performance

Beginning a Drama Group

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Preparing drama for worship requires much time and skill. The following article identifies many of the issues that need to be addressed in beginning a drama ministry and describes helpful procedures for making this process efficient.

Religious drama is finding its way into the liturgy and pedagogy of religious institutions. Laypersons who wish to begin such a “drama ministry” need assistance in knowing how to form a religious drama interest and a performing group. They need to realize that drama has a historical connection to the church and can continue to be useful in presenting the Christian truth. Christ used narrative and stories to present his truth during His brief ministry here on earth. Humans seem to discover deeper aspects of their faith through stories and narratives, and today this form of storytelling can be best offered by means of dramatic production and presentation.

Religious leaders have had a “love/hate” relationship with drama throughout history. The early Hebrews composed group chants, praises, and prayers that were dramatically interactive in group and leader recitative. The basilicas of early Christianity were so immense that group liturgists projected the sound of doctrinal pronouncements so that those attending could hear and understand the tenets of the faith. From these beginnings, the Mass evolved to incorporate segments of group reading, recitation, and drama. The early mystery plays portrayed the lives of Christ and the apostles in outdoor and cathedral settings.

For some well-meaning theologians and believers, the “drama” of the early church was suspected of participating inadvertently in evil, because believers portrayed other personae, potentially compelling the faithful to deception, false implications, or connections to the sinful secular culture. An early advocate of drama’s distinct sacred potential was the tenth-century German nun Hroswitha, who came to the convent at Gandersheim in southern Germany from an educated life as a nobleman’s daughter. Once converted to monastic Christianity, she disavowed all connections to her past love and appreciation for the Roman playwrights and decided to compose plays for a cloistered audience in Latin. Hroswitha was so concerned that her plays might be linked with secular stage productions that she specifically wrote stage directions that her plays be read rather than performed. Predating the modern readers’ theater art form, Hroswitha’s six plays regaled the local community with tales of saints tortured and abused for their faith. She called these dramas “comedies,” because each saint went to spend eternity in heaven at the end of each reading.

Does drama have a place in the church today? Many realize that the answer is resoundingly affirmative. The topics presented in drama bring people to the edge of confrontation with social values and traditions. That tension is a given; good drama must have tension. But the good “play” with resolution, direction or rhetorical premises seeks to provide answers to life’s dilemmas. Drama in the church today should have five purposes: (1) worship; (2) education; (3) entertainment; (4) evangelism or conviction; and (5) mature growth and appreciation.

Drama can lead us in worship as we listen, hear, and meditate on the attributes of God: his work, his plan, his essence, and his majesty. Drama tells Bible stories to educate us and our children or to relate biblical injunctions for contemporary living. It can evoke feelings of happiness or sadness as our emotions entertain our passions and deepest thoughts. Drama can relay the message of evangelism in an unpredictable manner, leading to conviction. Finally, we become more balanced, more mature Christians as we absorb drama’s efforts to instruct us on growth and change in Christian life.

For the past twenty years, contemporary Christian music has revitalized the local congregation, introducing percussive instruments, contemporary rhythms, and even making inroads into secular culture with crossover artists like Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Philip Bailey. But within the past five years, drama in the church, which had lagged behind in renewal, has begun to catch up with contemporary music. Churches are recognizing the power of drama, incorporating scenes, skits, full productions, and pageants into regular services, as well as creating specialized formats for presentations. Reformed Jewish synagogues like Temple Beth Tikvah in Columbus, Ohio, have experimented with modern liturgical formats that involve the congregation in dramatic and choral recitation; they create a “theater of worship.” Other ministries experiment with clowning or puppetry to tell stories to “media-raised” youth, enhancing traditional religious and spiritual training. Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois has been on the cutting edge of innovative approaches, coaxing the unchurched to attend through an emphasis on contemporary, locally produced drama. Proscenium full-staged productions to stark choral readings are part of the growing interest in bringing drama back to the church in our day.

Laypersons who have talent and experience in dramatic presentations have been neglected for too long in our churches. To utilize drama as a communicative system, a local training program may be needed. Consider the following pedagogical guidelines, suggestions, and resources for a local church to begin a “drama ministry.”

Stimulating Interest in Drama

A good quality dramatic script and performance will stir interest in a congregation for more dramatic endeavors. As a stimulant, bring in an outside group to perform before starting dramatic training. A highly polished and prepared group will demonstrate to all, especially the cynics, the power and communicative impact of religious drama. Find a local church with a strong drama program and ask the members if they would perform at your church. Local Christian colleges (such as Biola University in California; Northwest Nazarene College in Idaho; or Gordon College in Massachusetts) have troupes that can be invited for local church gatherings. Parachurch dramatic organizations, such as Lamb’s Players in San Diego or A. D. Players in Houston, can be contracted for various dramatic productions. A local civic theater may have a “secular” play with religious overtones, and the cast may enjoy an opportunity for interaction. A question/answer period following a presentation of Amadeus, Luther, or J.B. might stimulate religious thought and growth.

Other mechanisms to stimulate interest in drama might include:

  • A dialogue sermon in which two leaders speak in tandem, occasionally in choral-line delivery.
  • Readers’ theater, a “Theater of the Mind,” in which minimal staging and dramatized prose, poetry, and drama selections call upon the audience to “imagine” actions and scenes.
  • A pre-sermon/homily monologue in which a biblical character or religious persona reacts to the principles of the day’s message. This could be a costumed monologue or predictable dress presentation.
  • A choral reading of the Scripture passage by two or more readers, seated in various places among the congregation.
  • A combined choir and drama musical presentation. Various publishers listed at the end of this article offer many full-length plays with music for congregational use.

Any of these suggestions should stir interest in creating a local drama troupe. The congregational leader needs to be aware of drama seminars and source material available for production. Look for local or area-wide drama specialists who will come to your church for a one- or two-day seminar on drama. Choose a seminar that offers information to the novice actor as well as stimulating the veteran drama enthusiast.

Source References for Dramatic Presentation

An annotated bibliography appears at the end of this chapter listing titles and publishers of religious drama. Though more Christian publishers are offering more dramatic script texts, entertaining, instructive, and powerfully compelling material is sometimes difficult to find. You may choose to write your own material, clip, and adapt religious poems, essays, editorials, vignettes, and stories for use in creatively compiled skits or readers’ theater productions. Try your hand at writing short or lengthy original material as well.

Locating the Drama Enthusiasts

Finding those members of the local religious center who are interested in dramatic performance can be frustrating. At first, a director will gravitate toward finding the performers for specific parts, but as an alternative, consider beginning with a survey card that indicates interest or background in all facets of drama. Most religious groups have an abundance of hidden talent just waiting to be asked or discovered.

Hand the cards out as a bulletin insert or at the door as worshipers come in for a service. If possible, augment the survey card with a public announcement of the need for performers, set designers, lighting, sound technicians, make-up artists, music, choral readers, costume designers, and publicity people.

In addition to basic information about name, age group, address, and experience, establish a planning session time, usually a week or two weeks from the distribution date. Appeal to all ages, and if the interest is high within an age grouping (e.g., high school) you may wish to cast performers from within the predominant age group. Drama has the ability to bridge the generation gap, so casting a multi-aged group can bring the religious body together in a cross-generational activity.

At the planning session, find out how interested your attendees are. For those who want more information, indicate to them that you would like to start a drama ministry that would allow opportunities for the local church to put on shows similar to the kind performed by your guest troupes. Discuss with attendees that a drama ministry can augment the pulpit or liturgical presentations. Try to instill enthusiastic anticipation for what a drama ministry could mean for the congregation and the participants.

Choosing a Performance Piece and Casting

When you have a good idea of the number and quality of those interested in drama, choose a dramatic program to present. If the anticipated presentation is seasonal, select a holiday-themed program. You will need to write to the publishers for royalty information if you choose certain plays. If you compile a readers’ theater program, copyright obligations may compel writing for performance permission. Some legal advisers believe that if nondramatic literature is presented to an educational audience or in a nonprofit setting, permission and/or royalties may be unnecessary. Some older literature is definitely in the public domain and does not require a royalty. You are clearly in violation of copyright laws if you charge admission for royalty-earning plays or equally designated nondramatic forms without writing for permission. A good rule of thumb is to check at the beginning of any published work to see if specific permission or royalty fees must be paid prior to the performance.

You can meet separately with the technical crew as the preliminary plans progress. Inform the technical crew of their responsibilities and your needs and prepare them to run their “dress rehearsal” (cue-to-cue rehearsal) on one of the nights preceding the first performance.

At your planning session, you may wish to designate two times for performance auditions. During the auditions, hand out an “audition sheet.” This sheet asks for basic information about name, address, telephones (work and home), age group, and an explanation of drama experience. The sheet should clearly indicate drama rehearsal times (e.g., Sunday afternoons, 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. until 12 noon; Thursday night dress rehearsal; Friday night dress rehearsal, etc.). Ask for a clear indication of days on which the performer cannot attend. Finally, leave a blank space for “director’s comments” or helpful notes about each person who auditions.

At the auditions, you will need to stress commitment to rehearsals and performances, but be a little more flexible than you might be with a school or “graded” class. Too much pressure will drive participants away since they have no extrinsic reason to stay with the activity. You must build intrinsic commitment by emphasizing the ministry aspects and the opportunity to communicate in a novel and effective manner. The indication of rehearsal times on the audition sheet should preempt some, but not all, of the “no-show” problems. Try to instill in all the performers the necessity of being at rehearsals on time, because you will be committed to letting them out on time. Set the example as a director by always being on time and keeping to a clear schedule. You should cast performers who will commit themselves to the practice times and performances. Drop a cast member who fails to meet the rehearsal times regularly. Allowing this kind of behavior brings down the performance level and morale of the whole cast.

Auditioning can be accomplished by any number of methods. The following patterns may be useful:

  • Audition individually. You make script copies available ahead of time or have a “cold” session. Bring in each performer separately and feed them cue lines.
  • Audition by a small group (2 to 5 people). Divide up the scripts and allow several combinations to read and reread short one-minute to three-minute sections of the script.
  • Call-back auditions. If you choose to narrow the field of performers for one last decision-making audition, set up an additional audition time by posting, phoning, mailing a “call back” list. Some directors feel more secure when they cast one or two alternates or understudies.

During an audition, the drama leader should choose performers with an enthusiastic dedication to the rigors of the endeavor. As a director, listen for such variables as vocal tone and range; believability; appearance; abilities to portray personae (e.g., older or younger people; those with regional dialects or noticeable psychological characteristics); cooperative attitude; and the somewhat enigmatic but powerful concept of stage presence.

Sometimes after casting, and once you have begun rehearsals, you may wish to ask some performers to switch parts or line reading. Try not to make it seem like a promotion or demotion, but rather a fine-tuning of the best combination for presentation.

Adapting to the Performing Area

Religious centers are seldom built for “proscenium” or theatrical presentations. But the space available for performing—“found space”—can be adapted for presentation by altering the environment or using the space as is. The church sanctuary platform area may have a removable pulpit, but choir banister and loft seats are often permanently attached to the floor. You may choose to use the already existing steps to the pulpit area or add risers or leveling platforms over the stationary choir seats. If the congregational seats are movable, a theater-in-the-round format might be utilized. If a readers’ theater format is chosen, you may use stools and boxes to stand or sit upon to represent staging areas.

Consider the focus for the performers. If a play is presented and the primary eye contact is on-stage, position the performers in such a way that most of the time they are readily visible from all parts of the congregation. If a readers’ theater format is used, consider an off-stage focus (imaginary scene placement above the heads of the audience) or audience focus as the main means to keep performers in clear view.

The use of lapel mikes and mike cords can be a nightmare of entanglement. Ideally, try to perform without the benefit of electronic amplification. If this is not possible, try to set up at least four omni-directional microphones at levels that will project most of the sound. Technology is constantly improving the means to amplify sound, but you still may be at the mercy of a microphone with a bad battery, external sound competition, or other mishap. Stress, again and again, the need to project all dialogue and recitations so all can hear and understand.

Rehearsal Practices and Training

The first series of rehearsals require that a director give direction and insights into the meaning and interpretation of the script. Read through the script around a table, pausing when necessary to ask questions concerning character analysis and motivation. Try to get your performers to discover the deeper layers of personality in their character parts by asking questions, or doing demonstrations or role-plays. Especially in preliminary rehearsals for readers’ theater, work for energetic cue pickups, and matching pitch tones for multicharacter line readings.

Some directors have found that an initial ten to fifteen-minute period of “theater games” provides good warm-up technique. Improvisations with characters from the presentation, calisthenics, and verbal scale recitations (“Ah, Ay, Eee, Oh, Ooh,” etc.) can help prepare performers for a more in-tune presentation.

When the read-through rehearsals have led up to a point of familiarity with the script, blocking rehearsals should follow. If you are presenting a play or chamber theater, memorization of parts should accompany the blocking rehearsals. If you are presenting a readers’ theater, stress that 60 to 70 percent of the time eye contact should be off the manuscript. If your performers are novices, you may wish to hand out a blocking pattern of the stage area. Divide a staging area into nine segments (e.g., upstage right, upstage center, upstage left, center stage right, center stage, center stage left, downstage right, downstage center, downstage left). Remind your performers that upstage is always away from the audience and downstage is toward the audience. The “power” stages are those central to the playing area and gain the most attention from audience observers. Have performers bring pencils so that they can mark blocking moves into their scripts or notebooks. As a director, you will need to schematically map out your blocking and staging moves ahead of time (e.g., diagrams in a notebook or amplified script copy) or ask the cast to move around for aesthetic decisions and composition variables of staging.

As blocking rehearsals continue, offer refining comments about cues, nuances of character movements, and entrances/exits. If necessary, offer to meet for individual coaching sessions. Usually, a cast will forget or lose some interpretive character business as they learn blocking, but with a gentle reminder, the performance choices you desire in your actors will return, accompanied by the well-timed blocking moves.

For the first night’s dress rehearsal, prepare your performers for a cue-to-cue technical rehearsal. Bring all of your sound technical crew together and walk your performers through each segment, pausing to ensure that lighting, sound, and scene change crew members know their parts. For the next night’s dress rehearsal, invite a small select audience to come, watch, and meet with the cast and crew afterward for final corrections or reminders. When the performance night comes, meet early with the cast for prayer. Encourage them to do their best and to have fun.

Religious Drama Is Ministry

Continually stress that, unlike any other performance, religious dramatic endeavors are meant to minister as well as entertain and provoke thought. Remember to be reasonable in your praise and kind in offering constructive criticism. Your cast will give you their best if they are encouraged and gently corrected rather than publicly disgraced or humiliated.

After the initial performances, consider other outlets for using religious drama. Speak to the pastor about augmenting the sermon/homily with a dramatic scene. Consider a summer dinner theater for your religious center. Use drama as a pedagogical tool (e.g., a production concerning pain and suffering and God’s role, followed by a discussion). Encourage age-group drama troupes to form so that they can teach their peers. Take your production to another church and introduce drama and its possibilities to them. Religious dramatic presentations can minister in effective and dynamic ways, thereby increasing the number of ways to reach the needs of the various congregations.

The Poetic and Musical Features of the Psalms

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The Psalms are first of all poetic song. As such, they incorporate many of the features of poetry and music, including picturesque language, a principle of the correspondence of lines, metrical patterns, and instructions for performance.

Metaphorical Language

Psalmic poetry shares with other biblical poetry, and indeed with that of all cultures and eras, the use of picturesque and metaphorical language. “The Lord God is a sun and shield” (Ps. 84:11); “He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind” (Ps. 104:3). The worshiper’s enemies are “bulls” or “dogs” (Ps. 22:12, 16); they are “lions, … those who breathe forth fire, … whose teeth are spears and arrows” (Ps. 57:4 NASB). Celebrating Israel’s deliverance in the Exodus from Egypt, the psalmist addresses natural features as though they were persons:

Why was it, O sea, that you fled,
O Jordan, that you turned back,
You mountains, that you skipped like rams,
You hills, like lambs? (Ps. 114:5–6)

Pictorial comparisons occur frequently. The wicked are “like chaff that the wind blows away” (Ps. 1:4); they are venomous and dangerous, “like that of a cobra that stopped its ears, that will not heed the tune of the charmer” (Ps. 58:4–5). The rule of the righteous king is “like showers watering the earth” (Ps. 72:6). Children, given by the Lord, are “like arrows in the hands of a warrior” (Ps. 127:4). The unity of family and community is celebrated in a beautiful image of the priestly anointing:

It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down upon the beard,
Upon the beard of Aaron,
Running down on the collar of his robes! (Ps. 133:2 RSV)

Parallelism

Poetry generally employs some principle of correspondence for successive lines; in conventional English poetry, for example, lines are usually matched through rhyme. Biblical poetry does not use rhyme, but rather uses parallelism or the correspondence of ideas. There are three main types of parallelism: antithetic, synonymous, and synthetic. In two lines of antithetic parallelism, the second states a concept that is the opposite to that stated in the first:

For evil men will be cut off,
But those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. (Ps. 37:9)

This contrasting parallelism, very common in the book of Proverbs, is not used much in Psalms. The psalmists prefer synonymous parallelism, in which the second line of a couplet restates the idea presented in the first, using different words:

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praise to Thy name, O Most High. (Ps. 92:1 NASB)

“It is good” is not paralleled in the second line, but “to give thanks” (the Hebrew verb actually means “to confess”) equates with “to sing praise,” and “thy name, O Most High” corresponds to “the Lord.” The frequent use of synonymous parallelism in the Psalms helps us to understand theological terms in their fuller sense:

Loving-kindness and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Ps. 85:10 NASB)

Obviously, in the psalmist’s thinking, “loving-kindness” (ḥesed, “covenant love”) must be understood to include “righteousness,” while “peace” (salvation or wholeness) must incorporate “truth” (’emet, “reliability”).

A third form of parallelism in the Psalms is called synthetic parallelism because the successive lines correspond through development or synthesis:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
Or stand in the way of sinners
Or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in season,
And whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers. (Ps. 1:1–3)

Here the psalmist develops a picture of the righteous worshiper through successive clauses that build on the ideas previously presented.

Refrains in the Psalms

An additional poetic feature of the Psalms is the use of the refrain, a recurring phrase that marks off the stanzas of a psalm. The four central stanzas of Psalm 107 each conclude with the same refrain:

Let them confess to Yahweh because of his covenant love,
And for his mighty acts in people’s behalf! (Ps. 107:8; repeated in verses 15, 21, and 31)

Other examples include Psalms 42–43, actually one psalm linked by the same refrain (Pss. 42:5, 11; 43:5), Psalm 46 (verses 7, 11), Psalm 57 (verses 5, 11), and Psalm 67 (verses 3, 5).

Acrostic Psalms

Several psalms (Pss. 34; 111–112; 145) are constructed as acrostics; that is, each couplet begins with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The skill of the psalmists is evident in the fact that this artificial device (included in the category “learned psalmography” by the great psalm scholar Sigmund Mowinckel) in no way detracts from the beauty and flow of the psalm:

I will bless [’‡var‡khah] Yahweh at all times;
Ever his praise will be in my mouth.
In Yahweh [bƒYahveh] shall boast my soul;
Shall hear the humble, and shall rejoice.
Magnify [gaddƒlu] the Lord with me,
And let us exalt his name in unity. (Ps. 34:1–3)

The apotheosis of the acrostic psalm is Psalm 119. This psalm has twenty-two stanzas of eight verses each; in the first stanza, every verse begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet; in the second, every verse begins with the second letter, and so on for 176 verses, the longest chapter in the Bible.

Metrical Patterns

Like all poetry, psalmic poetry has a metrical structure. Meter refers to the rhythm of successive syllables. Conventional English poetry uses metric “feet” in various patterns, such as iambic pentameter: “A little learning is a dangerous thing” (Alexander Pope). Biblical poetry employs instead a pattern of stressed syllables, with an intervening variable number of unstressed syllables and no fixed rhythmic “beat.” Therefore, it can be translated into English without losing its Hebraic poetic character:

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host. (Ps. 33:6 NASB)

Here, each line contains four stressed syllables, a common metric pattern in the Psalms. The use of stressed syllables rather than metric feet renders the Psalms especially suitable for chanting or recitative-style musical performance. When the Psalms are set to music using conventional Western tunes with regular bar lines and a fixed beat, it is necessary to paraphrase them. Consider Psalm 100:1–2:

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before him with joyful singing. (Ps. 100:1–2 NASB)

Compare the following paraphrase to the “original” verses:

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell;
Come ye before him and rejoice. (William Kethe)

Such paraphrases have produced great hymnody and occupy an important place in historic Christian worship. However, they disguise the Hebraic character of the biblical Psalms. While the contemporary Scripture song tends to retain more of the original word order, often avoiding rhyme, it too is usually sung to a tune with regular bar lines and so lacks the chantlike quality of psalmic poetry.

Antiphonal Psalmody

Some of the psalms are antiphonal or responsive in form, evidently intended to be sung by two or more groups of singers. The recurring phrase, “His love endures forever,” which forms the second half of all twenty-six couplets in Psalm 136, was perhaps sung by a choir responding to the statement of the first half verse. Psalm 24 is a dialogue between two groups of singers, one seeking entrance to the sanctuary, perhaps bearing the ark of the covenant in procession, and another standing guard at the gate:

Choir I:
Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

Choir II:
Who is he, this King of glory?

Choir I:
Yahveh tzƒva’ot [The Lord Almighty]—
He is the King of glory. (Ps. 24:9–10)

Three choirs seem to be involved in the liturgical dialogue of Psalm 118; they are “Israel,” the gathered covenant community; “the house of Aaron,” or the priests; and “those who fear the Lord,” perhaps Gentile worshipers of Yahweh. All three groups are invited in turn to give the response, “His love endures forever” (Ps. 118:2–4; cf. Pss. 115:9–11; 135:19–20). Both Psalms 124 and 129 begin with a leader inviting the assembly to join in the psalm:

“Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
Let Israel now say,
“Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
Then they would have swallowed us alive … ” (Ps. 124:1–3 NASB)

Directions for Performance

The superscriptions of some of the psalms are apparently addressed to the “director” or “choirmaster” (the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain). These instructions occasionally indicate the instrumentation to be used, such as stringed instruments (Pss. 4; 55; 67), the eight-stringed lyre (Ps. 12), or the clarinet or flute (Ps. 5). Many of the psalms mention instruments in their vow of praise or invitation to worship (Pss. 43:4; 57:8; 81:2–3; 92:3; 150:3–5). Although the translations are often obscure, some of the superscriptions appear to designate tunes or modes upon which the psalm is to be performed (’Ayyelet hashshaḥar, “The Doe of the Morning,” Ps. 22; Shoshannim, “Lilies,” Pss. 45; 69; Yonat ’elem rƒḥoqim, “The Dove on Distant Oaks,” Ps. 56; ’Al tashḥet, “Do Not Destroy,” Pss. 57–59; 75). It is regrettable that today we have little concrete knowledge of how psalmic music actually sounded, although some of the oldest liturgical chants of the church have been shown to have features in common with Yemenite Jewish music, which in turn may have been preserved with little change from biblical times.

The Selah

The term selah, occurring seventy-one times in the text of thirty-nine psalms, evidently derives from the verb salal, to “lift up” a song. It is most often interpreted to indicate an instrumental interlude; however, it could designate a point where free-flowing vocal and instrumental praise occurred, perhaps using a familiar refrain such as, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever” (Ps. 118:1).

Christian Artist or Christian Communicator?

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He was brilliant. Clearly a child prodigy . . . the pride of Salzburg . . . a performer par excellence. At age five, he wrote an advanced concerto for the harpsichord. Before he turned ten, he had composed and published several violin sonatas and was playing from memory the best of Bach and Handel. Soon

Soon after twelfth birthday he composed and conducted his own opera . . . and was awarded an honorary appointment as concertmaster with the Salzburg Symphony Orchestra. Before his brief life ended, he had written numerous operettas, cantatas, hymns, and oratorios, as well as forty-five symphonies, forty-seven arias, duets, and quartets with orchestral accompaniment, and over a dozen operas. Some 600 works!

His official name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Amadeus Theophilas Mozart. With a handle like that, he had to be famous!

He was only thirty-five when he passed on. He was living in poverty and died in obscurity. His sick widow seemed indifferent to his burial. A few friends went as far as the church for his funeral but were deterred by a storm from going to the gravesite.

By the time anyone bothered to inquire, the location of his grave was impossible to identify. The unmarked grave of Mozart—perhaps the most gifted composer of all time—became lost forever![i]

The tragedy of Mozart. A brief and empty life. A life of great potential that went unrealized, unfulfilled. Why? We always ask “why?” in the face of tragedy and we rarely find an answer. This time, however, there’s a theory to consider: Mozart’s life ended in tragedy because it was never lived in accordance with God’s purpose. Because Mozart didn’t know God as Lord of his life, he didn’t what business he was in. He therefore limited his life and the development of his talents when he rejected God’s rule and reign, and his premature and tragic death was a great loss to all mankind.

In some ways, many Christians in music and the arts experience something similar. Like Mozart, most of us fail to ask ourselves, “What business am I really in?” and so, like Mozart, we may fail to live out our potential.

Think for a moment. What business are you in? Are you an “artist” or are you a servant communicator?” Whereas one answer will limit you, the other will set you free. And the business of communication—especially servant communications—is always the way of freedom.

Performance or Communication?
The railroad industry is struggling today because through the years it has seen itself as being in the railroad business rather than in the transportation business. Had the powers-that-be regarded themselves as being in the transportation business, today they would own the airlines and not be on government subsidy.

Similarly, many churches are struggling today because they are in the “sheep tending” business rather than in the “community penetration” business. You can tend 40 sheep for 40 years and never penetrate your community, but you can’t penetrate your community unless you begin to get really good attending sheep.

Likewise, Christian artists may be missing the focus of their activities. Specifically, many artists are unhappy because they are in the performance business rather than the communication business. This perspective leads them to think that they must have a certain kind of sound system or a certain kind of audience or a certain amount of money or a certain amount of respect as they perform their music. As a result, they find their abilities and their opportunities very limited.

When artists see their abilities as gifts from a gracious God, however, and use those abilities to communicate the truth and life of Jesus whenever the opportunity arises, they will discover new ways to use their talents for God.

Consider, too, that if an artist’s vision is focused on the performance, the product may even appear dishonest. The faith that is shared may seem simply an act despite any good and godly intentions. If the focus, however, is on communication, whatever is done—be it a concert or a cartwheel—will be seen as more legitimate, more genuine.

Developing a Strategic Vision
But how does an artist share his faith in a genuine way? How can a singer use her talent as a communicator rather than a performer? Two key elements are a strategic vision and a servant’s heart. First, a strategic vision develops from the artist’s clear idea of the goal that he or she wants to achieve, an idea which then organizes and informs every step toward that goal.

The Bible offers a clear statement of the purpose or goal of every child of God: “As we are going, we are to be making disciples within all different groups of people” [ii] Another way of saying it? “As one who goes in and out of the world every day, you are to be communicating the Good News to all Creation.”[iii]

Furthermore, the Bible describes Christians as ambassadors for, or representatives of, Christ.[iv] The Bible also instructs believers to have a sincere faith, a faith without pretense. Nowhere, however, does the Bible say that we are to perform our faith, and it certainly does not limit communication of our faith to only a few narrow categories of music or art. “Performance oriented preachers” who attempt to sanctify the performance mode in the name of oratory are no more correct than those attempting to sanctify any other performance mode.

Know this: A Christian’s business—a Christian artist’s business—is communication. Once this understanding is accepted as the basis for ministry and once the self-concept of “performer” is released, the wider the options for ministry will become.

Second, a servant heart is essential to genuine communication of the Gospel. Jesus said, “The greatest among you should be like the youngest and the one who rules like the one who serves . . . I am among you as one who serves.”[v] A servant heart is the essential ingredient for success—but what is “success?”

Society’s definition of success is based on an accumulation of wealth, power and prestige. In the world of art, for instance, “success” can mean (a) doing music / art all the time; (b) making a living from musical / artistic pursuits; and (c) gaining a reputation (an album, an art show, and a name within the field) from musical or artistic accomplishments.

A Biblical View of Success
There is, however, a biblical alternative that stands in sharp contrast to the world’s point of view. Specifically, the Bible teaches that success comes to a person who (a) identifies himself as a servant; (b) gets a job—any job (even Paul, whose God-given assignment was to be the apostle to the Gentiles, got a job making tents. The job undoubtedly enabled him to communicate the Gospel while it allowed him to eat regularly.); and (c) gains a reputation for Christian integrity as he/she exercises various gifts and talents in serving and encouraging others.

Please understand. The message is not that artists who are presently making their full-time living from music should get another job, but too often people decide what they want to do, label it “ministry,” and then spend the rest of their life trying to justify it. In the meantime, several things can happen, especially if they can’t make a decent living in the area of music and the arts. These people tend to get bitter toward the church for failing to support them on the terms they themselves have set. Consequently, they withdraw their music/art from the family of God and often even end up shelving their potential musical/artistic contributions and nursing all kinds of bitterness and resentment. A servant’s heart that guides one to the goal of communicating rather than merely performing can help you avoid this wasteful consequence.

Remember, however, that although you can perform without communicating, it’s difficult to communicate without giving a good performance. Know, too, that you can entertain without communicating, but it’s very difficult to communicate without being entertaining. Focus on being a servant communicator and God will honor your performance.

Paul Sandberg, a wonderful tenor and a leader of the Haven of Rest radio ministry has long shared with his children the following bit of advice; “Get a normal job and let music fill your life with happiness.” While no piece of advice is for everyone, this counsel may mean for many a new freedom in art and in ministry.

If we release our terms and our demands of God, we will better be able to serve him and others with our music. God will be able to work in our hearts to turn us into servant communicators. Along the way, we will be available for God to use us even more in accomplishing Hid plans for spreading the Good News of the Gospel.

[i] Quoted from Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life, by Charles Swindoll, Multnomah Press, 1983,

  p. 177.

[ii] Matthew 28:19—my paraphrase.

[iii] Mark 16:15—my paraphrase.

[iv] II Corinthians 5:20.

[v] Luke 22:26-27.