This is my first venture into the exciting, and somewhat intimidating, world of blogging, and I would be remiss if I did not begin by thanking Doug and Jan Anderson for their tireless support—both emotionally and technically. It is my intent to share with you at least weekly (or as often as the Spirit moves me) a few of the thoughts that have been shuffling up and down the corridors of my heart and mind.
I have just returned from a week at Austin Theological Seminary, where I was part of seminar on Jazz Improvisation. “What does that have to do with ministry?” you ask. Well, to be honest, I thought the same thing. However, by the end of the week, I was seeing all kinds of connections.
But before I get too far ahead of myself, some definitions are probably in order. Improvisations are spontaneous and unscripted moments whereby we create something fresh and new—something that never existed before, and in a sense, will never exist again, at least not in exactly that way. Most of you, for example, are probably familiar with improvisation in music, or perhaps in the theater. It’s where the actor or musician leaves the manuscript behind and follows their instincts.
However, what I found to be intriguing is that improvisation is not entirely without structure. In jazz, for instance, the musician is operating within a precise progression of chords. Within those chords, the musician is free to adapt and rearrange the melody, but they aren’t just playing any notes … they’re playing notes that fit within those chords.
In the same way, because we have been given free will, much of our lives are improvised. We are constantly adapting and rearranging. One might even go as far as to say that we are composing our own melodies. However, if we are to be faithful to the scriptures, we must also recognize that God has given us a basic chord structure in which to operate. When we venture outside of that chord structure, we risk destroying the music altogether. At that point, we are merely creating noise.
I often hear people lament that they wish God would be a little more directive. “Tell us exactly what we should be doing, O Lord.” But most of the time, we are not given that kind of explicit guidance. What we are given is the notation of how the chords are to progress. It’s almost as if God is saying: “Have fun with this. Don’t be afraid to improvise. Let the Spirit move you. But pay attention to the chords, because they will give you what is necessary to create music.”
One of the speakers at this conference remarked that often when jazz musicians are playing together, someone will get lost. They will drift outside the chord structure, or inadvertently change the tempo, or even start playing in the wrong key. In other words, they start following their own instincts, and it leads them astray. The results, said this speaker, can be disastrous. But the solution is that someone in the group will begin playing the chords again—loud and clear—so that everyone can get back on track. There are a lot of parallels there with the church, I think. We come to worship to be reminded again of the chords, so that together we can be instruments of God’s love and peace.
I have just returned from a week at Austin Theological Seminary, where I was part of seminar on Jazz Improvisation. “What does that have to do with ministry?” you ask. Well, to be honest, I thought the same thing. However, by the end of the week, I was seeing all kinds of connections.
But before I get too far ahead of myself, some definitions are probably in order. Improvisations are spontaneous and unscripted moments whereby we create something fresh and new—something that never existed before, and in a sense, will never exist again, at least not in exactly that way. Most of you, for example, are probably familiar with improvisation in music, or perhaps in the theater. It’s where the actor or musician leaves the manuscript behind and follows their instincts.
However, what I found to be intriguing is that improvisation is not entirely without structure. In jazz, for instance, the musician is operating within a precise progression of chords. Within those chords, the musician is free to adapt and rearrange the melody, but they aren’t just playing any notes … they’re playing notes that fit within those chords.
In the same way, because we have been given free will, much of our lives are improvised. We are constantly adapting and rearranging. One might even go as far as to say that we are composing our own melodies. However, if we are to be faithful to the scriptures, we must also recognize that God has given us a basic chord structure in which to operate. When we venture outside of that chord structure, we risk destroying the music altogether. At that point, we are merely creating noise.
I often hear people lament that they wish God would be a little more directive. “Tell us exactly what we should be doing, O Lord.” But most of the time, we are not given that kind of explicit guidance. What we are given is the notation of how the chords are to progress. It’s almost as if God is saying: “Have fun with this. Don’t be afraid to improvise. Let the Spirit move you. But pay attention to the chords, because they will give you what is necessary to create music.”
One of the speakers at this conference remarked that often when jazz musicians are playing together, someone will get lost. They will drift outside the chord structure, or inadvertently change the tempo, or even start playing in the wrong key. In other words, they start following their own instincts, and it leads them astray. The results, said this speaker, can be disastrous. But the solution is that someone in the group will begin playing the chords again—loud and clear—so that everyone can get back on track. There are a lot of parallels there with the church, I think. We come to worship to be reminded again of the chords, so that together we can be instruments of God’s love and peace.
posted by Dr. Robert Crilley at
6:01 PM
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