College Union

Following up on Mark’s great blog about music and its power to create story, I wanted to add my own thoughts. Because I can’t figure out how to add a comment into the blog—which would be the conventional method for such a response, I am going to make an entirely new post. And Mark, I think we can safely assume that the virtual vacuousness of commenting on our new diaBlogue is owing to this fact that even the above average blogger can’t figure out how to actually make the commenting feature work.

So to my thought: Music creates a World. The music we listen to creates the world that live in. Try watching a movie without the soundtrack. Remember the soundtrack for the movie Cast Away? Exactly. There wasn’t one.

Just last week a student at the seminary shared his story in Chapel. He shared how as a high school student he had become completely immersed in “Gangsta Rap” music. How it first affirmed in him his own sense of racial injustice. Next it taught him to hate the white race (of which he was a part). Finally, it led him to renounce Christ and to affirm Islam. Now I’m not trying to make the point that Gangsta Rap is anti Christian and pro Islamic. The point is that music completely shaped his world and determined his vision.

This morning I spent an hour in a Starbucks down the way. Starbucks is into music. Why? Because music creates a world. Their latest campaign slogan: “Coffee Loves Music.” They’ve made a brilliant partnership with iTunes on the one hand and XM Satellite Radio on the other. They even have their own XM Satellite radio station. They are giving away free songs every day and touting musicians. They are discovering something powerful.

Consider the great theologian Clint Black’s genius lyric,

“Ain’t it funny how a melody can bring back a memory;
take you to another place in time,
completely change your state of mind.”

He’s saying that music is the story. The melody is so intertwined with the memory that simply hearing the notes literally transports us there again.

So what does this have to do with worship? I’ve got my thoughts and theories, but I’ve already said too much for a good blog entry. Mark—you tell me. Or if there should be another lonely love-sick wanderer on our quiet diaBlogue—pls take a shot at it.

Categories: Worship
Tags: music, starbucks, Worship