Question: How does Music Discipleship relate to grade exams or such other syllabi from other providers? The key thing is that Music Discipleship (MD) is not the usual kind of ‘examination syllabus’. It’s best to start from the main ‘Salt & Light Discipleship’ (SLD, see this). MD is part of SLD. SLD is not a ‘syllabus’. In most churches, it will be much more a small-group effort, and it might be best to take a step at a time rather than decide the plan right from the start. They might regard it important to take time to pray about it, […]
Monthly archives: February 2019
28 posts
We have been reminded about showing kindness recently. Remember the memory verse we had a few Sundays ago? Hint: Micah 6:8 has “love kindness” in the RSV, Good News has “show constant love”, while NIV has “love mercy”. Love is everywhere! It’s also action-packed: to ‘show’ love. Mercy and kindness are two ways to show love. Ok ok, not everyone reading this now was there on that Sunday! Let’s pretend you were there 🙂 Love in isolation is like having something you really like (e.g. chocolate) but not eating it – just the thought / sight / smell of chocolate […]
Wow. You mean it? You must not… You must not… and if you do, ….put to death, …put to death. The language is rather direct, but maybe there is a language translation problem. Or maybe the issue is so ever important there’s no better way to emphasise it. In the Bible, there are lots of these kinds of statements. Far too many of them in the Old Testament, but New Testatment probably as many it’s just that the Old Testament ones are more blunt. Have a look at some pages in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. Have […]
This is a first look at ‘syllabus’. It’s in the title but it’s not a syllabus. What I have here is some useful ideas about the syllabus. Following feedback I will provide more information to explain, clarify and support others test and implement this. Primary ideas Music Discipleship goes ‘hand in hand’ with discipleship – for clarification I have referred this as ‘salt & light discipleship’. For easier reference Salt & Light Discipleship is SLD, Music Discipleship is MD. MD cannot be independent of SLD since it is in your continuing maturity as a child of God that you carry […]
We went to the bank, well another branch of the same bank. We want to clarify a bank account. I had the same issue some time ago, and that was sorted out there and then at a branch, well the third branch some distance away. I just happened to be passing then. In the branch, we got better information than the first one. In the first branch, probably due to lack of staff available that time, the staff gave us a leaflet and instruction to call a central number. Given I had a more informed response in the third branch […]
At a weekend conference, the digital piano was in fact electronic piano. I don’t know whether people make that difference (digital or electronic) or whether the naming system is consistent across manufacturers. Briefly, digital piano has better sounds (and more effects) than electronic. It sounds like a major difference, but some of it is due to very small margin in design. On small margins, human can only survive in small margins of temperature. I read that scientists discovered a planet a few years ago which they named GJ1214b. They worked out this planet is made much more of water than […]
Me me me. The root of much of today’s social, economic and political problems is selfishness. To be more exact, putting me first without taking consideration about how my action could put others in a far less favourable condition. However, I don’t think we should live a life of complete ‘for-otherness’, for example, shelter, freedom of mind and companionship are basic capacity of a person. God’s creation order has a relationship logic that spans vertically (e.g. heaven and sea) and horizontally (growth of nature). God’s fundamental basis for human is healthy relationships both to God’s creation order and with others. […]
Is gentleness a sign of weakness? Surely not. In fact it’s a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23. Here, Paul contrasts the sinful actions that we have left behind (or try to), with a life in the Spirit where the Spirit develops our gentleness. Gentleness is something we should have, and have more of! It’s probably easier to define gentleness by what it is not – rude, quick-tempered, and selfish, to name a few. In one instance in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul wrote that by being gentle in teaching the gospel, he was like a mother nursing her children, […]
There are various places people can give away their unwanted stuffs, obviously those still in working condition. You can offer, or find suitable items to keep, or both. All on free basis. The other day we saw a rubbish bin. We didn’t need one. But we can do with a better one because this free one is bigger and more practical for us. Sometime back we took a printer free. A very commpact laser printer. We were going to buy cartriges. For months, though, we didn’t get round finding the particular cartridges. After about 6 months, we put the printer […]
Sound of a slight crack. Was it something dropped on the ground outside the window? Coming back to it again after a few moments. That sounded like a brittle crack. No, I got the glasses here, yet to wash them. They are not cracked. My mind wondered away to a conversation I heard earlier on the street. The letter is on the table, and Ayi (Ayida?) knows about what needs to do in the library before going to Linda. It sounded like Linda is somebody who could but would rather not take the trouble. We shared the path for about […]
A bit more thoughts on music discipleship. Let’s make use of the song / hymn Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart. For the one who plays on the keyboard, piano or organ, they might take this opportunity to learn the basic harmony of F major. It gives them more than that, for example First inversion C major on the left hand, second bar: The use of Eb harmony, flattened 7th, for dramatic effect, see below. The use of II7 – V7 – I resolution, e.g. bars 8 to 9, see below. For the guitarist, some will struggle playing F and […]
We can hear the melody of a song we are familiar with, sort of ‘in our head’. We might sing along to it. And for musicians who are familiar with the written music, we can even ‘see’ the music score as we playback the melody in our head. We don’t only experience the melody of a song, it is the whole song – harmonic, rhythm as well as the melody. The melody is one part. Without knowing it, we do also hear the harmony of the particular song, the way the harmony sounds at that particular point for that particular […]
As a church community, we should identify and nurture singers and musicians similarly to supporting them grow in the world. I want to focus on music discipleship. This could be central to a person in his/her development in their music activities – knowledge, relationship (friendship, ensemble, community) as well as artistic and technical skills. ‘Discipleship’ – this probably can be explained as living a life that recognises Jesus as your Lord and following his teaching, and him as saviour in the way he leads a perfect life that pleases God and reaches out to others because they need him. Others […]