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By Richard Hamilton, January 7, 2009 2:30 am

The incomparable Quincy Jones made an appearance on Last Call With Carson Daly tonight. In addition to discussions of Quincy’s amazing life and body of work, the subject of politics briefly came up. Carson suggested that Quincy would be an excellent candidate to be the US’s first Secretary of Culture. Quincy added that music from the US is found all over the world, yet we are one of the few countries without a Secretary of Culture, and we need one.

Here is what they misunderstand about culture (and more specifically, the arts): it is precisely because we do not have a Secretary of Culture, that our music dominates the world scene. The arts are not a top-down endeavor. American political imperialism is fading, yet American culture still thrives. Now I would agree that this is unfortunately often to the detriment of native arts. Somehow, the arts are one of the few facets of life we have managed to keep relatively pure. (I obviously don’t have cookie-cutter, ex-Disney types in mind. I’m actually talking about culture and art) And when the government (and our neighbors) shackle real culture, those fully invested find a way to free it. When meddlesome cooperates kill a medium, artist create a new one. When it no longer works this way, culture dies.

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By Richard Hamilton, May 30, 2008 3:03 pm

As many of you know, I am looking for a new ministry. I am parting ways with the church I have worked with the past 4 1/2 years. They are having a lot of problems meeting budget and have decided to cut my position. In my search, I came across a non-instrumental church on the West Coast looking for a youth minister. I know it was a long shot, but Sarah and I really liked the area and the church was very ethnically diverse, which appealed to us, so I sent in my resume. Here’s the thing, they actually called me for a phone interview, and it went well. They arranged for a second phone interview and I thought it might really work out.

I guess maybe at this point I should give some background for those of you who are like, “What does he mean ‘non-instrumental.’” Actually, Wikipedia does an adequate job on that front. Check out the wiki on churches of Christ. For our purposes, it’s sufficient to know that they are independent churches from the Restoration Movement which broke fellowship with other churches of Christ/Christian churches during the American Civil War partially in rejection of using instruments in their worship gatherings. My background is in the churches that use instruments (among other things) in our gatherings.

Anyway, I had a second interview and it did not go as well. They interviewer spent 1 1/2 hours trying to convince me that instrumental music in worship was sinful. I assumed this meant I didn’t get the job, and I was right. Here is the e-mail I got a week later (the names have been changed to protect those involved, except mine of course):
__________

Dear Richard,

I want to thank you for interest in the “City which shares its name with a well-known Mexican adult beverage” Church of Christ. It appears to me that you are a sincere and committed individual who will be an asset to any organization that you choose to serve. As for us with the church of Christ in “City which shares its name with a well-known Mexican adult beverage,” we have decided to continue our search for a Youth Minister in other candidates because we can not reconcile the doctrinal differences in regard to instrumental music that exist between us. We believe that the “sacrifice of praise” like all sacrifices must be offered as specified by God, if they are to be acceptable to Him. In this case, God has specified “the fruit of our lips” (Heb 13:15), thereby excluding the use of instrumental music.

Again thank you for your interest in us. I encourage you to continue to your study in all matters pertaining to God’s goodness, power, and will for our lives.

May God bless you in your efforts to serve him,
“John Doe”,
“City which shares its name with a well-known Mexican adult beverage” church of Christ
__________

I see two big problems with the non-instrumental way of thinking (besides the fact that they won’t hire me, oh yeah, and they butcher/mis-use texts of the Bible).

One. There is an idea they have that if we aren’t explicitly told it is okay, its not. The guy just flat out says that in the e-mail. “God has specified ‘the fruit of our lips’ (Heb 13:15), thereby excluding the use of instrumental music.” I think you need to explain that one. Let’s assume this verse is telling us to sing. Let’s also assume this verse is about corporate worship gatherings (which is a stretch). How does this verse forbid Christians from using instruments? If the use of instruments was so wrong, don’t you think Paul would have jotted down a “I do not permit the use of the harp, lyre, cymbal or trumpet” somewhere? Christianity is the Law of Liberty. The words of Jesus about some particularly religious people come to mind. “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.” Most of these churches are so inconsistent. They own property, have Sunday School, hire youth ministers and utilize PA systems. None of these are explicitly commanded in the Bible. If you were to carry this principle to its extreme, most of what they do as a group would not be allowed.

Two. All this energy is spent on one of the most insignificant parts of the Christian life, music. I know. Some of you are stunned because Rich Mullins and DC Talk were essential to your conversion. Here’s the deal. The early church was dedicated to some things, namely the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer, and music didn’t make the list. I love music. I always have it on. I never leave home without my IPod. But, music is not worship. A transformed life and a renewed mind, that’s worship. A life of sacrifice, that’s worship. Spirit and truth, that’s worship. Music can be part of worshiping God, but it cannot become more important than worshiping God.