Lettuce Entertain You, Answering The Call (number 5)

[stevene]

In a musical history of Vaudeville there is a song call "Let us entertain you." I often pictured that title as "Lettuce Entertain You" but any way you slice it, it's the Broadway Musical "Gypsy!" the biography of Gypsy Rose Lee and her rise from one member of a family act to one of the greatest strippers to entertain in that quintessential performers' venue called "Vaudeville."

When I went to college, I started as a music major, intending to graduate with two degrees: A Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance (Tuba) and a Bachelor of Music Education. It didn't take long before I dropped the former, as I didn't have enough commitment to my muse to be a professional tuba player (a minimum of 6 hours of practice every day, plus the travel inherent in a troubador profession). Then, a year later, I set aside the latter, and briefly toyed with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication (emphasis on Technical Theater). And one semester later I dropped out, having given up the last of three likely degrees. I eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics (yes, "Arts" not "Science") but that's a story for another post.

In music school there was an old man, one of the founders of the school, who was about 85, and one required class was 2 hour every week, every student in the school in the same auditorium, to listen to whatever our Jewish patriarch Uncle Moshe wanted to talk about. The class was called "Musicianship" and was his way of living out Deuteronomy 6:6-9 in music.
.....These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to
.....your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and
.....when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as
.....frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (NASB).

Moshe is the modern form of the ancient hebrew name "Moses" and sitting at his feet may have been similar to sitting at Moses' feet as he gave his final sermon before crossing into the Promised Land. That sermon is recorded in the Hebrew Bible as "the Fifth Book of Moses," what Christians call "Deuteronomy."

What I remember most are stories. These stories talk of different ways Uncle Moshe embedding himself in making music, taking every opportunity that came by. As a piano major, he moved from accompanist, to Big Band keyboardist, to silent movie piano player, and even resident musician in Vaudeville theater. If he had said he played in the Parlor at a bordello it would not have surprised me, since his entire purpose in life was to spread the good news of music into every venue he could pursue.

Some may read that last paragraph and wonder why a Christian writer might seek to edify a man who played in such dens of iniquity. "What would Jesus do?" is more than a trite phrase. If Jesus walked the earth today, it is unlikely you would find him in some established, physical church building for an extended period. He hung with sinners and prostitutes and tax collectors, seeking to bring light to the lost. Uncle Moshe hung with all manner of humanity seeking to bring music to the masses.

I choose to hand with all manner of humanity that I might bring the Peace of Christ to a dying world. And music shall be the key weapon in that battle. I plan to borrow from all sorts of performers and marketeers. Martin Luther once said "Why should the Devil have all the good music?" That was in defense of his using a popular German beer hall tune to create thatgreat hymn of the Church: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.

The Christian performing group GLAD released a song 20 years ago or so called "That hymn thing." They used another great classic hymn to demonstrate the concept of "Contemporary Christian Music" ("CCM") In 1540, "A Mighty Fortress" was "CCM". In the 1700s, CCM was written by radicals like Beethoven and Brahms. In the early 1900s, CCM included people like Fanny Crosby. In the 1980s we had such "giants" as Keith Green and Barry McGuire.

CCM means, literally, Christian music in the current (e.g. "contemporary") style. If I take the words of Romans and sing them to the tune of "I like big butt" that would be "CCM." Or if I perform music that is currently played on Christian radio and sung in services of Christian devotion, that's CCM.

What techniques are acceptable techniques for spreading the Gospel. Over the years different Christian ministers have been discredited for various activities that were deemed inconsistent with Christian ministry. I agree with the concept of not using such techniques, but some have decided that any techniques used by discredited ministers are automatically discredited. "You can't do what John did because John transgressed, so everything John did was a transgression." For instance,
..1. You cannot use humor, because Mike Warnke used humor, it's not a discredited technique.
..2. You cannot use puppets, because pedophile priests use puppets to lure young boys into trouble.
..3. You cannot use modern music, because rock bands use modern music to drag people into trouble.
..4. You cannot use amusement parks because Jim Bakker embezzled the profits from PTL.

Why should the Devil have all the good music? Why should the heathen have all the fun?

Why can't we use these techniques to welcome people into our homes and buildings?

Why can't we? Why not?

I will pray for you, and would you please pray for me? Let's pray that we will be open to use whatever God has provided and blessd as techniques to attract those outside of the our fellowship. As God allows us to use them, let's use them and honor God in the process. In Jesus's Name!

Thanks for the time you took to read this!

Stevene

[Greg]

I always think of Queens "Let Me Entertain You".
I agree, that thinking out of the box, you should be able to do anything that is not a evil thing in Gods eyes to leed others to Christ.
You've been given one heck of a story/testimony, I think the only thing you could do wrong with it, would be the conventional go to church say praise and go on with your life.