service. My primary filters are •

relevance to worship

•

musical quality

•

educational imperatives for the musicians I lead buget to purchase what I need

•

musical quality

•

educational imperatives for the musicians I was leading

•

budget to purchase what I wanted

•

relevance to worship

You’ll notice a significant change in the ordering of my priorities. Does that mean I no longer do music in latin? Does that mean I only do music that is less than 90 days old? Does that mean I am no longer a curator? The answer, in each case is no.

In that order.

But if the music style wars have taught me anything, it is that, musically speaking, there is no absolute “right” any more. One of the things that was also a big deal back in the 70s was so-called “inclusive language.” We musicians tend to forget that there was a long, bloody battle around whether or not the language of worship should evolve. Lots of very smart people forgot Martin Luther’s lesson that the people are generally better served when the language is better understood. We tend to forget that it wasn’t so long ago that women were only seen and heard on the worship platform when they were making an announcement about the nursery or Vacation Bible School. What I’ve learned during the music style wars is that my role as musical curator for the church I serve is to be inclusive. We tend to forget that it wasn’t so long ago that the only option for congregational singing was a denominational hymnal, the contents

leadership network

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

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

volume 35 - number 1 | 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.

of which were selected by a small group of “musical experts” who probably knew nothing about the specific church in which you served. The role of musical curator has changed. In the process it has become much more complicated to do that curation. It is tempting to fall back on “communication” as the primary criteria for making a musical choice in worship. But I think that is not just conceptually wrong, but a form of congregational musical abuse. As a congregation’s song becomes more narrowly defined, it becomes more exclusive. As it becomes less inclusive, it becomes, in its own way, elitist. Once again we are back to a situation in which one or more people are invested with the “divine right” to make all the musical decisions. When that happens, whether the repertoire is all pre-1750 or all bluegrass, the effect on a congregation is to slowly stifle their ability to accept anything else as being appropriate. It would be like a pastor only preaching from the book of Jeremiah. Eventually a congregation might think that a worship service was

all about wailing and gnashing of teeth. How can you deal with the increasing complication of the role of musical curation? The best answer is that you need to know everything about everything. That’s an impossible task. But knowing something about a lot of things is a start. Practically speaking, the role of musical curator can be summed up in the old adage: Local solutions for local situations. It is finding those solutions that can be hard. To do so, you will need four things: •

a starting point

•

a willingness to explore

•

a system to organize what you know

•

a mechanism to put it into practice

Let’s look at each in turn.

Rivals or a Team?

You should also know how the congregation’s musical corporate culture is defined. No matter what you like and how good you are at preparing it, if the congregation has a cultural style that is not something with which you resonate, perhaps you should polish up your resume. Using the proverbial spoonful of sugar to force your medicine down a congregation’s musical throat against their will is a recipe for disaster. Catering to a congregation’s addiction to sugar without adding some other musical dietary items is a professional abandonment of responsibility.

A Willingness to Explore

A Starting Point Wherever you are, you are there. It really is that easy. Ideally you should

Every exploration party sends a scout on ahead to figure out what the lay of the land is before the main party gets

www.morningstarmusic.com

new from

Clergy-Musician Relationships in the Twenty-First Century by Eileen Guenther 90-63 $18.95

have a good background in the history of musical style and a good idea of how to implement as many as possible of those styles with the group of musicians you lead. This doesn’t mean you need to program music you don’t like. It means that you need to be clear about what you do like, and what you are able to successfully prepare.

1727 Larkin Williams Road Fenton, Missouri 63026-2024 800-647-2117

Creative Hymn Playing

Improvisation, Exercises, and Repertoire by Michael Burkhardt 10-380 $29.95

Lessons Learned

Practical Insights into Developing an Effective Adult or Student Choir Ministry by Randy Edwards 90-43 $15.00

2013 | creatormagazine.com

there. In the role of musical curator, you need to find, or be the musical scout. Don’t just rely on your “we’ve always done it that way” sources for music. Ask your favorite musical supplier for recommendations. They have your purchase history, and they should be able to suggest things that are a smooth pathway ahead from where you are now. Creator can help as well. We look at a lot of music each year to choose our Select 20 anthems for each issue. That means there is a huge number of options from which you can choose at our website [insert link]. Be proactive when you go to conferences and other worship services. Ask a trusted colleague about what works for them. Use Creator’s facebook page to ask a question to our fans and followers. There is wisdom in crowd sourcing this kind of thing. Remember, though, that you are the curator. You need to know enough about what each option entails to decide whether or not it will serve your ministry.

A System To Organize What You Know One of the internet watchwords these days is metrics. It is used in the context of taking any set of data and dicing and slicing it in ways that are useful to understand not just what it means, but how it can be used. Does your music library tell you that a piece is able to be used for Christmas? How about for infant baptism as opposed to adult baptism? Can you easily get the answer to the question “What do we have that has an oboe part?” Do you have a list of anthems with congregational participation? Applying metrics to what you have, and what you know, will make it easier

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

when your preaching pastor says “I’m preaching about Lazarus this week. I know that is a change from what was planned, but I need to do that. What do you suggest for the hymns?” Not only does it preserve you from saying “I have no idea,” it makes you look good to be able to say “I know that songarea.com has 100 songs about Lazarus, let me see what might work.” (I just did a google search to find that, and I have no idea of whether it is completely true or what the quality of those songs are. Caveat emptor.) Part of the complication of musical curation -- and music ministry in general these days -- is that you need to manage a lot of data. Begin right now to start to systematize the material you have in a way that will allow you to do comprehensive searches to find the answers you need.

A Mechanism to Put It in Practice Once you have a good idea of what you know, and what the congregation is comfortable with, you’ll want to begin to introduce some of your new curation “finds” to the congregation. This is where the whole thing can go terribly wrong if you’re not careful. It’s kind of like the Jesus Christ Superstar thing. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater can be painful for the baby, and leaves you with a lot of explaining to do about your bathing skills. After a lot of trial and error, I have used the balanced diet food group pyramid as a model to provide guidelines for a balanced musical diet (look to the right for details). It is easily adaptable to almost any situation, because the categories, like the food groups, are general. In any category it is easy to see what amount is healthy, but the choice of what to use to satisfy that category is up to you.

While it may be obvious, the first rule in integrating different styles of music in your worship is to do it intentionally. Using several different musical styles in a single service is not just a matter of picking from a list. The music you choose to use should be a logical result of its place in the service, the text which has been set, and its relation to what has come before and what is coming next. A specific musical piece can be selected for dramatic, logistical, or other reasons, whether you choose to use it in one of your three different worship styles each week, or once a year as a part of your weekly stylistically diverse service. I believe that as worship leaders and musicians we exist in the real world. Not everyone has the New York Philharmonic at their disposal, or Switchfoot. As a result, in my opinion, your local situation will drive your musical selection criteria. By doing the work that it takes to see as much music as you can, you will find that you generally have more than one option for any given Scripture or theme. And, you will probably be able to find an alternative that works with what you have available in resources. Then you can decide, among your choices, what music will be the best fit with your preparation time available, and your qualitative standards. As church musicians we have the God-given privilege of providing a ministry of encouraging and facilitating the singing of not just a “new song” or an “old song.” We have the mandate to encourage the congregation to sing “with one voice.” As a musical curator we must find songs that communicate. What a great and marvelous challenge that is, and how great our joy when we help make that happen. fine

Integrating a Variety of Musical Styles in Worship Vern Sanders

Part of the responsibility of curation is finding ways to pass on what you’ve discovered. In worship, that means an ongoing challenge of using a variety of musical styles. When I am asked to speak on this topic I us the old food group pyramid as a helpful way to address this challenge. It makes sense for our physical health to balance our diet among the various food groups, and to do so in sensible proportions. The same principle applies to music in worship, in my opinion, and so I’ve developed a repertoire group pyramid. The foundation for any musical ministry, and probably comprising the most common music ingredient, is what I call Corporate Culture. This is repertoire with which your pastor and/or your congregation has the most affinity and comfort. It is hymns, anthems, or choruses that are on your “short list” of things that you use with regularity. You do not have to use the exact same title each week, but, something from this repertoire group is probably necessary every week. Don’t feel guilty about including Corporate Culture material in worship. It serves as a touchstone for them, the equivalent of putting bread on the table at every meal.

month, or a season at a time. Whatever the reason, this is repertoire that is not in the “all the time” category, but is in the “often” category. Next are Classics. I define these pieces as things that should be in everyone’s standard repertoire. From the hymnal, that might be Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee or it might be How Great is Our God. Most congregations only use about 50 hymns or choruses in regular rotation. As the primary musician in your congregation, you should have a list of classic hymns, choruses, and anthems. The important thing is that these are pieces that YOU consider classics. Everyone will have their own list, but what is common to everyone’s list is that these are pieces that have stood the test of time and may or may not be used in the congregation’s regular rotation. That means dipping into the “Gospel song” category from time to time, just so a new generation can discover the timelessness of something like Sweet Hour of Prayer. It might mean that even though your congregation is primarily grey, choosing There is a Redeemer for use in a communion service.

At the next level, you will find the equivalent of vegetables and fruit. In this case I call them Classics and Repeats. Let’s take Repeats first. These are anthems, solos, ensemble pieces, or congregational music that have been done before and have, for any one of a variety of reasons, touched people deeply. A Repeat may also have a utilitarian purpose – you may use the same prayer response or closing song for a

Sugar

Musical Stretch

Cultural Stretch

Classics

Moving upward, we come to Musical Stretch and Cultural Stretch. These are things that are good for you but which might be harder to digest. I believe it is a good thing for your musicians and your congregation to have a stretch – an anthem that can’t be mastered in 10 minutes, or a hymn or chorus with some musical challenges. It may be a cultural stretch to do a Latin American tune in chorus and verse style in the original language in your situation. Yet there is something that is gained by this effort – perhaps a better understanding of exactly what “worldwide communion Sunday” is about, for instance. The stretch section of the pyramid makes the most demands on your musical leadership. You can’t just add new things without doing them well, or the obvious lack of quality will make this repertoire even harder to digest. As a musical leader, you need to be familiar enough with any stretch repertoire that you are comfortable preparing it, and know how to do it authentically. Finally, occupying the top (and smallest) space in the repertoire pyramid is Sugar – the repertoire equivalent of fats and oils. These are the pieces that everyone loves preparing and hearing, whether or not it has any lasting value. Just as every diet needs a small amount of fat in it to be balanced, so every music ministry needs a bit of sugar. Think of it as sanctioned guilty pleasure. It may be obvious, but when any one of these repertoire groups begins to overbalance the others, you have the musical equivalent of an unbalanced diet. Use the repertoire pyramid to integrate a wide variety of musical styles into your worship ministry – not everything in every service, but all things in moderation.

Repeats

Corporate Culture

2013 | creatormagazine.com

by Nancy Chinn

worship

non-verbal communication

Nancy Chinn has spent most of her long career creating temporary art for church spaces, synagogues, and religious conferences.

The Iconoclastic Controversy Persists

February trip to

Basel, Switzerland plunged me into the delightful experience of Fastnacht. For seventy two hours, time was timeless. Music, costumes, and light filled otherwise quiet, snowy streets. A year’s worth of weekly piccolo and drum rehearsals erupted in cacophonies of music. Preparation of complex masks, costumes, and illuminated, illustrated lanterns were unveiled, paraded, and showered onthe city. It was a continuous outpouring of cheerfulness and spontaneity. All this plus gifts of poems, fruits, candies, and spring flowers were focused on pushing away winter’s clasp.

The intensity of these gifts of pleasure and beauty simply overwhelm any sense of reserve or suspicion. One is quickly involved in generosity and openness. You cannot remain a watcher. You appreciatively absorb the many layers of creativity surrounding you. A subsequent airline conversation about the arts heightened my awareness of the search for cheap contentments; our seemingly frantic societal rush toward the seductive promises of instant success; our quest for immediacy, for “nowness.” We are reluctant to invest time, money, or energy in systems apart from the promise of gain – especially personal gain.

��

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

Why Include Visual Arts? What does this have to do with the iconoclastic controversy? Protestants once forbade the use of visual images because they were seen as magical or as too distracting. Today it seems that we also refuse to support the visual arts. The question is too often “What will I get from it?” forgetting that art can be a gift of generosity, a revelation, a quest for truth. In the church, of all places, it deserves support and encouragement. Temporary visual art in the church does not have obvious commecial potential. It cannot generate “profits” in that it can’t be bought or sold. It can’t be meaured in “worth” by increased attendance or bigger budgets. Temporary visual art in the church is intended to be an outpouring of spirit, a testament of the people about their faith. The arts are crippled when we begin to believe that quality is money. Choosing art that is popular and marketable overlooks much that is authentic or honest. If the investment measure is whether the art is “safe,” we forsake much that is beautiful or prophetic. It seems that too often we seek the easy, the cheap, or the successful instead of the creative, tasteful, or carefully prepared. It is no wonder that our artistic appetites are jaded and suspicious, and our spirits are weary companions in the endless search for

sensation/satiation. To this constant clamor for quick, easy “success,” the church must raise alternatives through its worship and mission. Therefore, we must address the church’s reluctance to support the visual arts.

Why Not Include Visual Art? We still seem to hold a hierarchical view of personality when we plan worship, stressing rationality and language above feeling or experience. We simply have a difficult time integrating all of these qualities into a “whole cloth.” Our liturgies, hymns, and usually our art reflect this emphasis on words. We refuse to acknowledge non-verbal communication with the same value. Instead, words tyrannize us with their tantalizing promises of exactness. Why? It would seem that we are still under the influence of the reformers who lumped all visual liturgy together with the Roman rite. Perhaps we still fear the non-rational quality of visual art. We are somehow aware that the visual arts have seductive and uncompromising attrac-

tion to our spirits, and that that power is unbounded and cannot be contained.

What is Stopping Us? What stops us from supporting visual art in worship? Is it lack of finances? Then where are our priorities if worship is central to our congregational life?

demonstrated that they belong there. They are tools of Shalom, of revelation, of mystery, and beauty. We are blessed by their presence and the creativity that the represent. Their very nature challenges us to rethink our values. And may our measures of success lie in affirming truth, and whatever promotes it.

Is it in our fear of change? Then when do we begin to trust the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Is it because we don’t know how to start or what to do? Then why not ask a visual arts consultant – one who empowers you to see your capacity to find your own answers – to help you? Whatever our excuses, the visual arts will not simply go away. The visual arts continue to reassert themselves in worship because they have steadfastly

This article appeared in an earlier form in Let the People Worship, the journal of the Schuyler Creative Arts Institute. For more information about the work of the Schuyler Institute, call 650.281.4938.

fine

our liturgies reflect an emphasis on words...perhaps we still fear the non-rational quality of visual art

FOR THE STUDY AND RENEWAL OF WORSHIP

psalms’

CALVIN INSTITUTE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP Psalms for All Seasons: A Complete Psalter for Worship The Biblical

spiritual vitality, rugged beauty, and enduring pastoral relevance continue to shape and nourish worshiping communities worldwide. This resource provides one of the largest collection of psalms for worship ever published. Includes all 150 psalms, most in multiple formats. For each psalm – ● its actual biblical text, with pointing for responsive reading or chanting ● from 1-15 resources, including metrical hymns, contemporary, global, chant, and responsorial settings ● a brief introduction, suggestions for use in worship, and more

BrazosPress, Faith Alive Christian Resources, and Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

● edited by Martin Tel, Joyce Borger, and John D. Witvliet Purchase at worship.calvin.edu

by Annette Bender

education

a church musician’s bookshelf

You want to learn more about how to do your ministry better, but you don’t have the ability to go to seminary. What can you do? You can read all about it by assembling a bookshelf of valuable resources. The books on this list form a core collection in the areas of church growth and outreach. They are taken from an extensive collection assembled by a person with a career of more than forty years as a church musician and worship leader, and can be considered classics. Enjoy!

Duck, Ruth C. Bread for the Journey. Pilgrim Press, 1981.

Lewis, C.S. Lewis of Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. Harcourt, Brace and World, 1964.

Fosdick, Harry Emerson. A Book of Public Prayers. Harper, 1959.

Micklem, Caryl. Contemporary Prayers for Public Worship. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1967.

Hammill, Paul. Introits and Responses for Contemporary Worship. Pilgrim Press, 1983.

Praise God: Common Prayer at Taizé. Oxford University Press, 1977.

Jones, James A. Prayers of the People. John Knox Press, 1967.

Phifer, Stephen. The Book of Daily Worship: Morning, Noon, and evening Services of Personal Prayer. TheWorshipRenewalCenter.com, 2013.

Kenseth, Arnold, and Linsworth, Richard P. Prayers for Worship Leaders. Fortress Press, 1978.

Prayer and Scripture Reading Bailie, John. A Diary of Private Prayer. Scribner’s, 1939. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Prayers from Prison. Fortress Press, 1978. Brandt, Leslie F. Book of Christian Prayer. Augsburg-Fortress, 1974.

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

Annette Bender recently retired from a position she loved – being a school librarian – and is an alto in her church choir.

Kirk, James G. When We Gather: A Book of Prayers for Worship. Year A, B, C. Geneva Press, 1983-1985. LeFevre, Perry D. The Prayers of Kierkegaard. University of Chicago Press, 1956.

Postema, Don. Space for God; Study and Practice of Spirituality and Prayer. Grand Rapids, MI, CRC Publications, 1983. Quoist, Michel. Prayers. Franklin, WI, Sheed & Ward, 1999. Sparkman, G. Temp. Writing Your Own Worship Materials. Judson, 1980. Thorne, Leo S., ed. Prayers from Riverside. Pilgrim Press, 1983. fine

spot light

ministry

Sheldon Curry

Composer in Residence St. Philip’s-in-the-Hills Episcopal Tucson, Arizona Creator: Welcome to the “spotlight” Sheldon. I know you have a more extensive job description. What exactly is it?

Sheldon Curry: Part time.

Sheldon Curry: I am composer-inresidence and director of music for special services.

Sheldon Curry: I compose new music for various services throughout the year. In addition, in consultation with 2 or 3 clergy, I craft new liturgies for special occasions (Epiphany, Earth Day, Pentecost, etc) and direct the music programming, choirs and musicians for those services. I do 4 or 5 a year.

Creator: How long have you served in this position? Sheldon Curry: Five years. Creator: Are you full time or part time?

Creator: Your job title is interesting. Can you tell us what it entails?

Creator: Where did you serve before you came to this church? Sheldon Curry: I was Director of Music at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Houston and head of the music department for their k-12 church school. Creator: What sequence of events led you to this church? Sheldon Curry: I left St. Stephen’s to be Managing Editor for Church Choral music at Alfred Publishing in Los

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

Angeles. They were kind enough to let me live in Tucson. We joined St. Philip’s and the move into this current position seemed a natural fit. Creator: You have an interesting title. Do you find it difficult to manage ministry in your situation? Sheldon Curry: Sometimes, but that usually has more to do with where my head and heart are than outside pressures. Creator: What keeps you active, interested, challenged, and excited to be where you are now and challenge you to look to the future? Sheldon Curry: St. Philip’s is eager to test new ideas so almost everything I do is challenging. Most of what I contribute is new music and new liturgies. I am free to fail and sometimes succeed at that beyond my wildest dreams. Most of what I contribute is new music and new liturgies. I don’t remember the last time I was bored.

My hands are full with today; I don’t think much about the future beyond next week. Creator: Tell our readers a bit about your background. Where did you go to school and what was your major? Sheldon Curry: I am a graduate of Baylor University. My degree is in music, but the bulk of my education came and continues to come from experience. I’ve sung and played in chicken-wire dance places in Texas and Nashville. Worked in churches and recording studios all over this country and in England. I’ve tried to learn something in every one of them. The more I learn, the more I know how much I don’t know.

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

concerts, lectures, Q & A, that kind of stuff.

Sheldon Curry: There is a team who manage St. Philip’s music program. Woosug Kang is the Director of Music. He oversees everything. Jeffrey Campbell is the associate and organist.

Creator: That sounds like a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Speaking of Bach, do you have strong feelings about the direction of church music today, especially when it comes to the choral music that is being published for the church music market? Would you be willing to share your feelings with our readers?

I work with each of St. Philip’s various groups at one time or another during the year. I have conducted them all except for the handbell choir. The largest choir averages 70 or so. The smallest is a select group, usually 12-18 singers. We have a Royal School of Church Music affiliated children’s choir. They are a great, dedicated, hard-working bunch. (Sometimes, they make me laugh inappropriately, though. They’re sneaky that way.). Creator: What else goes on around there that is noteworthy? Sheldon Curry: The church is involved in funding and providing volunteers for an after-school music/homework program, serving Tucson’s homeless, a border and immigration ministry, and a mental illness ministry. We have a fine arts and crafts festival every year. There are monthly Evensongs, a First Sunday program that focuses on a large work every month (i.e., Duruflé’s requiem, various classical Masses, etc), there is an annual Bach Marathon and a concert series. Creator: Is the Bach Marathon a lengthy concert? Sheldon Curry: It is much more than that. It is two days of nothing but Bach. It starts on a Saturday morning, goes all day and evening, and then continues all day Sunday. The event includes

sitting in an office or studio, it is easy (and dangerously tempting) to disconnect from what’s going on in [other] churches 22

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

Sheldon Curry: I love Bach and am thrilled that we are able to provide the Marathon for our community, but church music today is broader than one style. I’ve been in the church music publishing business all my working life, starting as an editor at WORD music when I was 17. I am now physically older than that (mentally? - it depends on the day) and have seen church music publishing change in every way you can imagine.

A complete answer to your question would require a book, but I will say that, having been on the inside, I don’t know any church music publisher who is not working night and day to bring their customers the highest quality product possible. The issue is in how you define quality. Some of what I see I call crap (or worse, but Vern asked me to be nice); other pieces, I rate as some of the finest church choral music ever. We as music directors must understand that quality is 100% subjective. It depends on one’s background, tastes, and needs. What I may judge to be drivel, may be important to the ministry of somone else. From a business standpoint, if a style of choral music you judge to be top-shelf doesn’t bring in enough money to pay the monthly bills, publishers will walk away from it. It’s actually pretty simple. The good news is that God speaks and works through it all. I have close friendships with people at every major church music publisher and not one of them works as hard as they do to intentionally produce junk. I know the hurdles they face and applaud their efforts. Do I agree with all their choices? No. The world of church music publishing has been and still is drastically affected by the huge publishing changes introduced by the Internet. From

I don’t know where church music publishing is headed, but I do have the sense that in 15 years it won’t look anything like it does today

Sheldon Curry: Sometimes not very well. Time management is a constant struggle. Over the years I have established a daily routine that rarely changes. It doesn’t matter whether I’m in town or on the road.

I talk with or spend time with my family every day (my son is now in college, so that part has changed some), and I write every day. The exception is usually Sundays, though I have been known to write some then too. It depends on what needs to get done by when. (I figure God knows what I’m doing. If there’s a problem, we’ll discuss it.) Creator: What do you do for “fun” – or just pure enjoyment?

newspapers to magazines to printed books to the entire recording industry – the whole landscape is shifting. Nothing’s stable yet.

during the transition. I don’t know where it’s headed, but I do have a sense that in 15 years it won’t look anything like it does today.

Church music publishing is trying to hang on, stay relevant and occasionally excel. All the while it is reshaping itself into a more sustainable business model

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?

Sheldon Curry: I read. In 15 minutes I can be in another time and place and forget about what’s on my work plate for a while. I generally have 2 or 3 books going at the same time. (I haven’t watched TV in years.) I enjoy walking (luckily I live in a great place for that), swimming, photography and messing with horses.

The State of the Church Music Publishing Industry From the very first issue of Creator, we have kept an eye on the church music publishing industry. Much has changed since 1978. To take one example, in the late 1970s, publishing a piece of music involved engraving done with a clunky instrument (sort of like a music typewriter) which had to be “pasted up” in order to eventually make “plates” for printing on large offset presses. It was expensive and time consuming. Today, almost anyone can be a “publisher”by using what some would still call a clunky instrument (notation software) and a printer you can buy at your local big box store (or on Amazon, but that’s another story). As is the case with many industries these days, there are significantly more “garage” publishers and fewer “big” publishers now. More and more publishers are exiting traditional (that is, paper and ink) church music publishing because the economics have gotten more difficult. In 1978 the price of gasoline as 66 cents per gallon. A cup of coffee was about

30 cents. A choral octavo was about 75 cents. As this is written, the local price of a gallon of gas is $4.29, a jump of 650%. The national average price for a cup of coffee is $1.38, a jump of about 450%. The price of that octavo? $1.95, which is an increase of about 265%. It may not seem like it when you get the invoice for for your latest music purchase, but printed choral music is still quite a bargain, relatively speaking. What hasn’t changed is that copyrights are everything to a music publisher.

Read

A Call for Better Music at http://cmag.ws/23

Thanks to CCLI, OneLicense, and LicenSing, churches can be in copyright compliance, and the publishers (and the composers, don’t let us fail to mention) have another way to contribute to their bottom line. What’s next? Everybody knows that it will be digital in some form or another. Church music publishers, however, have learned a thing or two from watching what has happened to the record companies as recorded music has become a digital commodity. The copyright laws are different for printed music, and a digital solution will require the cooperation of all the major copyright owners. That cooperation hasn’t been forthcoming yet, because the publishers have yet to become convinced that their asset – the copyright – will be protected. Our best guess? Legal digital choral music will be limited to pieces in the public domain and/or covered by a creative commons license for at least 3 years, and potentially more. Progress and digital media seems to stop for no one, though, so please don’t hold us to that guesstimate. 2013 | creatormagazine.com

“art of having an effective creative arts ministry?”

Quality

“The tour was very well planned and provided a great mix of tourism and missionoriented excursions. The choir was highly impressed – their favorite tour to date.” Dennis Coleman, Director, First Congregational Church of Bellevue

Sheldon Curry: I’m feel fairly strongly in this area so forgive me if I offend anybody.

For over fifty years, we have customized tours to fit each group’s unique interests, abilities, and expectations. Many satisfied ensembles return year after year, knowing that we can provide them with a memorable experience every time.

800-627-2141

WST 601 273 533 • CST 2063085-40 Photo courtesy of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church Choir

Through family or other environmental situations, a person may lean toward music, but growth is determined solely by passionate dedication to (bordering on obsession with) improvement of one’s craft. There’s a big difference between “liking” music and doing it for a living, no matter what area of music you’re in. Here are some tips: •

Consistent, day-in day-out hard work trumps talent every time. Art is a result of work. The former can’t exist without the latter.

•

The path to getting better involves gravel, ditches, calluses, scars, sweat and tears. The further we move, the more we know we can never arrive. But without those hard knocks, we certainly fail.

•

Simply put, keep your butt in the chair. Whether you write, play, conduct, or all three, focus on people and practice, not performance. The magic is nice, but it doesn’t drop by every day. When it does, if you’re not in the chair, it moves on.

•

Don’t hesitate to ask for help. We all need it.

•

Build boundaries that limit distraction. When it’s time to stop, make yourself get up and walk away.

ACFEA Tour Consultants 123 Second Avenue South, Suite 105 Edmonds, WA 98020 www.acfea.com . email: info@acfea.com

Creator: Do you try to attend music conferences to keep yourself updated, fresh and on the cutting edge? Sheldon Curry: The truth is that, unless I am speaking or presenting, I don’t attend conferences. I use the Internet and industry connections to stay current. Things change so fast these days, if you wait for a conference, you run the risk of being a year behind. Keeping up-to-date is part of my job; no one can do it for me (or you).

The most meaningful part of conferences – the part I miss – is the face to face contact with music directors. I love listening to and sharing with them. They energize me. I get much more out of it than they do. Sitting in an office or studio, it is easy (and dangerously tempting) to disconnect from what’s going on in local churches of varying denominations – including “non.” Creator: What advice or tips would you provide our readership concerning the

ministry is art, but it only comes from daily dedication and hard work

Moving?

Living Last Supper

Please notify us at least 8 weeks in advance, and authorize the postal service to forward second-class mail until the change takes effect. If you have a question about your subscription, just call us at 800-777-6713.

Get our best selling script by calling 800-777-6713 or visiting http://cmag.ws/2w.

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

•

Healthy criticism is a gift. Welcome it. Beg for it. (Dismiss the other kind. It’s evil.)

•

Praise feels good. Acknowledge it graciously, but know its dark side. The next day, get back to work like it never happened.

•

We’re rarely as bad or as great as we think.

In short, ministry (music or otherwise) is art, but it only comes from daily dedication and hard work. It is never done. It is never perfect. Creator: In your opinion, what are some ingredients that can make a person effective in music ministry? Sheldon Curry: Prayer. Listening. Empathy. Lifelong study and learning (spiritual, scriptural, musical). Gratefulness. A robust sense of humor. Curiosity. Humility. Accepting warranted blame, giving generous credit. Admitting mistakes immediately, without excuse. Finding time when there is none. Wholeheartedness. Creator: Could you tell our readership 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? Sheldon Curry: Sure. In alphabetical order:

Charles F. Brown Will D. Campbell Karmen Curry (my mother and my first piano teacher) Tom Fettke Kurt Kaiser Anne Lamott Thomas Merton Mark O’Connor Euell Porter Buryl Red Brent Rowan Kenneth Schermerhorn Richard and Carolyn Willis There are many more, but I’ll stop there. 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? Sheldon Curry: I love what I do. I’m grateful. Creator: What was your greatest accomplishment in the last 3 years? Sheldon Curry: Taking my son to college and driving away without shedding a tear (in his presence). Creator: What was your greatest challenge or struggle in the last 3 years?

the magazine... over 30 years of resources in

Sheldon Curry: On a practical level: learning to write computer code (on-going struggle); on a life level: embracing vulnerability. Creator: Name the name/author/ publisher of the last book you have read and would recommend to us? Sheldon Curry: Falling Upward by Richard Rohr (Jossey-Bass 2011) Creator: What is the title, composer or arranger, and publisher of the bestreceived anthem, hymn arrangement or spiritual you used in 2012? Sheldon Curry: That’s a trick question for a composer! Whisper by Craig Courtney (Beckenhorst) which we used in celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Creator: What was the last concert you attended and who were the performers? Sheldon Curry: It was at the Blue Bird Cafe in Nashville. It was a Writers-inthe-round concert, and it featured Thom Schuyler, Fred Knobloch, Tony Arata, and Jelly Roll Johnson. Creator: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to leave with our readers? Sheldon Curry: Don’t quit. With God’s help and the help of others, you can do this. It will never be easy. It isn’t supposed to be; if you find it is, something’s wrong. But it can also be redemptive fun and immensely rewarding for all concerned.

Be daring. Fail often, the sooner the better. Getting fired is OK (almost all of us have “been there and done that”), but don’t you dare quit.

Helping YOU do Ministry Better!

to subcribe or renew go to http://cmag.ws/4j

Creator: Thank you, Sheldon. May the Father continue to bless and encourage and lead you in your ministry. fine 2013 | creatormagazine.com

select twenty TM

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.

voicing

catalog number

composer

music sources

editor or arranger

lyricist and/or source

accompaniment information

usage

publisher imprint



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:

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

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

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.

Hosannas Everywhere

Be Still

God Leads Us Along V: SATB #: A08639 E: Jay Rouse A: Piano U: Adult • Thanksgiving, Prayer, General P: PraiseGathering ©: 2013

Immortal Love, Forever Full  V: SATB #: 10/4176L C: Dan Kreider A: Piano U: Adult • General, Lord’s Supper P: Lorenz ©: 2012

You Are Jehovah  V: SATB w/solo #: 6-34337-252605 E: Cliff Duren A: Keyboarad, opt. Orchestration; opt. Trax U: Adult • Call to Worship, Praise, Concert P: LifeWay ©: 2012

Jesus, Son of God V: SATB #: 00102163 E: Richard Kingsmore A: Piano, opt. Orchestration, opt. Trax U: Adult • Call to Worship, Praise, Concert P: PraiseSong ©: 2012

A Covenant Prayer V: SATB #: HMC2289 C: Dan Forrest A: Keyboard or opt. String Orchestra U: Adult • Prayer, General, Concert P: Hinshaw ©: 2012

I Am Thine V: SAB #: 37681 C: Vicki Tucker Courtney A: Keyboard U: Adult • General, Prayer • Small Church P: Alfred ©: 2012

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 #: MSM-50-3775 C: Robert A. Hobby A: Organ, opt. Children’s Choir, Handbells, Two Trumpets and Congregation U: Adult • Palm Sunday P: MorningStar ©: 2012

Rejoice, the Lord Is King V: SATB #: 281931 E: Patti Drennan A: Piano and Organ, opt. Brass U: Adult • Call to Worship, Praise, General P: Soundforth ©: 2012

The Lord’s Prayer V: SATB #: 00110265 E: Mark Brymer A: Piano, opt. Orchestration; opt. Trax U: Adult • Prayer P: PraiseSong ©: 2012

Remember Me V: SATB #: 00101803 E: James Koerts A: Piano, opt. Orchestration, opt. Trax U: Adult • General P: Daybreak ©: 2012

Don’t Worry About Tomorrow V: SATB #:10/4214L E: Pepper Choplin A: Ukulele (or Guitar) and Percussion U: Adult • General, Prayer, Concert P: Lorenz ©: 2012

The Gate of Heaven  V: SATB Chorus #:BP1979 C: Craig Courtney A: Piano and Cello or Violin U: Adult • General, Concert P: Beckenhorst ©: 2012

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross V: SATB #:MSM-50-8620 C: Hal H. Hopson A: Piano U: Adult • Lord’s Supper, Lent/Easter P: MorningStar ©: 2012

2013 | creatormagazine.com

Sing to the Lord a New Song

new stuff

David M Tripold Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing A study of choirs in the worship and culture of the Dutch Reformed Church in America from 1785 to 1860. Includes a CD of period choral music.

Christy Semsen and Daniel Semsen Word Unison and 2 part children’s musical set in a summer arts camp.

good stuff

Word Instrumental Library

The Star Factor

Various Arrangers Word

7 Steps to a Perfect Mu$ic Mini$try Budget

The second volume in this useful series of instrumental material from Word contains 15 tunes for use throughout the church year making it a good value as well.

Vernon Sanders Creator Media This EBook is designed to help craft the perfect music ministry budget no matter where you serve.

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

Trumpet Tunes and Marches for solo organ Compiled and Edited by Lyndell Leatherman Fred Bock Music A set of processionals for weddings.

Festive Hymn Settings for Piano & Organ

Joel Raney Hope Publishing Raney has “condensed” this collection from the original Worship Opener Series music that included brass, handbells and choir. In this new guise, the music is very well suited for the combination of two keybaords at any festival service or concert.

Seeking God’s Face Philip F Reinders Faith Alive Christian Resources

Steal This Idea Your Smart Phone in Rehearsal

Here’s his smart idea: while he is working with a choir at a conference or during a festival weekend, he’ll pull out his phone, dial up a composer, or a lyricist, or somebody who is celebrating a birthday, and have the group sing into the phone. Everybody gets a kick out of being part of a personal flash mob, and he stays in touch with people in a special way. Want more smart phone ideas? You can find a YouTube video for an on the spot example of the sound you want (or don’t want) from your group. You can make a “scratch” recording to play back so the group can hear exactly what problem you are trying to fix. Just make sure to turn off the phone part of your phone though.... Got an idea worth stealing? Send it to creator@creatormagazine.com

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

Worship Hymns for Organ volume III Carolyn Hamlin Fred Bock Music

Hamlin’s third set of hymn settings ranges from the straightforward Land of Rest, which includes the “Going Home” tune from the Largo of Dvorak’s New World Symphony, to the toccata like splashiness of All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.

Composer Joseph Martin is always on the move – his schedule takes him on the road upwards of 200 days a year. His phone contact list is enormous, as you might imagine.

This little book is designed for a once a day celebration of the “daily office” – prayers offered to God as a discipline of faith and practice.

Use

Reflections for Worship Mark Hayes Hope Publishing

In this collection Mark sets ten tunes traditionally associated with liturgical worship. Especially nice are an extended arrangement of You ar Mine and one of the communion hymn One Bread, One Body.

now trending on

creatormagazine.com

Worship is the Singular Purpose of the Church The first in a series of articles that describe a quest to support the simple, provocative, and profound truth: Worship is the purpose of the church. The only one. And everything else she does emanates from it...

Assess Your Leadership Priorities It is always a good time to reflect intentionally in order to discover practices and skills that could enhance your ministry effectiveness...

Soap on a Rope Practical suggestions for anyone who wants the best results when using a microphone... or balancing a choir...

CONFUSED?

Fruitfulness in Ministry For those in worship ministry, it is good to occasionally do a spiritual inventory in our lives to discover whether a disproportionate amount of time and energy is being spent pursuing things that cause us to be less fruitful...

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

by Marshall Sanders

last page

attitude is everything

Many years ago, I was driving between church and work today and reflecting on my terrible, aggravating morning. It seemed that everything had started wrong this day. I had been in a couple of planning meetings, spent a while with a co-worker, and had talked some on the phone. I realized that not one pleasant thing came from my mouth in those various conversations.

I wondered how many church music directors people who serve in churches had an attitude problem. I wondered how many people I knew who do not occasionally have some kind of attitude problem. We all fuss with our own attitude at least once a week. It’s human. It’s natural. It’s easy.

Marshall Sanders has over 35 years of experience in Music Ministry.

pare my attitude for the events ahead. If I have conditioned my mind by soaking it with the fullness of the peace Jesus gives, then no amount of failure can kick it down again. And I don’t lay wide-eyed in my bed looking back on the people who I dragged down the road that day with my depression.

I wondered how many people who serve in churches had an attitude problem As I reviewed my day, grumbling to myself about the afternoon ahead, and really dreading everything, a new “first time” thought entered my mind: Attitude is Everything! You are thinking “that’s not a new thought.” But understand the context. I had said to myself many times that a person’s attitude has a strong influence on his productivity, or that we think the way we are, or that it’s possible for some folks to “get up on the wrong side of the bed.” But this time, it was about me. And it made sense.

After a frustrating choir practice when the tenor section shows up in half force, or after a budget meeting when your already stretched accounts are cut again, or after a concert went not as well as you expected; our attitudes dip. We begin to question our program, our ability, or maybe, our position at the church. The incredible reality is that we have a tendency to think we deserve our depressed state. We feel we’ve “earned” our bad attitude. After that epiphany in my car, though, I found myself heading into things differently. I force myself to relax, and pre-

fine

Attitude is Everything!

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.

volume 35 - number 1 | creatormagazine.com

CMS1

MAY 2-3-4, 2013 The Chapel at Crosspoint, Buffalo, NY

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Newworldson, One Sonic Society, Mandisa, Paul Baloche, Ashley Cleveland, Meredith Andrews, All Sons & Daughters, Dave Cleveland, Ian Eskelin, Al Perkins, Don Poythress, Amanda Noelle, Benji & Jenna Cowart, Jerry Gillis, Bob Halligan Jr , Blues Counsel... and more being added

www.ChristianMusicianSummit.com

Practical training for the entire band & tech crew, leaders, songwriters, indie artists... NOVEMBER 7-8-9, 2013 Overlake Christian Church, Redmond, WA

Matt Maher, Paul Baloche, Ian Eskelin, Don Poythress, Dave Cleveland, Tom Kraeuter, Mike Howerton, Bryan Duncan, Norm Stockton, Zoro, Doug Doppler ... and more being added...

improving skill CMS13_CreatorMagAd.indd 1

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION IS OPEN

ONE-DAY INTENSIVES ON THE THURSDAY of EACH EVENT...

inspiring talent 2/20/13 9:51 PM

The hymns of Keith and Kristyn Getty bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary, giving us a fresh language of worship for our day. We invite you to enjoy some special discounts on these featured titles... vocal books & CDs

choral anthems

piano collections

to receive extra discounts on these titles, scan the QR code or visit...

PineLakeMusic.com