Marsha was the musician in our little team. In college and seminary, I was taught Scripture. Languages. Constructing a sermon. Organizing a Bible study. Ministering to people at the point of their need. Theology and ministry stuff. In college and seminary, Marsha was taught worship. Music is central to worship. In college and seminary, we always thought music people were a little weird. But that was because our emphasis was different. Usually in a church setting, the person who puts the worship (music) together and the person who preaches and teaches kind of work at cross purposes. They just don’t really understand where the other is going. I had a little music theory class for a semester where they taught us how to read music, which I already knew how to do, but they taught me nothing about how to incorporate worship into the service.

It is different, though, when worship and preaching are actually married. I learned that Marsha had an understanding that I did not have. I would be perfectly content to not have any music. Let’s get right to the good stuff! The Word!! But normal people (and I have never claimed to be normal) have a different view of worship. In the Old Testament, the Book of Psalms was the Jewish hymn book, and the Jews broke into song at the slightest provocation. On their special days of worship, the people would stand outside the Temple and listen as a priest would read from the Scripture, and they would do this as long as the light held. But those times were interspersed with singing, too. Music is intertwined with the Word so tightly that it is a totally normal thing to have music and Scripture together. (Again, I am not normal. But you are.)

It never was, however, just random music. It always coincided with the Scripture and the message. In the back of the hymnal there are several different indexes. There is the index of hymn tunes. Probably the majority of music sung in church, whether contemporary or traditional, started out as either poetry or Scripture. The tunes came later and often tunes would be used that already existed. The person putting the music together can use the tune to enhance the service. There are the indexes of meter and key, which is for the musicians. Then the index of authors and composers and others who have a part in putting together the hymns. If you want to put together a service featuring Fanny Crosby poetry or Philip Bliss’ music or Charles Wesley’s thoughts, this is where you would go. Then, the topical index. If the person selecting the music knows the basic topic of the sermon, say ‘stewardship,’ they can find stewardship in this index and find the songs that pertain to that subject. And then there is the alphabetical index to titles and first lines of a song. This is the index most commonly used by the folks in the pew. As I said at the start of this paragraph, the music is not random. There is a plan and a purpose.

Marsha was great at this stuff. She knew music. I would give her the topics and Scripture for my messages for a period of time and she would spend hours and hours putting it all together. There are those who would say, “That is stupid! Sing what you like to sing!” Which translate into, “That is stupid! Sing what I like!” But that is another blog subject. The point is, though, that if the music and the message and Scripture all point in one direction, the people are more likely to get the idea. At our church in Ohio, I gave my topics and Scripture to our choir leader and praise team leader as well, so every aspect of our music, Scripture and message would mesh. It really is never random.

Of course, now I am doing all this myself. I don’t really care about meter and tune. I just don’t have the time for that and I don’t really understand it, anyway. As I have said before, I am a word guy. The topic of a piece of music is vital to me. All the congregational music pertains to the Scripture and message.

Then there is the Youth song. We currently have 24 Youth songs to choose from. The Youth came up with this list and they are almost all straight praise music. It is the first song we sing and, since they are praise music, it really shouldn’t matter which song we sing. The idea is to put the congregation into a praise mode. But before I put a song into the line-up, I read the words. Some strike me as incredibly powerful. I feel bad for those who do not like the praise music because it doesn’t seem like church music. Always read the words of any song. We have songs in our hymn books that are unScriptual. We don’t sing those songs now, but you probably have in the past and you might enjoy them. If I am picking them out, though, they have to have a message. And the praise music is full of message.

The one from this past Sunday particularly hit me, both during the selecting stage and the singing stage.

Make it count, leave a mark, build a name for yourself
Dream your dreams, chase your heart, above all else
Make a name the world remembers
But all an empty world can sell is empty dreams
I got lost in the light but it was up to me
To make a name the world remembers
But Jesus is the only name to remember

To me, these words at the start are part of the mantra of the world. Do all you can do, be as great as you can be, make a name for yourself, a name that others will remember. But then, there is a change. All of that is an empty goal and an empty void. The only name to remember and that makes a difference is Jesus.

          The chorus is;

And I, I don't want to leave a legacy
I don't care if they remember me
Only Jesus
And I, I've only got one life to live
I'll let every second point to Him
Only Jesus

What is it we teach our kids and grand kids? What is it we try to do for ourselves? We want people to remember us! We want to make a difference! Well, OK. But what is the greater goal?

          Here is something for you to think about. Everyone dies, of course, and the majority of people, whether cremated or not, are buried. Some are buried at sea, some are scattered and some are put in an urn and put on a shelf or a closet. But most are buried. Of those who are buried, 89% will be visited for 5 years. After that it really falls off. Within a generation it falls to almost 0%. In fact, in Japan in many places, they allow you to bury someone for a period of 5 years and after that they are disinterred and cremated. The point is, once you are dead you are gradually forgotten. It doesn’t matter the ‘name’ you made for yourself. But the name of Jesus does matter.

          I guess I never really thought about it until I read the words of this song, but for me it has always been about Jesus. We had gone to visit a church I had pastored in the city of Warren, Ohio some fifteen years previous. They were so excited we were there. The Board chair excitedly took me to Fellowship Hall and proudly showed me the new display. There were four pictures on the wall. Pastor Davis, Pastor Grope, Pastor Wade and Music Leader Stahl. Sort of their version of the Hall of Fame, I guess. The men who had made a difference. I was immediately saddened. First, I was the only one still living and second, I didn’t want to be on that wall. Jesus made the difference! I know enough about human nature to know that when I leave here it will only be a short while and people will struggle to remember my name. I am fine with that. But I want you all to always remember the Jesus I love.

          Have an awesome week!