Legacy Youth Ministry Resources

Illustration texts

Church Music in Times of Renewal

"?the history of revivalism has seen a repeated flowering of new sacred music forms which sprang from secular roots." (Donald P. Hustad, Jubilate! Church Music in the Evangelical Tradition (Carol Stream, Illinois, Hope Publishing, 1981, p. 18. "Each time the church has expressed its beliefs in a contemporary way it has surged forward in evangelistic outreach, bringing scores of people into the church." (Donald Paul Ellsworth, Christian Music in Contemporary Witness (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Book House, 1979), p. 18)

Write a Song; Don't Buy Ads

"If you want to reach young people in this country, write a song, don't buy an ad." (Sociologist Serge Denisoff, from Newsweek (30 Dec. 1985), p. 54; quoted by Dan Peters, Steve Peters, and Cher Merrill, What About Christian Rock? (Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany House, 1986), p. 21)

On Canonizing Musical Form

"History indicates that the [church] body that canonizes musical form and style begins to 'fossilize' right there." (Gordon L. Borror and Ronald B. Allen, Worship: Rediscovering the Missing Jewel (Portland, Oregon: Multnomah, 1982), p. 166.)

Irrelevant Music Ministry Approaches

"For the music minister attempting to make good his promise to reach out to the unsaved world?conventional music ministry approaches become less and less relevant to an audience that no longer even understands the vocabulary of faith. The truth is that we have been singing lovely songs to ourselves, and the world not only hasn't been listening, it hasn't even known we've been singing." (Reed Arvin, "Christian Music in a Post-Christian Culture," Contemporary Christian Music (August, 1990), p. 14.

Plato and Music

"Give me the music of a nation and I will change the mind of that nation." Plato

How the Isley Brothers Endure

Although we dare not compromise our theology, we must continually rethink our methodology, lest we find ourselves ministering on the edge of significance. An interesting parallel in the entertainment industry would be the Isley Brothers band. They've done what many thought impossible: to remain popular from the early days of rock (when they recorded songs such as "Shout" and "That Lady") till the present (c. 2000). How did they do it? According to Ernie Isley, ?We?re adaptable because we genuinely like a wide variety of music. When the climate changes, we change. We realized a long time ago there is no need to wear a fur coat to the beach or swim trunks in the middle of winter. The inability to figure that out has ended a lot of careers?..We changed with the times, so a lot of kids know my brother as Mr. Biggs, and they think ?That Lady? is a hair commercial, and ?Shout? is a song they sing at a ballgame when the home team is scoring runs. A lot of people don't even know it?s us. But it means the music has staying power.? (Written by Steve Miller. Source: Kot, Greg, ?How the Isley Brothers became ? and stayed ? the first family of R & B? Chicago Tribune, November 4, 2001, Sec. 7, p. 1.)

Stats on Youth and Music

Some students say that no matter how bad the lyrics are to some of their favorite songs, it doesn't really matter, because they're just listening to the music. Yet, a Fall, 2001 survey (USA Weekend Magazine?s Teens & Music survey of 60,000 teens ) found that 69% of teens know more than 75% of the lyrics of songs they listen to. Other interesting results: ? 68% of parents do not forbid their children to listen to certain music ? Top music genres: 1) Hip-hop/rap?27%, 2) Pop?23%, 3) Rock/punk?17%, 4) Alternative?7%, 5) Christian/gospel?6%, 6) R&B?6%, 7) Country?5%. Found at: http://www.usaweekend.com/02_issues/020505/020505teenmusicresults.html [Respondents = 67% female, 33% male, 77% white, 11% black, 5% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 3% multiracial, 2% other; 43% suburban, 39% rural, 18% urban]

Ulysses S. Grant Didn't Like Church Music

Grant Didn't Like the Music Music It's important to have the right music in our services. Ulysses S. Grant was a hard drinking Civil War commander who didn't quote the Bible when going to war. He probably was the least religious of all the Civil War commanders. His wife, Julia, was a devout Methodist but never could make her husband into a churchgoer. He claimed he didn't like the music. He was rebaptized on his deathbed at the insistence of his friends. AJC, Feb. 22, 2003, p. B1, Faith and Values.

<<   <

1 | 2 | 3 |