It was a dark and stormy night… which has nothing to do with this post, it’s just that I have always wanted to write that.
The map is beginning to fill in! 5 states and counting!
For 392 miles I have been thinking of what to write for this post. There is much ruminating in my head after a busy weekend in Vegas with friends – A trip to the Hoover Dam and a Las Vegas Wranglers hockey game, too. Made for one tired little 13.5 week-old daughter. And mother. Okay, and me, too. So by the time we arrived in Buellton, California, I had this idea…
I love music. I would think that I have a deep appreciation for music that didn’t stem from my Music Appreciation 101 class in Junior College. My family, in varying degrees, have all been into music. My oldest brother even worked for a time as a radio DJ. (But he makes an even better high school english teacher)
I’d move to Tennessee just for this plate.
My father and mother both sing, as do my older brothers, although one doesn’t admit it. Even my wife can carry a tune in a bucket better than some I’ve heard. But she doesn’t believe me.
With all this music in the family I, too, was immersed into a creative culture of tunage. My first concert was Harry Chapin at the Welsh Auditorium in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I was 9. Way before that I had my father’s headphones on listening and memorizing words to Chapin’s tunes with greater efficiency than any early elementary student could.
One of my favorites was this song called Six String Orchestra. In case you’re too busy to listen to it, here are the words to the chorus…
And so I’d dream a bass will join me,
and fill the bottom in.
And maybe now some lead guitar
so it would not sound so thin.
I need some drums to set the beat
and help me keep in time.
And way back in the distance,
some strings would sound so fine.
And we’d all play together,
like fine musicians should,
And it would sound like music,
and the music would sound good.
But in real life I’m stuck with
that same old formula,
me and my monophonic symphony,
six string orchestra.
This is my vision for what I do in ministry. I dream a bass would join me, and fill the bottom in. There’s nothing like having the unconditional support of one’s congregation, family, friends, peers – for whatever it is you do. That’s that bass line – dependable, always there in the background and, if you’ve got a great sound system, when your support is there you can feel it in your gut.
And maybe now some lead guitar. Oh, I wish I could solo like some of my friends could – shred the fretboard with, as Jack Black would say, “mind-melting riffs.” I play guitar…but not like Eddie Van Halen. These are the people that aren’t afraid to come forward to lead something. Anything. When something needs to be done this is the person who jumps forward to rip a solo and take care of awe-ing the crowd with their abilities. Let’s face it: we all have strengths we can use. Even in a church-setting. Don’t know yours? Maybe you should ask someone like me. In ministry we call this process discernment. We pastors simply don’t use it enough.
I need some drums to set the beat. I grew up playing the drums. Since I was 11 I was keeping time on my brother’s drums while listening to my favorites with cassette tapes (omg – I’m old) and, more contemporary but still out-dated, a portable CD player. In the 31 years that I’ve been playing I have come to learn that being too busy on the drums can be a bad thing. Rhythm isn’t just keeping time. It’s knowing how important and crucial silence is between the beats. Yes, silence. Without it, you can’t have rhythm. A decent drummer knows when to play hard and when to lay back or even stop altogether.
In my early 20’s I attended a drum clinic with Liberty DeVitto – drummer for Billy Joel. This is the guy that taught me how drums do more than just keep the beat; they can shape the whole song. Listen to Billy Joel’s Downeaster Alexa and tell me you’re not feeling the peak and trough of the high seas on a fishing boat. Or, better yet, listen to Pressure and tell me your anxiety isn’t rising with the progression of the tune and the heartbeat-like thump of the drums. You need someone to drive that music, right? Prayerfully, they’ll drive it while knowing what the tune is really all about, like Liberty.
And way back in the distance, some strings would sound so fine. StringS. Plural. Not one. Not your guitar solo and not your rockin’ 12-minute drum solo by Dr. Neil Peart. Many hands make for light work, right? I love a good string background. Without that element some music can sound just empty. It’s the same in our churches. Without people to help with the work flow…well…so many things stop dead in their music track. Compare a half-filled sanctuary to a filled sanctuary on Easter and you’ll understand the difference. There’s an energy present that can only be describes as “spirit-filled.”
And we’d all play together, like fine musicians should…
I once heard Church described like this: Imagine a great concert hall. The kind of hall where grand orchestras and symphonies jam out the classics like Mozart and Bach. Some would say that to compare this venue to a church God would be the conductor, directing the pastor, who is the orchestra, and the audience are the people in the pews.
That works…in most dying churches today. I’ve overheard some people say they just want to show up, be fed, and be left alone. Really? This is why you go to church? Why bother? You’re missing the point.
I think the analogy works better like this: The pastor is the conductor. The people in the pews are the instrumentalists, and God is the audience. Now… what music are we going to play for the audience?
Like any pastor, I want a congregation that’s willing to play. I want a congregation that knows each and every one of them has a part to play in this great symphony of life. It’s simply a matter of finding the right instrument, the right music, and the right conductor. Then the music begins… melodies so rich and full. And when you listen carefully you can hear the individual artists playing their part.
I want to direct the greatest symphony. I want you to be a part of my orchestra – either nearby or far away. I want to conduct a tune that makes the world go ’round. A song that makes hearts sing and leaves a person with a sense of accomplishment and a better world. And here’s the thing – you do have a part in this. I don’t care if you don’t follow Christ or if you’re so cynical that the words you say may offend me or anyone else. I don’t mind if you use salty language or if you consider yourself Jesus’ next of kin – YOU have a part in this symphony.
I personally don’t want to be stuck with that same old formula, if you catch my drift. Nope, no monophonic symphony for me.
Dinner before a Las Vegas Wranglers hockey game.
Now, I realize not all will want to play along. That’s okay. It really is. To each his own… or in this case, her own. That hockey game we went to this past weekend… there was at least one who did not want to play along. With obnoxious voice and a crass vocabulary that would make Pope Francis blush, she wasn’t going to go quietly into the night, no, she had to play her own tune over and above everyone else’s. She even played it right over my very tired daughter. Of course, that’s why you have the bass support of arena security – they fill the bottom in.
There are some that need a little more directing than others.
Still, there is a symphony to be played. I hope and pray that those of you who follow this will want to play along with me. Create a little beauty that may leave someone humming it’s melody.
And it would sound like music,
and the music would sound good.
The Journey. Rev. Greg Larsen 