Recent Amazing Developments

There have been some amazing things to take note of recently. Here are some of them:

The Worship Wars Have Ended. Musicians, congregations, pastors, and leaders have agreed to stop their nearly four-decade long battle over contemporary vs. traditional music. Classically trained musicians have agreed to fully embrace gospel, pop, rock, and hip-hop styles in the church. Contemporary musicians have agreed to the beauty, merit, and place of chant, chorales, fugues, and traditional hymns. Everyone will include praise choruses, praise teams, choirs, organs, electronic keyboards, drums, and orchestral instruments in worship. UMC congregations will gracefully welcome all musical styles that are wedded to texts with truth, sound theology, and biblical foundation. The people in local congregations have quit arguing over print vs. projection, video clips, the proper role of children and youth in worship, and other worship-related activities.

All Copyright Law Enforcement Has Ceased. Musicians have promised to never again illegally copy, record, arrange, alter, sell, or use copyrighted music. Publishers have agreed to make available for purchase at modest cost the full range of musical style and usability; music that has gone out of print will be economically available as web downloads. Music file sharers have agreed to cease illegally downloading and sharing music files on the internet, and record artists, companies, and distributors will sell their products at their cost plus a reasonable mark-up.

College, University, and Seminary Music Instruction Equally Recognizes the Need to Train Students in Classical, Traditional, Contemporary, and Alternative Styles of Worship Music. They have agreed to include courses in history, theory, and performance in all styles of worship music in order to fully prepare church musicians.

Students and Future Professional Church Musicians Have Realized the Necessity of Being Versatile in a Wide Range of Musical Styles. They will seek experience, training, and proficiency in them in order to be able to effectively lead a local congregation in worship and music. Further, they recognize the necessity of sound, quality training that is available to them in our denominational schools of higher learning. Local congregations have agreed to seek out and employ these trained music professionals and provide them with wages, benefits, and job security similar to those of the clergy.

The General Agencies of The UMC Have Learned How to Effectively Serve The Needs of the Largest and Richest but Declining Segment of the Church in the USA as Well as the Very Different Needs of the Poorer, Much Smaller but Rapidly Growing Segment of the Church Outside the USA. They have solved the problems of language, culture, history, politics, economics, theology, and polity. Agencies have learned how to make available to local congregations just the right resources and training they need for making disciples, and local congregations are purchasing and using denominational resources and paying apportionments in full.

Glory, glory hallelujah! It sounds like the kingdom has come! Unfortunately, it is April 1st — April Fools Day — and the truth is that we're still confronted with all of these and other problems. What can we do about them? What can you and your church do? What can Discipleship Ministries do? What can I do?