If you do not know the name Paul Manz, then you can find out something about his history and his contributions to church music by reading this article. Cantor Manz gave these words to an enthusiastic audience at the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians meeting this summer in Minneapolis, at Augsburg College. He says that if only he had known how to do it, he would far rather have played these thoughts than written them. But fortunately for our readers, here they are in words.

Some years ago, I attended the retirement banquet of a dear friend of mine, Donald Ferguson, a Professor of Music at the University of Minnesota. After all of the speeches lauding his outstanding work as a teacher and musicologist, he was asked to respond. As I recall, he went to the podium, thought for a moment and then said, "Before I speak, I want to say something." So, I too, should like to say something before I speak to you.

I thank you for the opportunity to return to the Twin Cities, 'home' for us for forty years! Ruth and I have just celebrated our 50 years together which, in contemporary society is somewhat unusual, so we rejoice to see so many of our friends and family once again. Our returns to the Twin Cities are now somewhat less frequent since we have sold our home in Edina and have chosen to alternate between Chicago and Colorado. Our roots—spiritual, familial, musical and social—are deep, and we often look back to our times here with much nostalgia; we look, however, to the past for learning and to the future with enthusiasm and hope in dealing with new challenges.

Having now spoken, I wish to say a few words about my favorite subject, worship and church music.

Why CANTATE DOMINO CANTICUM NOVUM?

Why a TE DEUM: A LIFE IN CHURCH MUSIC?

You could not, or should not, be expected to be interested in this person who has been actively engaged in practicing church music for over 50 years. Rather, I suspect and sincerely trust you are interested in what has happened to church music and to the church over this period. Hence—

CANTATE DOMINO CANTICUM NOVUM

In Johann Sebastian Bach's time, nearly all were musicians. Music was simply another language, and almost everybody spoke it fluently. Society today, however, is made up of musical eavesdroppers. Music is what we turn on when we get into the car or what we tune out in the elevator. Music is what we frequently enjoy at concerts, recitals, on CD's, records and cassettes and often endure when we are put on telephone hold or all too frequently in church—yours, mine and that other church! Music makers for us are not so much the artists of musical instruments but are stereos, tapes, records, CD's and cassettes. We take great pride in having fine equipment but are out of touch with the song within us.

I. MUSIC AND THE CHURCH

One of our sons tells me that a review of the literature in psychology seems to indicate that people come to church to be normalized. They attend out of a desire to be connected especially at the point of brokenness. Well, we already know that. All of us have had to deal with the range of feelings which span the life cycle within the community of faith. We are familiar with tears of joy at weddings and tears of sadness at funerals. We have seen the empty look in eyes on the Sunday after, witnessed the hurt, the hope, the fear, the frustration, the feelings of despair. All are found in the community of the church. We also see boredom and apathy, which might be the most prevalent feelings today.

Still the church is the one place where all people are gathered and called upon to be music makers. The church is not a place for passive and stoic onlookers. Long ago, the church realized that something deeper gets conveyed with music. I dare say now after fifty years that theology is well taught through hymns, the church's liturgies, its anthems and through all of its music. Historically, we have been persuaded however, that all theology and its resultant promise of salvation originates mainly from the pulpit. Our role is to nurture the music makers. Our role is to give the congregation a sense of its own ability to make worship with music. We must communicate to our parishes that we believe that they are capable of doing great things. All too often we assume, "My parish can't do this; it's too difficult!" Our role is to empower the new song within them and help them find their voice. We are about the work of permission giving, as well as teaching and modeling. One definition of church might be the collected people of God in Christ Jesus who dare to meet the chances, choices and changes of life with a new song.

CANTATE DOMINO CANTICUM NOVUM

 II: Music and My Story

In suggesting the scope of my presentation, your planning committee wrote, "We would like to have the focus of your presentation to be autobiographical, incorporating your views on the role of worship, the role of the cantor, the preservation of tradition and how church music has changed over the course of your service."

There is a misconception here. I am often seen as a doer of music, when perhaps most deeply I perceive myself as simply a part of that community which finds its voice in song. Yes, I have devoted my life to the music of the church and have made the necessary sacrifices and preparations required to develop the art of music. From early on, my life was surrounded by music and by the prayers of my parents and grandparents. Father and Mother were born in what was then Russia but is now Poland. My paternal grandfather (Christian Maliszewski) was Cantor of a large German Lutheran parish in what is now Nowawiesz, Poland and came to the United States in 1922 when I was three years old. Following World War I, he and my grandmother had been exiled to Siberia. Oma and Opa Maliszewski (aren't you relieved that my parents did not keep that name?) lived with us for a number of years. My musical training began with piano lessons when I was about five years old. My grandfather, an old world disciplinarian, insisted I have a solid keyboard technique before I could play the organ. I longed for that day as today's children long for their Nintendo. During that time, my grandfather and my father set out to build me a reed organ with pedals. Studying the piano was a means to the end, and I did this for a number of years with the promise and the hope of organ lessons.

I adored Mrs. Dinda, my first piano teacher. I was almost six years old. She was strict but very encouraging. I probably studied with her the greater part of two years and remember well the final piece I played when all her students gathered for that special event called, The Recital. I remember it came from the old Etude Magazine, and it was called "Dorothy." I think I could still play it today. My encore was Percy Grainger's, "Country Gardens." I believe Mrs. Dinda is still living today in Florida where she moved after her husband's death. A few years ago, I played a recital in a large Roman Catholic church in Lakeland, Florida and she did me the honor of attending.

Mrs. Dinda advised my parents to have me continue my studies with Henry J. Markworth, an excellent piano and organ teacher who was the fifth-sixth grade teacher at Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Cleveland, Ohio. He accepted me on the condition I would agree to take 2 two- hour piano-theory lessons for every organ lesson he would give me. I came to his studio on 3901 Whitman Avenue every Saturday morning, and before Mr. Markworth entered the room, Mrs. Markworth had some cookies and a glass of milk for my strength and encouragement. I needed both, because before the age of nine he ran me through the Bach Two and Three Part Inventions, Mozart, and some of the easier Beethoven sonatas. The last hour at the piano was spent in theory and composition. I hardly knew how to spell counterpoint, but I soon learned and wrote exercises for him in the various species together with those nasty alto and tenor clefs! At that time we had a two-manual tracker instrument in church with, of all things, a water-powered blower to produce the wind pressures. Working at home on my own reed organ—fiat pedal board to D only, one manual, no pistons, no swell pedal and no crescendo pedal—gave me the basic experiences to handle the church tracker, and by the age of nine I played my first German service and have been playing ever since.

When I was very young, twelve or so, I believe, I had to make a decision and choose between the study of theology and the study of music. My sainted mother would rather I had chosen theology—but music had chosen me—and this other—theology—was richly added to me. The decision then was made. Rather than go to Concordia College in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, as a pre-theological student, I would enter as a high school freshman at Concordia High School, River Forest, Illinois, as a pre-education student hopeful of getting an excellent music training.

My experience there was not always happy. Hazing was still a popular sport for upper classmen, and as a thirteen-year-old and an only child coming from an old world environment, I was very homesick, so I solaced myself with my music, not always to the pleasure or approval of older students. Playing the organ was forbidden to high school students, and many a night with flashlight in hand I would escape to the aula and play on the softer stops of the organ. Professor Rohlfing, the band conductor, recognized that I delighted in musical challenges and had me play the Schuman A minor Concerto, which he had transcribed for the band, as a high school freshman. Since I was not permitted to study organ, he ran me through the Ballades of Grieg, Brahms, and many of the Chopin works. Still as a freshman in high school, I played an organ recital in a large Roman Catholic church whereupon the Lutheran Ministerium of Cleveland, Ohio, wrote a letter of protest to the President of Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois, accusing me of 'unionism.' I was called to the President's office one evening and was threatened with expulsion.

As a freshman too, I heard the famed European-trained organist, Wilhelm Middelschulte, play a stunning recital. As I recall, he had a prodigious memory and a sharp wit. His program that afternoon consisted of the Bach Fantasy and Fugue in G, the Prelude and Fugue in A, the Toccata and Fugue in D, and the complete Theme and Variations by Thiele, a contemporary of Julius Reubke. This boy was blown out of the water! Later at the reception, someone told him of my interest in the pipe organ; his comment, whether polite or prophetic, was indeed most inspiring—shortly thereafter I saved enough money to acquire the Thiele work which, incidentally, contained one movement employing both tenor and alto clefs!

Later, I was finally permitted to study organ with Professor Martin Lochner in a class setting. Four students were assigned to an hour slot, and since three of them were beginners (one of them, the fullback on the college football squad, was not given to practice), I was given a cursory hearing towards the very end of the hour. When my frustrations became almost unbearable, my parents intervened and made it possible for me to do my organ studies at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago where I studied with Edwin Eigenschenk, a former pupil of Joseph Bonnet and Louis Vierne. At this time I received strong, adverse criticism from sources I would rather not identify. My parents had very meager means. Sending me away to school was a great personal sacrifice. To enable me to study at the Conservatory, my mother sold Sunshine Greeting Cards. Studying organ off-campus was resented, and I was given very restricted practice permission. Mr. Eigenschenck was most generous with his time and, knowing that I often missed the meal at the college, took me out to dinner after lessons. He also gave me opportunities to substitute for him at Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago when he was away on tour and often gave me tickets to hear well-known European artists.

Concurrent with my studies in music was the musical career of a cousin in Germany, also named Paul, of the same age, born the same week in May. He was a fine young organist and musician. His father, a pastor of the largest Lutheran church in Warsaw, wanted him to study theology in Berlin where he had done his studies——much as my own mother had hoped and prayed that I, too, would become a pastor.

When the tuition bills for Paul Maliszewski did not continue to come from Berlin as per parental hopes, but came from Leipzig instead, Onkel Gustav (whom I got to know in 1955) finally knew that his Paul had made his choice. In Leipzig he enrolled at the Hochschule Fur Music and studied with none other than Heinrich Fleischer. Many years later, when Heinrich was our dinner guest, on a hunch I showed him a book on Bach once owned by Paul, complete with his notes and signature. Heinrich was stunned at that signature and spoke of Paul with the utmost respect and hope. He regarded him as an excellent organist and predicted a brilliant future for him. He had known that cousin Paul was forced to serve in World War II, as was Heinrich, but had not heard of his death. I deeply regret that Paul and I never met; he was killed while serving in Hitler's army in France.

During our early sojourn in Minnesota, as principal of a parochial school in St. Paul, I began studies at the University of Minnesota with Donald Ferguson in Music History and Composition and worked in Organ with Arthur B. Jennings, a church musician and composer. He was an excellent teacher, and I learned many things from him— style, registration, fingering and hymn accompaniments. Years later I became his legal guardian for the last years of his life, appointed by the Hennepin County Court. 'Herr' and 'Frau', as they were affectionately known by their student friends, adopted us as their family.

During the summers of 1941-1943, I also worked with Albert Riemenschneider, the eminent Bach scholar who, after my last lesson with him, invited me into his private studio and allowed me to handle his precious Bach manuscripts. Also during the same summers, I was privileged to work with Edwin Arthur Kraft, organist and Master of the Choirs at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland. From both of these men I learned to appreciate yet another style of playing: Riemenschneider and Bach/Kraft with contemporary English and American music. My pattern then, now, and always: study the music of the masters in preparation for the worship service itself.

The Lutheran community of the church was not at all supportive when in 1955 I went to Belgium to study with Flor Peeters who was a Roman Catholic—because (they said) there were any number of good Lutheran organists in Germany with whom I ought to associate. After my studies in Belgium with Peeters, where I received the First Prize in Organ and Improvisation with High Distinction and the Firmen Swinnen Award, I received an extension of my Fulbright Grant and worked with Helmut Walcha at the Dreikonigskirche in Frankfurt, Germany and found him to be equally supportive and helpful. Flor Peeters played and taught in the Flemish-French style and could trace his musical lineage all the way back through Widor, Forkel and finally to Bach. Helmut Walcha, a Lutheran, traced his training back through Straube and then to Bach as well! I returned to Belgium three more summers to continue working with Flor, both in composition, organ and improvisation. I did not study improvisation with Helmut Walcha, as he did not teach this discipline during the time I was there. I have been blessed with excellent teachers through the years, and they became my dear friends. My greatest teachers, however, have been my parishes and my students.

I came to Mount Olive, Minneapolis, in 1946, first as Director of Music and Education, then in 1957 as Director of Music, and finally in 1976 as Cantor. For the most part these were very happy years with a full choral program and in 1964 a fine instrument to assist and stimulate. The church's leaders were good, creative and supportive, though in the 80s very protective of their turf.

These experiences, along with teaching organ at the University of Minnesota and at Macalester College, and the opportunities to play in churches, cathedrals and concert halls in many states and countries, gave me detailed preparation for the musical challenges to come. Much patience and understanding were needed, however, for many of us were to enter by choice into the Elim and Seminex days. Coming in 1957, my work as a professor and chairperson of the Division of Music and Fine Arts at Concordia College, St. Paul, Minnesota was very exciting to me. We started with nothing and left there with a full staff in Music and Fine Arts, a new building, and many gifted students. Incidentally, in May of this year, Concordia College granted me an Honorary Doctorate—a great way to complete a puzzle that still had a few missing pieces.

In 1964, I was given a leave of absence, both from Mt. Olive Lutheran Church and Concordia College, to tour with the famed choral conductor Roger Wagner and his superb Chorale. For eleven weeks we criss-crossed the United States from coast to coast doing 66 concerts. Roger had a two-manual 8 stop organ designed for me, together with its own truck. After each concert, the crew tore down the instrument and drove to the next city. By the time our bus arrived the next day, I usually could count on at least two hours solid practice before concert time. Since Roger was an expert on Gregorian Chant and sacred Renaissance music of the church (he held an earned Doctorate in Musicology writing his dissertation on the masses of Josquin des Pres), I was introduced to yet another style and palette of church music. Martin Bernheimer, music critic for the Los Angeles Times, wrote of him:

At his best, Roger Wagner was something of a genius on the podium and a splendidly feisty old walrus off it. He knew how to blend vocal sounds with uncanny flexibility, sensuality, color and point. His interpretive ideas were particularly compelling in the French repertory that he inherited and adored. He was a showman par excellence, and luckily his generous ego was matched by his talent.

I had to leave Concordia in 1976 and returned full-time as Cantor to Mount Olive here in Minneapolis until 1983. The call issued to me at that time specifically commissioned me to serve the whole catholic Church and to "share my ministry with generations yet unborn by creative composition for the blessing of the church through all future years." The unique call as Cantor of Mount Olive was orchestrated and commissioned by thoughtful and generous men and women of the parish. The call specifically commissioned me to work in the parish, as I had been doing, but to regard the church at large as my field of activity. Upon our leaving in 1983, Mt. Olive established a Ruth and Paul Manz Scholarship in Church Music, and a number of fine young organists have been recipients of the stipend since then.

The past ten years have been spent as Cantor of The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Luke, Chicago, where I preside over two instruments—a large, three-manual Schlicker in the rear, and a small, two-manual instrument in the left transept, each with its own console. Incidentally, my own two-manual Schlicker Pipe Organ is now in the Great Hall of St. Luke. Concurrently, I served as Christ Seminex Professor of Church Music and Artist in Residence at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. I retired from this position last September and became Professor Emeritus but continue as its Artist in Residence. I am also now Director of the Paul Manz Institute of Church Music in Chicago. We currently have four graduate students enrolled.

For many years I have been a professional church musician serving mostly in the Midwest. During this time, I have seen many changes in the practice of worship in our churches. I grew up in a large parish in Cleveland, Ohio, where the parish had just introduced the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book of 1917. It was a new form for a generally German congregation, and, as I think back to those times, it caused more problems than it was supposed to have solved. It contained text only—no music. In 1924 a revised version of this Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book appeared. In many respects, this was a great improvement; however, it had a limited hymnody, questionable meter notation and measure mark ambiguity. It was not until 17 years later that a new effort was made with The Lutheran Hymnal. For the most part this was a better realization. New hymns were added, together with some doxologies, chants and the Order of Matins and Vespers. Some of the original problems from the 1929 version still carried over to the 1941 effort. All hymns were metered, causing some awkward, unrhythmic singing because of unwanted, unplanned-for rests and organists who gave literal interpretations of the note and rest values. Beside this, an 'Amen' was to be sung after each of the hymns!

The high point of the service, the homily and Holy Communion, was usually tacked on after the Benediction. Sometimes the Eucharist was moved to a separate service, either before or after the main service. Today, with The Lutheran Book of Worship, the Eucharist appears within the service itself, thus postponing the Benediction. The idea of frequent participation in the Eucharist was still unpopular. Today, however, people rarely leave before the benediction and welcome the weekly Eucharist.

III. Music as a Sacrament

Words are not my favored medium. But words are necessary to help us understand what we are doing in music. Music is also necessary to convey what words themselves are incapable of conveying. Theologians might want to correct me, but it seems to me that music is sacramental. The prerequisites according to Luther are God's Word and the instituted external sign or means.

Alfred von Rohr Sauer of Seminex wrote that God's creating word in Genesis 1 needs to be sung. This makes profound sense to me. Can’t you just imagine the chorus of God's Voice summoning order out of chaos? Job speaks of the morning stars singing at creation (Job 38.2). Songs on the occasions of the miracles of deliverance were on the lips of Moses (Exodus 12.1-8), Miriam, (Exodus 15.21), Deborah (Judges 5. 131), Hannah (I Samuel 2.1-10), David (Psalm 7) and Mary, the Mother of our Lord (Luke 146-55). The one account we have of Jesus singing took place on the night of his betrayal, when he sang a Psalm with his disciples. Of course. That's the way they did it.

The external sign is not the pipe organ or the choir and certainly not the LEW. It is the congregation reaching deeper into another way of communicating. The church ever since the beginning has taken this cue and sung its dialogue back and forth—

"The Lord be with you."
—"And also with you."
"Lift up your hearts."
—"We lift them to the Lord."
"Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God."
—"It is right to give God thanks and praise."

With this we are touching the deeper truth, the mystery, as best we can. Music is the vehicle we use. The purpose of music in the church, we believe, is to worship God with a new song.

CANTATE DOMINO CANTICUM NOVUM

The sacramental part is that music is also a conveyor of the grace of God—in, with, under and even beyond the words. There is something salvific about how music reaches into the heart and speaks a deeper word from our God. There is that ever-present cloud of witnesses, not only on this shore, but on another shore and in a great light who with us sing that great hymn, Sine Nomine.

In thinking of the sacramental nature of music, I keep coming back to how music is created in the commu­nity of faith. It transcends denominations and languages and even the ages. The congregation is the one place where music is more than music. It is a gift of grace from God to empower our worship.

As I look upon my experiences through the years, I see many changes. Our hymnody is richer and broader, our liturgies are many and more diverse, our edifices are new and in many cases non-traditional, and our people are no longer entirely ethnic North Europeans. Furthermore, the musical instruments we bring into our churches— handbells, Orff instruments, small orchestras, fine choirs, newer, better-designed organs—make worship a joy and delight. There is much that I like in Lutheran worship, and I am pleased and proud to be involved in exciting Praise to God!

I don't want to be a church entertainer and titillate the keys for the assembled people of God. I want to actively involve them in the worship of praise respecting and using traditional as well as contemporary hymnody and liturgy. If entertainment is wanted, let them go to the stage play, the theater, the concert hall or tune in to the Sunday Morning Special TV. But there are limits—have you ever known someone to receive the Eucharist from a TV religious program?

We should be making our hymn singing/playing and choral offerings more meaningful and more respectful of the Deity (God is not my buddy—God is Deity!) In playing the hymns we must be mindful of not just playing the notes correctly (an IBM computer can do much better). We must be aware of the Word—the text—and interpret these appropriately. As an aside, it is my observation that church organists often continue their graduate organ studies with the same teacher as their college teacher did. We need to break this mold and encourage our graduate students to risk with grace and explore new fields of learning, to be less parochial. I long to find church musicians who experience the rich English tradition of church music as well as German and our contemporary American traditions.

Yes, I think God has a sense of humor! Humor in the church, however, is like tabasco sauce—a little goes a long way. The 'cutesy' anthems, the innocuous hymns and the homily which often consists of one story after another to loosen us up, is a distasteful practice and makes thinking people miserable. We must continue and renew our hope that all worship is carefully-planned and executed. Let us not get into the spontaneous, casual type of worship!

DEO AEDIFICATIO-SOLI DEO GLORIA

During the past 52 years I have been totally immersed in professional church music as a planner, leader and teacher. I have had many opportunities to observe, participate in, and work with other denominations in the practice of church music. This has been a revelation to me, not only from the viewpoint of the quality of music, but the liturgical practices, the drama and action of the service itself. I include in my experiences the Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Mennonites, Presbyterians, and the Jewish—in Europe and Canada, as well as in the United States. We recently lectured and played hymn festi­vals in South Korea where the Christian churches are vigorous and exciting, and congregational and choral singing is strong and vigorous.

From 1975-1980 the numbers game came into the thinking of the church leaders, its musicians, the architects who designed worship spaces, and it was genuinely acknowledged that the number of people attending church had declined. Something needed to be done. Television had demonstrated how useful it could be in communicating anything and everything. The entertainment industry took over many of the American churches which were having difficulties holding on to and increasing membership. Perhaps you have seen the Hour of Power with Robert Schuler, Jimmy Bakker, Oral Roberts, and Jimmy Swaggert These people have their "places in the sun." I need not say more.

The entertainment industry has not stopped producing charismatic preachers, and they have invaded the music-making areas of churches as well. Guitars and amplifiers, so-called electronic keyboards with even higher levels of amplification, drums, etc. are standard equipment in many, though certainly not all, of our churches. Allow me to tell you of two most unusual advertisements which appeared in the May-June issue of Your Church, a publication addressing itself to church management.

ALLEN MDS-EXPANDERS

DESIGNED WITH THE ORGANIST IN MIND!

ORGANIST IN A BOX

A little electronic box is about to revolutionize worship accompaniment. No larger than a dictionary, the Electronic Hymnal does it all. You can set:

• Volume
• Tempo
• Key Signature
• Number of verses
• Instruments in Accompaniment (16 total)
• $695.00 and up!

Apparently, all you need to do is to plug this into your electronic organ and you will be sure to have all of the advantages of a MIDI but none of the headaches. With two Expander versions to choose from, you will have harpsichords, lute, harps, celestes, handbells, strings, pianos, chimes, electric organs I, II and III, clarinets, oboes, bassoons, brass ensembles, bugles, posthorns, wood harps, marimbas, vibes, glockenspiels, xylophones, timpanis, and much much more.

How it works: Electronic microchips digitally store about one thousand common hymns, choruses and worship songs. You use a remote control no more complicated than TV remote to punch in hymn numbers. The music plays over your PA systems; no musical instruments or musicians needed. Could it be that we, as organists, are becoming obsolete?

Could it be that the congregation will become passive? If so, I go on record saying that as a church musician, I am against everything that robs the congregation of its voice in song. I am for everything that nurtures the congregation in its pursuit of the new song.

I should like to share some quotations regarding worship and church music ministry. The first is taken from the article, "Some Thoughts about Musical Style and Ministry," by Dr. Wayne Earnest, Director of Music Ministries at Saint David Lutheran Church in West Columbia, South Carolina:

A basic law of physics is that for every force there is an equal counter force. Since congregations are made up of people with diverse preferences, it is necessary to use a dichotomy of musical styles that reflect that basic law of physics—essentially "classical" and "non-classical." The critical element is determining the proportion between these two styles and that proportion varies GREATLY from one congregation to another. It may be 50:50 in one congregation, 90:10 in another, and 30:70 in still another. Each must be considered individually. These styles are analogous to a hospital and an ambulance. When a person needs medical attention, the hospital can give them long-term, extended help but only if the patient is in the hospital. Conversely, the ambu­lance can "meet them where they are" but can give only short-term limited help.

We are in a society that has been conditioned to "having it our way, right away," to be entertained—a "market-driven" mentality—but we must remember that the real "audience" in worship is not the congregation. The audience is God. Therefore, while it is important to "meet the people where they are," we must also be equally intentional about moving people forward to where they could be. After all, children will usually prefer candy to vegetables. But imagine what would happen to a child if it were allowed to eat only candy. Further, fads such as "trendy" music come and go before congregations really catch up to them, and by then they are out chasing the next one. If we really believe God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, then music that has enduring qualities, regardless of style, communicates this most effectively. People coming to church are not really looking for a flashy show. (There is more than enough entertainment available and much of it is very professionally done! Why compete?) Instead, they are trying to catch a glimpse of God—to somehow come into contact with the Infinite, the Beautiful, the Almighty. Many recent articles say that "Baby Boomers" are disenchanted with the church because it is too much like the rest of the world, yet some church consultants advise making the church both look and sound like the world. How better to transcend this world and catch a glimpse of God than through music with transcendent qualities?

Another important quotation comes from an article, "Whose Glory?" by Larry Christensen, from the November-December, 1992, issue of Partners:

“In the church's worship, music is produced to serve the liturgy. Self expression by the composer or the performer is the by-product. It would seem that the most important test of our motives is whether the choices we make and the music we perform serve the liturgies the church has developed through the centuries as a proper vehicle for the edification, prayer and praise of the assembly. Arguments about "art music" or "quality music" versus "folk-ethnic" or "pop based" styles rather miss the point. All may serve the liturgy; any of them may be utterly misused. Rationalizing that we are improving peoples' tastes or blessing the people with what they can relate to hasn't advanced the argument one bit.”

The megatrend observer Naisbitt notes that classical music is being used more and more in commercials because it stands out, whereas popular music seems too ordinary. Does popular music, then, make worship ordinary?

It is rather clear where we were with church music some fifty years ago. Perhaps we can also agree on our current position with church music. Where we will be by the year 2000 and beyond is difficult to determine. What I think we must do, as I said earlier, is to balance the so-called "classical" with the "nonclassical." We can't throw out the crib and the Baby for some trendy substitute. Neither do we want to completely disregard the technological "new." We need a wholesome balance, and that can only be determined by time, experience, integrity and most of all, prayer and wisdom.

I thank you for listening to what I have had to say. Our role as church musicians is to nurture the music-makers. We do not do music for the church, but we help the church discover its music. In addressing this group of Lutheran church musicians, I feel I may have carried coals to Newcastle. I would much rather have played this would I have known How! But words, too, are useful when they help us to focus our energy and purpose.