Written by Lt. Col. David Hammond (R)

Reprinted from THEME Jul-Aug-Sep 2003

It came to me first when I was a member of the Canadian Staff Band. It was disquieting: a gnawing sense of dissatisfaction, a baffling experience which I could not understand or explain. It took a long time for the dissonant chords to resolve. Our music, I discovered, walked, not on one leg, but on two. It had, not one purpose, but two.

Let me call the first theological leg of music a sacrifice of praise — music as art. Stephen Lawhead, writing about the works of J.R.R Tolkien said: “Art is a holy entity unto itself and therefore requires no explicit religious imprimaturs to warrant its existence. Art, as the saying goes, needs no justification.”

I was raised to believe that Salvation Army music was “music with a message.” But when I played Melodies from Dvorak, or Themes from the Italian Symphony, or Treasures from Tchaikovsky, I asked myself: Where is the gospel message in this music? It seemed to me that most bandsmen think about music almost solely in terms of their own enjoyment and pleasure. They either like it or they do not like it. The effect it has on other people concerns them only in a peripheral way.

I have come to understand that Salvation Army music as art is an acceptable offering to God, and that in itself makes it beautiful and blessed. This is true of the Canadian Staff Band as well as the humblest corps combination playing a Sunday morning hymn tune. If it is played to the best of the band’s ability, God is pleased. He accepts the offering as a sacrifice of praise and says in effect “I am well satisfied with that!”

But when William Booth said “Soul saving music is the music for me” he was not thinking of music which carried no message. He believed music to be the handmaiden of the gospel. The music was secondary to the message and was only the instrument by which the good news penetrated the hearts of men and women, some of whom might otherwise be unreached. Anything that did not serve the Army’s first purpose, in the beginning, was rejected.

This, then, is the second leg on which our music moves: music that communicates the gospel. I sometimes wonder if we have given up trying to reach those who are lost, the people who once so dominated our mission. If we have not given up (and I know that some at least have not) I think there are some matters to think about. After a wonderful band concert this summer at Jackson’s Point, I spoke to the bandmaster. First, I wanted him to know how much I appreciated the gorgeous music. 

“There was only one thing missing” I said softly, “there was no gospel.” He looked surprised. If this is our primary mission, why not have a five minute gospel message in every concert?

We need to consider seriously the nature of the message our music transmits. Each band member needs to ask what was in the mind of the composer when he first committed the notes to the staff. Is this music about the “Good News?” We need to ask it and keep on asking.

Understanding the message is not quite as simplistic as we sometimes make it out to be. Jesus implied in the parable of the treasure hidden in the field (Matthew 13) that there was a struggle and a price to be paid for claiming it. Playing music well can be a costly pursuit in terms of time and concentration. We think it is worth it for the sake of the performance. We need, however, to struggle with our mission as well. We need to be musicians with a double passion - for the Gospel and for our art. A thorough examination of what we are doing might yield some surprising results. If we are playing only for ourselves, we must be reminded that music can open doors for the Good News.

Some younger Salvationists today are indifferent to our musical heritage. We have not made it clear that our music serves two purposes: an offering of praise and worship to God, and a proclamation of the Gospel. May God grant us the wisdom to know the difference and how best to use our music to serve both these ends.

I am glad to have found, perhaps belatedly, a solid philosophical rock to serve as a foundation for my love of Army music. God has given us a precious gift to be exercised and shared for His glory. What do you think?