Last week, I referred to the upcoming dialogue between leaders among churches of Christ and Christian churches regarding unity. Sure to dominate the discussion at several lectureships and forums throughout this year, the aim of the discussion seems to be an effort to repair the breach of 1906 that recognized the independent Christian churches and churches of Christ as separate religious groups.
The fact of the matter is only one thing separates the two groups and that is the instrument.
During my ministry in Lake City, Florida, I was blessed to know Bob Ritchie and the good people at First Christian Church in Lake City. Bob, the preaching minister at First Christian, and I became friends and shared meals and insight together on a regular basis. The one thing, I discovered, that distinguished First Christian from Central Church of Christ (where I was the preaching minister) was the piano. They used the same Bible class material with their children that we did. That used the same hymnals we did. Their order of worship looked strikingly familiar to ours. Their organizational structure of leadership was identical. Their call to conversion and salvation echoed the same call we were offering at Central. They didn't have a full-scale band; the only instrument they used was piano.
But the issue that divided the two churches at-large 100 years ago still separates First Christian from Central Church of Christ today.
Can that breach be repaired? Not without compromise on the part of both groups. Compromise that is sure to be advocated throughout various lectureships and conferences this year.
Which leads me to this: Marva Dawn, of whose book I spoke of yesterday, was interviewed by Hugh Gainey in the Austin Graduate School of Theology Update that arrived in the mail yesterday (Volume 86). Three insightful exchanges in that interview for you this morning:
What are some of your impressions (of churches of Christ)?
I love the way you sing. That says a lot.
What do you think about our a capella tradition?
It's just very impressive. You sing with great gusto...You memorize a lot and know a lot of hymns and resonate with them deeply.
What would you say if churches of Christ abandoned that practice?That is a shame. It really is a shame because I hear all the harmonies, and people nowadays don't know how to sing that way. I love it. I experienced that in the Mennonites, singing a capella, and I thought it was brilliant. I like accompaniments too, but an accompaniment should only support the singing, not cover it up, which is what a lot of contemporary stuff does. I grew up singing with my brothers. We always sang a capella. My dad's choir has always been. We didn't sing in the congregation that way, because there was always an organ, but we always sang in four part. The advantages of the parts is that it teaches us fellowship; it teaches us to listen to one another; it teaches us to be in harmony in our lives even as we are in our music. And I think a lot of people today don't think that way.
Insightful, huh? In all my years in the a capella tradition of the churches of Christ, I've never thought of a capella singing as illustrative of the harmony of fellowship. Dawn's insights are point-on and remind me of some of the ancillary reasons why I love our heritage of a capella singing.
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The old slogan "Hope springs eternal" rings true every year for fans of every Major League Baseball team. And while not quite spring yet, the Ranger fan in me is getting juiced. The inbox this morning had the following the tidbits from Jamey Newberg and they are enough to give any long-suffering Ranger fan...hope!
Longshot on Clemens? Sure. But Peter Gammons, asked in a Boston Globe chat session last week what the chances were of Clemens returning to the Red Sox, replied: "Not good. Larry Lucchino has been in contact with the Hendricks brothers as recently as yesterday. Rangers owner Tom Hicks was also at the Rose Bowl seeing his alma mater. Texas has been working very hard on bringing him to the Rangers. I wouldn't bet against it."
Daniels told Scott Miller of CBS SportsLine.com: "With what [Clemens has] accomplished in the game, we wouldn't want to insult him by putting on a traditional free-agent recruiting pitch. We want to be respectful of his process. He certainly knows we're interested. We're going to let him dictate what he wants to do."
Jim Reeves of the Star-Telegram cites "rumors that Clemens has been carefully watching the Rangers' moves and likes what he's seen." Reeves adds that Hicks has assured Clemens that Texas "will tailor his workload however he likes," and that Clemens will have access to Hicks's personal jet to travel with his family to and from Houston when needed.
One factor that makes a Clemens signing more conceivable is that Kevin Millwood's $15 million signing bonus is fully deferred. His contract will expire after either the 2009 or 2010 season -- but his bonus won't be payable until 2011, and will be spread out over five years.
