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Every day of my freshman year at Oklahoma Baptist University, I arose early for an Honors Music Theory course with beloved professor, Kathryne Timberlake. I immediately followed her class with an Old Testament course taught by her husband, James Timberlake. Both Timberlakes (of blessed memory), were longtime, revered educators at OBU, and were pivotal to my growth and preparation for music ministry. Mrs. Timberlake's effective teaching of Music Theory with its Sight-Singing and Ear Training components transitioned my musicianship to undergraduate level, laying a solid foundation on which to build. The understandings and skills gained in her class were paramount to success in my scholastic and creative future. In the same way, her husband and other OBU religion faculty of the early 1980's significantly enlarged my understanding of the Bible. Presenting important truths at the outset of Bible coursework, they included in every syllabus an article by Chevis F. Horne,* entitled: "The Language of the Bible: Literal or Symbolic?" (The Baptist Program, February 1977). This article provided instruction on the symbolic and metaphorical language found throughout the various literary genres of the Bible’s many books. It encouraged students to explore the Bible beyond a literal understanding. I'm grateful for this kind of mind-stretching education that was offered to me through these formational courses and gifted instructors. In addition to her teaching, as Kathryne Timberlake's youngest student (having entered college a few months before my 17th birthday), I knew firsthand the sincere care for students she extended beyond the classroom. As I was preparing to graduate college and enter seminary, Mrs. Timberlake called me into her office to catch up and bless me on my way. She was even somewhat of a prophet as during that visit she predicted I'd meet my future wife at Southern Seminary - which, indeed, I did. Years later, it seemed fitting to compose a hymn text and tune in honor of Kathryne Timberlake for her 85th birthday. The resulting hymn text, Composer of All the Music We Hear, images the divine as a musician.** The hymn's harmonic tune is aptly named, "TIMBERLAKE." It celebrates God's gift of music known in the foundational sounds and systems of melody, harmony and rhythm, in music’s ability to gather instruments and voices together, in its mysterious power to comfort, heal, and express deep emotion, and in its enrichment of mind, body, soul, and strength throughout life. This music-themed hymn could be meaningfully used in services celebrating music and the arts. I was honored to hear from Mrs. Timberlake how her 85th Birthday hymn (framed as a gift by her friend and colleague, Mary Kay Parrish) was displayed in the entryway to her apartment where she viewed it each day. She told me how her grandchildren surprised her by singing it on her 90th Birthday, and I was deeply moved when it was sung by the congregation gathered for her Celebration of Life Service in 2019.  Kathryne Timberlake with roses sent by friends and colleagues for her 90th Birthday Preview Recording & Score Composer of All the Music We Hear is available as a single hymn with harmonic descant and is also included in the song collection: Inclusive Hymns for Liberation, Peace, and Justice. *Chevis F. Horne was educated at Wake Forest University, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with postgraduate studies at Yale University and Union Theological Seminary. A preacher, professor, and author, Horne was also the pastor of First Baptist Church, Martinsville, Virginia, for 4o years. He was known for his pursuit of social justice when church and society opposed it.
**The hymn also incorporates a "trinitarian formula" in its first three stanzas with the "Composer" representing the Creator, the "Conductor" representing Christ, and the "Conveyor," representing the Comforter. I distinctly remember my college friend, David DeSeguirant, and I wondering, "What's a Menotti?" At the time, David and I were freshmen Music Theory and Composition majors at Oklahoma Baptist University (along with our friend, Leslie Allison, whom David and I agreed was the best composer of the three of us, but who later decided to major in Nursing). The professors in OBU’s Music Theory and Composition Department had invited the composition majors to travel to nearby Oklahoma University for the opportunity to “hear Menotti.” At first, David wondered if “Menotti” was an Italian opera. I thought perhaps it could be—we were close! But upon further investigation, we discovered that Gian Carlo Menotti was the world-renowned composer of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the famous opera commissioned by NBC and composed for American television. Though apparently I had not yet focused on the composer, the previous December I had the privilege of hearing Professor Mary Kay Parrish sing the part of the boy character, “Amahl,” in an OBU production of Amahl and the Night Visitors, a role she had famously played about twenty times! Mary Kay's stature, dramatic talent, and pure soprano voice combined to bring the character to life, masterfully. The title of Menotti’s opera also rang a bell with me because as a fourth grader at Tulsa’s Eugene Field Elementary School, I had been selected to narrate a play version of Amahl and the Night Visitors. At the first rehearsal, speaking in my best Oklahoma accent, I remember sounding out the printed name “Amahl” as “am-hahl!” My music teacher, who was directing the play, quickly corrected my pronunciation, sparing me any further embarrassment! Who would have known years later that I would meet the opera's librettist and composer? On the day of our college field trip to hear Menotti, the composition students traveled by university van with our four distinguished professors: Kathryne Timberlake, Michael Cox, Nancy Hill Cobb, and Mary Kay Parrish. We arrived just in time to enter an OU arena as Menotti was beginning his lecture. I wish I could recall the lecture in detail, but I’m sure he spoke about his life and career as a composer. When the lecture concluded and the large crowd dispersed, we remained behind for an opportunity to speak with him. After a short wait, those of us who had come from OBU stood in a circle with the great composer. We had him all to ourselves! Setting the stage for the rest of this story, to the left of me in the circle was Mary Kay Parrish, with Menotti directly across from us. Right off the bat, our beloved professor and matriarch, Kathryne Timberlake, introduced our group to the composer and told him we were from Oklahoma Baptist University. After cordial introductions, Mrs. Timberlake, who was the cousin of internationally acclaimed pianist Van Cliburn, reminded Menotti of his presence at one of her cousin’s events—perhaps the famous Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. Menotti replied that he had not attended. Mrs. Timberlake offered other specific memories of the occasion, but Menotti adamantly denied having been there. As we witnessed the increasingly frustrating conversation, we all knew without a doubt that Mrs. Timberlake’s account was accurate. Our jovial circle suddenly became an uneasy one. No one knew quite what to say as we stood in awkward silence. Because of my extroverted, social nature, and finding the silence uncomfortable, I decided to "break the ice." As if making a grand introduction, I boldly placed my arms in a half-hug around Professor Mary Kay Parrish and, in a proclamatory voice, announced to Gian Carlo Menotti: "And this is Amahl!" I thought this would relieve the tension in our circle, but instead, the blood drained from Mary Kay's face as she looked at me and said aloud: "I am in trouble now." I had no idea what she was talking about. Then, right in front of Menotti, she informed me: “He specifically indicates in his score that he desires only boy sopranos for the part of Amahl!”* I was speechless. Mary Kay then humbly told Menotti: "I've performed the role about twenty times." Then... without a word... and to our astonishment... Gian Carlo Menotti walked across the circle toward Mary Kay... placed both of his hands on her shoulders... leaned forward, and... KISSED HER FOREHEAD! Our entire group breathed a collective sigh of relief as the tension dissolved into grateful laughter. Menotti’s ceremonial kiss seemed to offer both absolution and blessing. On the way back to OBU, we all relived our experience with Menotti including Mrs. Timberlake's disbelief that he did not remember the Cliburn event. And, instead of a disastrous conclusion to the day, word quickly spread around the university about Mary Kay’s well-deserved kiss from Menotti—and my role in bringing it about (whew!).  Receiving the College of Fine Arts' "B.B. McKinney Award" from Mary Kay Parrish a year or two after the Menotti "incident" (kiss), with smiles that seem to silently express the memory of that day *In the published score of Amahl and the Night Visitors, Menotti indicates: “It is the express wish of the composer that the role of Amahl should always be performed by a boy. Neither the musical nor the dramatic concept of the opera permits the substitution of a woman costumed as a child.” If it were possible, perhaps Menotti would now add: "...except for Mary Kay Parrish!"
As I mark 25 years as Minister of Music for Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, this post reflects on my early journey to Music Ministry with gratitude for the many people whose lives helped direct my path. Family Being born into a family committed to the Church and its music was the start of my journey. Though the only musical talent admitted by my father was playing "You Are My Sunshine" on the harmonica, he was an enthusiastic participant in congregational singing. My mother was a self-described "gospel alto" who sang by ear as she faithfully participated in church choirs and quartets. Attending Wednesday evening choir rehearsals with her was an early and impactful memory for me.[i] My maternal grandfather was also a spirited singer of hymns at home and church, but my three older sisters were the ones who encouraged my early music-making the most. By age 3 I was sitting at the end of the piano bench with them in a church service singing my first solo, John W. Peterson's and Alfred B. Smith’s "Surely Goodness and Mercy."[ii] Childhood Church As a preschooler, the church of my childhood[iii] nurtured my love of music in Sunday School and worship. At the age of 4 after proudly learning to whistle, our church's pastor, Monroe Philbeck, called me to the pulpit during a Sunday morning service to whistle the concluding hymn! This celebratory gesture effectively provided my first opportunity to offer "instrumental" music in the church (a fun fact I have shared with church orchestras). During Sunday evening services my parents would allow me to sit by myself at the front of the sanctuary where I would sing as loudly as I could. As I grew, additional music experiences in children's choir and as a young soloist were provided me by the church's part-time Ministers of Music. Music Evangelists In my elementary years I became aware of Music Ministry as a career when our church hosted a family of music evangelists once or twice a year to lead revival services. For these week-long events, the Bobby Smith family of Muskogee, Oklahoma, would travel and live in a Winnebago. Admittedly, as a child, it was the prospect of traveling in a Winnebago that first drew my attention! But my interest soon turned to the fact that the four-member family not only sang together, led congregations, choirs, and recorded albums, but Bobby Smith also composed their music. Along with the records for sale on the table in the church's vestibule was his sheet music and books. One fall, their son David attended my backyard birthday party and needed a windbreaker. I eagerly traded him mine for one of his father's song collections. I was enthused by the realization that church music was not only composed in the past but also by contemporary individuals. This creative work intrigued and interested me. I was especially amazed when Bobby Smith wrote a song at our church during the Sunday School hour and then sang it that very day in the worship service! Years later when the same congregation ordained me to ministry, I sang that piece[iv] for my service - in the very space where the song was created and first sung. The idea that music composition could be a means of music ministry was implanted in me during this time. Not long before I entered college, that idea would flower (detailed in the blog post, Divine Wisdom in a Question). Church of My Youth As I entered Junior High School, my interest in a music ministry career increased significantly after my family moved to a different church.[v] This congregation's outstanding Minister of Music, Lex Blankenship, effectively modeled for me the role of a Minister of Music, and provided opportunities for me to offer my musical gifts. During a revival service in this congregation (interestingly, led by a pastor from our former church), I expressed my desire to become a Minister of Music. Even though I was only 13 years old, Lex and the congregation embraced my decision and began my training immediately. Lex treated me as an intern, inviting me to follow him on the job and participate in his work. The church asked me to be the Music Leader for its next revival, giving me the opportunity as a youth to lead both congregation and choir. Following this experience, between the ages of 13 and 16, I led the music for numerous revivals in other Oklahoma churches. Childhood Church (return) Several months before I turned 16, Tom Branch, the new pastor at the church of my childhood, invited me to become the church's interim Minister of Music. The congregation had dwindled after an unfortunate pastorate, and Tom was a recent seminary graduate, working to rebuild this faith community. My maternal grandfather was among the remnant of individuals who had remained as members of the church, and I gladly accepted the opportunity. I enjoyed honing my church music leadership skills back in my home congregation, and after a few weeks, the church invited me to officially become its part-time Minister of Music. This job during my senior year in high school provided invaluable experience. The summer before entering college, this church of mostly saintly individuals from my childhood, encouraged my ministry with the blessing of ordination. Many Others There are many other people who had considerable impact on my journey toward a career in Music Ministry. These include cherished family, friends, church staff members, and educators. Significant among these is Warren M. Angell whose inspiring work I experienced before college, and whose college of fine arts I attended (see the blog post, In Gratitude for Warren M. Angell). As I celebrate a milestone year in Music Ministry, I am thankful for the many individuals who pointed the way. [i] Although as a child I would often play with my friends in the church sanctuary while the adult choir was rehearsing, my attention was more drawn to the choir and its rehearsal. Demonstrating my parents’ encouragement of my church music interests, during a family vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii, when I was in second grade, we visited Honolulu Baptist Church for a Wednesday night service and remained for the church’s choir rehearsal, with both my mother and I participating!
[ii] Incredibly, this widely-published devotional setting of Psalm 23 was also my wife’s first church solo. [iii] Phoenix Avenue Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma. [iv] “He’s My Everything,” vocal solo with piano, composed by Bobby Smith at Phoenix Avenue Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the early 1970’s. [v] Red Fork Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma. "Have you considered becoming a composition major?" This question, posed by Mary June Tabor (of blessed memory), clarified and guided the course of my career. Though I had briefly met Mary June at a children’s choir festival several years earlier, I became reacquainted with her when she called my home to inform me that I had won the high school division of a choral composition contest! The contest had been sponsored by the Church Music Department of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma where Mary June was a longtime and beloved employee. I was overjoyed at this success with my very first attempt at composing. Along with a $50 prize, the win included a performance of my piece at the 1982 Youth Music Leadership Event, a statewide conference for youth choirs and their leaders held at Oklahoma Baptist University on February 26-27, 1982. I was preparing to attend OBU’s Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts in the fall of that year, so the trip to hear my composition performed would also provide the opportunity for me to officially enroll. On the Saturday morning of the event, my parents drove me from our hometown of Tulsa to the university’s town of Shawnee, Oklahoma. When we arrived at OBU’s Yarborough[i] Auditorium the conference youth choir was already rehearsing under the direction of Jim Davis,[ii] Minister of Music for Tulsa's First Baptist Church. Not long after my parents and I seated ourselves in the middle of the auditorium, the choir began to rehearse my piece. It was deeply moving to hear a composition of mine sung for the first time – somewhat of an out-of-body experience as the music I notated in isolation came to life through the combined voices of the singers. My winning choral piece, Draw Near to God, was a setting of James 4:8 from the Christian Scriptures: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” The contest provided entrants a list of scriptures from which to select, and I chose this passage because its natural speech rhythms seemed especially suited to choral writing. If I were selecting today, I would not be drawn to the exclusively masculine pronoun for God nor the calling out of “sinners” or the “double-minded.” Having had no prior experience composing, I attribute this compositional success to the variety of music-making experiences I had in church, school, and piano lessons. All of these combined to help me instinctually expand the text into a choral anthem for SAB voices and piano. Between the choir's rehearsal and its closing performance, I went to OBU’s Fine Arts Office to enroll in coursework. I had been focused on a career as a Minister of Music since the age of thirteen and was looking forward to beginning work on my bachelor’s degree.[iii] As I filled out forms in a private room near the auditorium, I reached the section that required me to select a major. I knew that Ministers of Music were typically voice or keyboard majors, and I was interested in both, but I couldn't decide. As I pondered this difficult choice Mary June came into the room. Expressing to her my inability to decide on a major, she asked: “Have you considered becoming a composition major?” Though I do not usually approach life in mystical ways, I instantly knew Mary June’s timely presence and thoughtful question provided divine wisdom. Even after the exciting experience of hearing the conference choir rehearse my composition that morning, the idea of becoming a composition major had not yet entered my mind! I suspect this was because I was so focused on becoming a Minister of Music. Most students preparing for this role would receive a degree in Church Music, but the contest and Mary June’s question opened my mind to consider a degree in Music Theory and Composition. After confidently making that choice, it was a grand celebration to hear the choir’s concluding performance of Draw Near to God. On the ride home, my mind raced forward in time, envisioning ways the craft of music composition would express and enhance my ministry. Epilogue The education I received in the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts at OBU from 1982-1986 was incomparable. I was fortunate to study composition in the studio of Nancy Hill Cobb and also with Michael Cox. Both are renowned composers and gifted teachers, unparalleled in their fields. Although my bachelor's degree was not in Church Music, the skills and knowledge I gained through my studies in Music Theory and Composition have proven invaluable in my ministry through music. My college education culminated with a senior composition recital in Yarborough Auditorium. Family, friends, and educators from my childhood to that present day filled the auditorium to capacity to help me celebrate this milestone event. The recital included works for brass choir, clarinet and piano, two of the university’s choirs accompanied by piano and harp, a comical trumpet solo with electronically-prepared tape accompaniment, and a piano sonata. Additionally, the children's choir of my college church, First Baptist Church of Shawnee, directed by OBU professor, Betty Woodward, performed my first published choral anthem, Sing to the Lord of Harvest (Broadman Press, 1986). I composed this piece in a class taught by Professor Nancy Cobb when I was eighteen, and it was accepted for publication during my college years.
It was meaningful to me that my college composition recital was held in Yarborough auditorium where four years earlier I heard my first composition performed. The cake at the recital reception commemorated that treasured memory with a decoration featuring the opening melody of Draw Near to God. All had come full circle.  Recital Reception cake with "Draw Near to God" melody A Composition in Memory of Mary June Tabor Mary June continued to encourage my vocational journey throughout college, seminary, and my first full-time ministry position. After her untimely death in 1991, I composed a vocal solo in her memory, setting Samuel Trevor Francis's hymn text, O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus. The work was published and recorded by Broadman Press in 1992. Before composing the piece, I had heard the distinguished bass vocalist David Ford (of blessed memory) sing at PraiSing II, a nationwide gathering celebrating the release of The Baptist Hymnal, 1991. The resonance and depth of David's voice became the sound in my imagination as I wrote O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus for low voice. It was therefore an unforgettable and deeply meaningful moment when I received the publisher's recording and discovered that the recording artist was David Ford himself!  [i] Upon arriving at Yarborough Auditorium, I was cognizant of the fact that my mother's maiden name was also Yarbrough—another spelling of the same surname. This gave a sense of connection and welcome to the space. While researching this blog, I also discovered the surprising fact that Mary June Tabor's mother was also a Yarbrough.
[ii] It was serendipitous that Jim Davis (of blessed memory) served as the conference choir's guest conductor. I first met him in 1976, when I was a sixth grader at Eugene Field Elementary School in Tulsa. At the invitation of my music teacher, Marsha Coburn, Jim came to hear me sing the role of George Washington in John F. Wilson's bicentennial musical Let George Do It! Adding to the joy of the conference, he shared our earlier connection with the audience before conducting the premiere performance of my winning anthem. [iii] My earlier awakening to a career in Music Ministry is expressed in the blog post, My Journey to Music Ministry. I'm proud of my colleague, Nancy Petty, whose groundbreaking ministry with Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina, is life-giving to people around the world. Since 2001, I’ve been grateful for our long and collaborative work as Pastor and Minister of Music. Several times our collaboration has resulted in music for worship.  One day in 2017, Nancy excitedly came into my office to share the words and melody of a short communion song she had created: As we come to the table of Love, as we come to the table of Love, we come with a heart open to all, as we come to the table of Love. In worship, Nancy’s pastoral call to the table always included the exclamation “All are welcome!” but a line in her new song clarified further: “…we come with a heart open to all.” With this single statement she expressed that no dogma or doctrine, spiritual experience, or age limit were requirements – that people of all faiths or none were sincerely invited to the table of Love - and that those who come must include others who are different from them. Informed by her interfaith relationships, and inspired by the House of One in Berlin, Germany (an interfaith structure that houses a church, synagogue, and mosque under one roof), Nancy’s song symbolically and literally identified the communion table as a gathering place for everyone. By naming it a "table of Love," rather than using a specific divine or religious name, Nancy ensured that the song's language would not limit the unrestricted welcome she wished to convey. All who live in Love, whether through a lens of faith or morality, can gather at this table, and rally around its inclusive meaning. While the song was fresh in her mind and voice, I transcribed the text as Nancy sang the tune into my phone's voice recorder. After harmonizing the melody and arranging a keyboard accompaniment, we taught the easy-to-learn refrain to our congregation, singing it as we moved to the table. As I continued to reflect on the implications of Nancy’s refrain, two stanzas emerged: Stanza 1: What is required to come to this table? Who is allowed to share in its feast? There is no limit, no hindrance, no boundary. No one is labeled "most honored" or "least." Stanza 2: Living as one, we join 'round this table. Giving to all, we offer its feast. Ever embracing, and never rejecting, we keep this table a table of peace. As We Come to the Table of Love may be sung as a short refrain or as a hymn with stanzas that may include a harmonic descant offered by choirs or instrumentalists. In addition to worship communion, it can also be sung around banquet tables at other meals. May this song of simplicity and depth encourage gatherings of Love with open hearts! Recording and Preview Score: As We Come to the Table of Love may be purchased as an individual song for ONE LICENSE usage or with a Single-Use License.
It is also contained in the song collections: Earth Transformed with Music!: Inclusive Songs for Worship (Refrain only) or Inclusive Songs for Resistance & Social Action (with Stanzas, Refrain & Descant). This blog post is third in a series focusing on music for school & community. In 2015 I was honored to be the first Composer-in-Residence for the historic Washington Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Washington was founded in 1923 as the first public African American Graded and High School in Raleigh. The school is now a diverse "gifted and talented" elementary magnet school in the Wake County Public School System. In 2023 and 2025, Washington was named top magnet elementary school in the country by the Magnet Schools of America. My friend, Bo Reece, was the school's long-time and beloved music teacher.  I was commissioned to compose a flexibly-voiced school song with piano accompaniment and accessible parts for student orchestra and band. I began by getting to know the school through conversation with the students and faculty, asking them what makes their school special. I received hundreds of index cards on which they provided their responses. After reading them all, three things were clear: Washington Elementary, (and "school" in general) could be thought of as a place to be honored, a people who make a difference, and a time that's meaningful. These ideas gave form to the lyrics and inspired the music for the resulting piece: Sing of Our School.  The premiere of Sing of Our School was performed by student and faculty choir with piano, student band and orchestra. Providing a performance opportunity for the entire school community, the piece works well for school commencements, graduations, anniversaries, or any time school is celebrated. 2016 Premiere Performance Bo Reece, Conductor (video with lyrics below)  95th Anniversary T-Shirt with lyrics from Sing of Our School Because the song offers alternative lyrics and a creative opportunity to include any school's name in the piece, it may be effectively expressed by any school. 100th Anniversary performance
by a select school choir (includes lyrics in video) This is the second blog post that highlights music for school & community, though it also includes pieces for the church.  If you knew J. Paul Williams you are already smiling upon reading his name! You are remembering his unrelenting teasing and his signature Hawaiian shirts made by his wife, Donna. A constant jokester, I once saw Paul ride in a friend's car to a restaurant, then, giving silent commentary to her driving skills, quickly exited the car, got down on the ground and kissed the pavement! I have an array of envelopes from him addressed to me in various disparaging ways ("Horse Lips" was one of his favorites). The problem was that when most of these letters and packages were delivered, I lived in the small town of Walterboro, South Carolina. Paul's "creative" labels attached to my name were embarrassingly well-known among the staff in the town's only post office! His letters also always concluded with: "Hello to Cindy, who I like." I'm sure I am not the only "Horse Lips" out there, and I'm sure many other spouses were greeted in the same way at the end of letters. Paul brought much laughter into many lives! In the 1970's I was introduced to the composing duo of "Paul and Donna Williams." I sang their choral pieces in my church's youth choir and was enthused by their music. During my freshman year at Oklahoma Baptist University I was excited to unexpectedly meet them in person during the university's 1982 homecoming. I quickly discovered that Paul and I shared much in common. Along with his being an OBU alumni and composer, we were both members of the university's Bison Glee Club, and were similarly influenced by Warren M. Angell, the club's founder and dean emeritus of the fine arts college. (Warren Angell is the subject of another blog post: In Gratitude for Warren M. Angell.) After our first meeting, Paul and I kept in touch. In the early 1990's we both attended the Composer's Symposium at the Baptist Sunday School Board in Nashville, Tennessee. By this time, he had begun to focus more on lyric writing than composing. On the final day of that week-long event, Paul and I were asked by one of the editors from the Baptist publishing house to collaborate on a children's Christmas musical. Paul and I enjoyed creating Immanuel Will Come, for the Sunday School Board's "Children's Choir" curriculum (Van Ness Press, Inc., 1994). The musical includes seven pieces for unison/opt. two-part voices, accompanied by piano, Orff instruments, misc. percussion, and recorder. Because he was also a composer, Paul wrote lyrics with solid structure that would easily assist the compositional process. This made my creative work enjoyable, and I remember the publisher's editor commenting that she "did not have to change one note" (a rare comment for composers to hear). Paul's humorous personality came through in the words to one of the Christmas musical's pieces: Busy Bethlehem. Paul ingeniously penned lyrics that imagined a hectic Bethlehem, full of hurried people who had come for the census. The resulting chaotic music of the piece mirrored Paul's ideas and included "chant" (rap) parts for soloists and choir.  Following our first publication, Paul sent me other texts to set musically. One day I received a call from him asking me to write music for a piece to be included in the Houston Children's Choir Series published by Fred Bock Music. Paul was writing all of the texts for this series, asking a variety of composers to collaborate. I was thrilled to be a part, and I understood completely why Paul thought of me when he sent his text: Santa Claus Is Busy! With the success of "Busy Bethlehem," Paul decided to replicate the experience with his new lyrics about Santa Claus. We decided the new piece could also contain a choral chant/rap in the middle of the vocal sections. I included various percussion instruments to mimic the sounds of Santa's workshop as the children simultaneously chant two ostinato lines: "Busy, busy, Santa Claus is busy, busy, Santa Claus..." "Santa Claus is busy! Tell me, just how busy is he?" Above the ostinati, soloists exclaim: "He's got to feed the reindeer and hitch them to his sleigh. He's got to get the map out so he will know the way. He's got to file a flight plan with the F.A.A.! Santa Claus is busy! Busy night and day!" -Words by J. Paul Williams © 1997 Fred Bock Music Company Inspired by Paul's humor, my comical contribution to the piece was the suggestion that an audience member interrupts the seemingly endless cacophony by standing, raising their hand, clearing their throat, and asking: "Excuse me, just how busy is he?" -- to which the entire puzzled choir shouts back loudly: "He's BUSY!" Paul's fun lyrics and my music for two-part (or unison) voices with sleigh bells, misc. percussion, choral chant/rap, and audience member part, is published by Fred Bock Music. Santa Claus Is Busy! was recorded by the Houston Children's Chorus on it's live album: Christmas Is Here. I treasure a letter from Fred Bock himself who wrote: "I really like the piece!"
School or community children's choirs who wish to sing Santa Claus is Busy! this Christmas may find it through the Fred Bock Music Company or other music distributor. Though Paul passed in 2010, his inspirational and joyful life continues through school, community, and church choirs that sing his words. A choral piece for churches by J. Paul Williams & Larry E. Schultz: The Sea of Galilee (available on this site)  This church choir anthem for SATB voices and piano is a choral narrative of Mark 4:35-41. The introductory “soundscape” heard in the piano and voices aurally sets the scene for the dramatic story of Jesus and his disciples on the sea.
This blog post was originally published on the website of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church where I serve as Minister of Music. It features the creations of past and present church members and ministerial staff. I enjoy the craft of music notation and find it a valuable tool in Music Ministry. Throughout history, various systems of symbols representing musical sound were developed to help music be experienced and expressed. Interestingly, it was a medieval Italian Benedictine monk that is credited among others in establishing the western system of music notation. As a child I became intrigued with the writing of music when a visiting evangelist at my church inscribed a song on paper during the Sunday school hour and sang it the same day in worship! The tool of music notation not only allowed his song to be expressed on that day, but also to be published (and years later, sung by me in the same church for my ordination). When arriving at Oklahoma Baptist University, I found displayed in the music school the handwritten manuscripts of B.B. McKinney, a hymnwriter whose texts and music greatly influenced my childhood. I was amazed to see the original copies of his hymns, and couldn’t pass them in the hallway without stopping and studying them in wonder. One of my courses as a university composition major was on the art of music notation where I learned its intricate skills using a calligraphy pen, pencil, ruler and staff paper. I now use knowledge from that course to digitally notate music with a Microsoft pen on a computer pad, or with a Midi keyboard and notation software. Like a message sent out to sea in the proverbial bottle, music notated by hand or with computer preserves and passes down composers’ creations to many places and to future generations. Music notation has sent out meaningful music and words from Pullen, extending our ministry through time and space. Former Pullen Pastor, Edwin McNeill Poteat, Jr., is perhaps the first example of this through the writing and publishing of his hymn, “Eternal God, Whose Searching Eye Doth Scan.” Often referred to as the “Pullen Hymn,” the words and music of the hymn were created by Poteat and sung by church leaders from around the world at the first gathering of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam in 1948. Through the communicative notation of music, the World Council of Churches was instructed and inspired by this Pullen hymn’s text as it boldly called the universal Church to be “wide as the world and broad as humankind.”  [Find out more about Edwin McNeill Poteat, Jr., and his compositions on the NC PEDIA site of the State Library of North Carolina] For many years, Pullen member, Pat Long, has expressed poetic theology and harmonic music through the creation of hymns. Her tune, “PULLEN,” is paired with her text, “Beloved God,” expressing an expansive view of the Divine as it encourages care for the earth and all of its creatures. In 1995, former Pullen Minister of Music, Michael Hawn, included “Beloved God” in a book of worship resources collected from a wide stream of Baptists (For the Living of These Days: Resources for Enriching Worship, Smyth & Helwys Publishing). It was this publication that first introduced me to Pat and other Pullen folk included in the book, and in 2009, I included Pat’s hymn in Pullen’s 125th anniversary collection, In Our Own Voice. But these are not the only books in which you’ll find it. Thanks to notation and publication, the Chinese Christian Literature Council in Hong Kong discovered “Beloved God,” and printed it in both Chinese and English in their hymnal (Hymns of Universal Praise, 2006). This hymn-prayer of Pat’s, inspired by her experience at Pullen, offers worshipers in Asia important words to sing.
[Pat Long’s hymn, “Beloved God” with tune name: “PULLEN,” in Chinese and English languages printed side-by-side in the Hymns of Universal Praise, 2006.] In January 2022 I received an email from hymn writer and editor, Laurence Waring, who introduced himself as the compiler of an online hymnal, “Singing the Faith Plus,” offered by United Methodists in the UK. This progressive European denomination was preparing to launch an initiative called “Walking with Micah,” and was searching for worship songs to help congregations seek and do justice. Finding Pullen’s In Our Own Voice hymnal online, he discovered Sally Buckner’s refrain, “We Shall Seek Justice,” (based on Micah 6:8), and was eager to gain permission to include it in the resource. Sally, a beloved Pullen saint and gifted poet, asked me years ago to arrange her tune, and through this distribution her creative legacy continues to be shared with the world and among Methodists in the UK. [“We Shall Seek Justice” in print and recorded versions, along with articles about Sally, Larry, and Pullen Church are included on the Singing the Faith Plus site. It is available on this site.] Pullen’s worldwide influence through song must also highlight the instructive work and world music arrangements of Michael Hawn. Michael was part-time Minister of Music at Pullen when he was a professor at Southeastern Seminary in the 1980’s/early 90’s. Michael once told me that he was grateful to Pullen for allowing him time for a study leave to learn from and bring back a variety of global worship music. With this beginning, his scholarship and leadership as a world music student and teacher grew to inspire countless church musicians, and his global music arrangements provide worshipers around the planet with resources from many cultures. [Find out more about Michael Hawn through his bio on the site of Choristers Guild, one of many organizations and publishers in which he contributes his expertise.] I never cease to be amazed when a musical creation of mine or someone I know is transmitted through notation to the other side of the globe. Years ago, I serendipitously discovered on YouTube a Taiwanese Children’s Choir singing one of my anthems. Though I composed the piece while living in Greenwood, South Carolina, the inscribed language of music transported it to children a world away! It’s amazing to think that a child may be humming one’s tune while playing on a distant playground. And, as a Minister of Music, it’s fulfilling to provide the global Church with words and music to expand thinking and experience. A baptism hymn of mine seeks to do that as it separates harmful substitutionary atonement theology from the ritual. Informed by Pullen’s baptismal liturgy and practice, the words sing of fear being washed away in the waters of full acceptance. Several denominations have included this hymn and others inspired by Pullen in their congregational hymnals.  [“With Water Freely Flowing” (published by Celebrating Grace, Inc.) is included with other Pullen-inspired hymns by Larry E. Schultz in the hymnals of the Mennonite Church, Community of Christ congregations, Reformed Churches, and progressive Baptists.]
Thanks to music symbols arranged with lyrics on a page, diverse congregations can explore the music, thoughts and theologies created by persons such as Sally Buckner, Michael Hawn, Pat Long, Edwin McNeill Poteat, and Nancy Petty, who once dictated through her singing a beautiful song I notated, added stanzas, and arranged. After being typeset, “As We Come to the Table of Love,” and its message of unrestricted inclusion has been sung by others, and is available for singing by churches the world over. [“As We Come to the Table of Love” is in included in the hymnal, Inclusive Songs for Resistance and Social Action. This collection and the hymn in single form are available on this site.] I celebrate the awareness that the written symbols of music notation can bring the global community together and minister through the expression of meaningful words and song. Thanks be to the Source of Music for lines and spaces, noteheads and stems, clefs, keys, and many other music symbols typeset on paper or in digital files – for with lyrics they preserve and pass on Pullen’s liberating message of love throughout the world. While the majority of my choral compositions have been created for church, I have also enjoyed opportunities to compose music for school and community choirs, striving to offer educators useful materials that provide enjoyable and effective teaching opportunities. This is the first blog post among several that will highlight some of these creations.  One of my most widely-preformed pieces was conceived for elementary and middle school choirs. "Little Firefly" is a setting of an imaginative poem by Grace Lee Frank. It offers a number of choral technique opportunities (two-part harmony and vocal independence, staccato and legato singing, expressive diction). Because Ms. Frank's poem sings of a firefly that "carries a star," the piece also incorporates the familiar words and tune to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," (but instead of "like a star up in the sky," the children sing: "like a firefly in the sky!"). A performance suggestion invites the singers to use penlights during the performance to simulate fireflies that dance among the choir. The piece is dedicated to my daughter, Kelly, and we've been grateful to hear many expressive performances of this piece in concerts and festivals. It has even been creatively performed as a piece for two woodwinds and piano by music education majors in recital at Shenandoah University. Beyond the USA and Canada, it has also been presented by children's choirs in Europe, Asia, and Africa. It gives me joy to think a child on a playground in a far-away land may be humming a tune I composed. There's something deeply fulfilling about such a thought, reminding how the publication, distribution, and teaching of music can provide meaningful global connections. performance of "Little Firefly" with penlights by Cantabile, Young Voices Toronto  Speaking of playgrounds, the "sequel" to "Little Firefly" was largely created while playing on a playground with my two children years ago. This was appropriate because, "Have You Ever Seen a House Fly?" is a playful piece for elementary and middle-schoolers. At the playground we brainstormed some of the play-on-words lyrics that ended up in the composition. Dedicated in "smiling memory" of my maternal grandfather who enjoyed joke telling, "Have You Ever Seen a House Fly?" is also dedicated to the Wake County Elementary Honors Chorus that premiered it the year I was its guest conductor. The piece sings of "horseflies" and "horses that fly," "houseflies" and "houses that fly," and so on. In trying to imagine "fruits that fly," my son, Ryan, came up with the idea of a "banana half-moon" and instantly became co-lyricist. Even the names printed on the publication are "play-on-words." My composer name listed is "Larry E. Schultz," but I used my full name as lyricist: "Lawrence E. Schultz." I did that because my son's middle name is also "Lawrence," so his lyricist credit underneath mine is: "Ryan Lawrence Schultz." To top it off, the dedication line identifies my grandfather: "Lawrence M. Yarbrough!" I imagine all of the various "Lawrences" give those who see the printed page cause to scratch their heads in wonder! I decided to replicate ideas from the creation of "Little Firefly" in this piece by combining a familiar folk song, "Shoo Fly! Don't Bother Me!" with the song's tune and by providing a performance idea. This idea involves placards on poles designed to picture the various "flies" in the song. At the appropriate time, the placards are lifted high to fly over the choir, allowing the audience to visualize the fun text. Along with the placards, a literal shoe attached to a tall pole is also suggested to represent the "shoe fly." One of the best laughs I've received from a song I've composed is seeing a community children's choir sing this piece in a magnificent cathedral where a young boy was waving a shoe on a tall stick in front of the ornate high altar! I doubt anything of the sort had ever been experienced in that space! Perhaps music-making like this reminds us to put life in perspective and remember to laugh. performance of "Have You Ever Seen a House Fly?" with placards (and shoe) by West Choir, South Hadley, MA, Children's Chorus Both "Little Firefly" and "Have You Ever Seen a House Fly?" are published by Alliance Music Publications. I hope both pieces offer educational opportunities along with some fun with flies!
As a Music Theory and Composition major in the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts at Oklahoma Baptist University I was privileged to study composition with gifted composers, Nancy Hill Cobb and Michael Cox. They significantly expanded my musical horizons along with professors: Kathryne Timberlake, Bill Horton, Andre Lash, Wiff Rudd, Dan Hodges, and Bob Wood, who taught courses in Music Theory, Music History, Counterpoint, Orchestration, 20th Century and Electronic Music. Piano professor, Charlotte Martin, also focused my private instruction on my interest in composition and composers. Once, when I asked her to tell me about composer, Camille Saint-Saëns, she replied: "Well...he was my Godfather!" (Martin lived a fascinating life, and at one time was the youngest student of famous French pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger.) I received a magnificent education in Music Theory and Composition from these exceptional educators. Though my undergraduate degree was unusual for my career goal of church music ministry, its coursework has been invaluable to my creative and ministerial work. In a 20th Century Music course I was introduced to "aleatoric" or "indeterminate" music. This music results from compositions structured to utilize chance, randomness, improvisation, choices made by the performers, and other interactive factors. The outcome is that every performance of an indeterminate composition is unique. Often the musical score uses non-traditional notation to communicate the composer's creative desires. An assignment in this class was the composing of a simple piece incorporating aleatoric techniques. For this composition I borrowed an idea from my young niece, Carrie, after witnessing her do an interesting thing at the piano. She would locate the manufacturer's name on the inside of a piano's keyboard cover and trace her finger from each letter of the name downward toward the keyboard, playing a consistent rhythmic pattern on whatever black or white key was directly below each letter or symbol. I envisioned how playing in this way on pianos of different manufacturers would create a different result each time. For example, "Yamaha" would produce a different set of pitches than "Steinway." I was grateful to Carrie whose imagination provided this idea that helped me meet the indeterminate requirements of my assignment. I called the resulting piece: "Nomenclature."  an indeterminate piece for piano: "Nomenclature," typeset on an early Macintosh computer. Fascinated by indeterminate music, I wondered how I might one day make use of it in my work as a Minister of Music. When the 2020 pandemic silenced worshipers from singing and playing wind instruments in person, it was necessary to provide new and safe modes of music-making for congregational worship. During the pandemic, I led my gathered congregation to drum on the wood of pews, play body and rhythm instruments, hum in masks, and express worship through sign language. Remembering the indeterminate and electronic music I was exposed to in college, I created a congregational “Digital Gathering Song” with parts played by worshipers through their mobile phones. Offering the song in worship during the pandemic provided a safe way for worshipers to make music together. It also offers a means of congregational music-making for individuals reluctant to sing or who do not play an instrument. Five different music files form the Digital Gathering Song and tonally complement each other. Fragments of the pentatonic tune, “HOLY MANNA,” associated with the text: “Brethren We Have Met to Worship,” are heard in a few of the files. As individual worshipers select specific files and play them simultaneously (pressing “play” at close yet random intervals), a unique indeterminate musical composition is heard resulting from various choices and chance as well as the particular acoustic environment. The digital music files can be placed on a page of the church or other website and accessed via Wi-Fi in the worship space. The webpage's URL and/or a QR code printed in a worship guide will provide worshipers easy connection to the files. A time of preparation is helpful to assist each congregant in pre-selecting a file with a title and mood that most closely represents how they are entering worship: with "joy," "concern," or a "mixture of feelings." Preceding the playing of the Digital Gathering Song, a Call to Worship exclaims that many different individuals from a variety of life-experiences gather to form one congregation. The Digital Gathering Song responds and musically expresses this reality as it combines the diverse sounds into one unique musical offering. As the digital song is played, individual worshipers hear how the music of others around them is either the same or different from their music, raising an important awareness that can provide an empathic and meaningful worship experience.  Who Has Gathered? includes the Call to Worship and the five music files that create the Digital Gathering Song. It is available from LarryESchultz.com and may be effectively experienced in worship spaces, retreat settings, concert halls, and anywhere Wi-Fi is accessible. Demonstration Video:
On a late evening in 2022 when my cellphone’s caller ID displayed: “New Zealand,” I decided to answer, wondering if it could possibly be my new Facebook friend, William Livingstone Wallace. “’Hello, Larry?’ this is Bill Wallace" (It was!). I had recently written Bill a note expressing my appreciation for his prolific and progressive hymn writing, and he was calling to ask a favor. After discovering my similar creative work, he asked if I would be interested in harmonizing “a hymn tune or two” for some of his texts. Bill quickly revealed: “I have Stage 4 Cancer, and along with finishing a book, I am trying to complete my body of hymns.” He was a gifted poet and tune writer but needed a composer to harmonize and typeset his work. With gratitude for what his thought-provoking words offered the world, I was honored to assist. When his first hymn arrived by email, the time constraint of our project was evident as I emotionally read his hymn text: “As Life Approaches Ending.” In the months that followed, other late-night phone calls arrived from “New Zealand,” with the familiar “Hello, Larry?,” and my initial assistance with “one or two” hymns turned into ten. The hymns poems of William Livingstone Wallace are cutting-edge, exploring themes of justice and peace, science and the cosmos, art and spirituality, the ecosystem, human society and more. A Methodist Pastor, charged with the responsibility of weekly sermons, Bill felt that hymns were the best way to present his radical thoughts as they allowed new ideas to “slide into the mind on the back of music!” Bill joins other hymn writers who embrace the wonders and reality of science. At a time when science is revealing the significance of dark matter/energy, Bill’s hymn below expresses darkness as the place where truth, wisdom and the oneness of all reside. In a society whose metaphors harmfully inform our psyche that darkness is “bad” and light is “good,” Bill’s words instruct otherwise: In the darkness lies the whole For the parts all disappear. In the darkness dwells the truth Of the wisdom all can share. All the lines merge into one, All the colours quickly fade, All the sounds to silence change, All the dreams can be remade. When the light and darkness join We find all the parts belong In the fullness myst’ry holds Till our hearts are filled with song. If in darkness we abide With a heart devoid of fear Each of us discovers then God is present everywhere. -Words © 2022 William Livingstone Wallace. Used by permission. Permission is granted by the author to freely reproduce and use (citing copyright information). The calls from Bill eventually ended and, exploring the internet, I read of his death on February 26, 2024. His lifetime of work will continue to inspire, engage, and expand the minds of worshipers for years to come. Free Hymn Downloads:
Two of our hymn collaborations, “As Life Approaches Ending” and “In the Darkness Lies the Whole,” are available as free downloads from LarryESchultz.com. Permission is granted for their use with congregations. Bill’s work is found in numerous published collections, and the large catalog of his hymns are housed and offered for free use at In 2005 I was asked by the choral editor at Choristers Guild to provide two anthems based on particular scripture passages. Perusing a list of possible choices, I quickly found interest in setting the ideas from the 25th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel: “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” and “just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” Inspiration from these passages resulted in: Whoever Welcomes You Welcomes Me – a composition consisting of four questions and a theological statement. Question #1: Where will we find you? Where will we find you, Christ, who is coming? Where will we welcome you? Where will you be? Will you be feasting with friends at a banquet, or will you hunger alone in the street? Where will we find you? Where will we welcome you? While writing this piece, I was cognizant of scriptural and experiential paradoxes related to how Christ is encountered. On one hand, the Gospels depict Jesus attending celebratory meals with friends, from the wedding banquet at Cana to breakfast by the Sea of Galilee. On the other hand, the Christ figure is portrayed in scripture as a stranger who is hungry and thirsty. For many years the congregation I serve as minister of music has fed the hungry and those experiencing homelessness. Witnessing the lines of people who come weekly for food and fellowship gave further instruction for this stanza and the next. Question #2: What will you look like? What will you look like, Christ, who is coming? What will we recognize? What will we see? Will you be wearing the finest apparel, or will we see you in rags and in need? What will you look like? What will we recognize? I sometimes compose texts or music in my head while driving. One day while driving and thinking on the words for this second stanza, I turned a corner into a McDonald’s drive-through. At that corner was a shabbily dressed woman inviting donations of money or food. Waiting in the car line for my own breakfast, I thought of the how her experience paralleled the teaching from Matthew 25, that she was the embodiment of Christ in need. Conversely, I also knew I had experienced the Christ-presence in persons of wealth and resources. These contrasting thoughts converged in this stanza. Question #3: When will you get here? When will you get here, Christ, who is coming? When will your advent be? Will you arrive when we're least expecting, or with fanfare and pageantry? When will it be? This crying out of “When (and how) will you get here?!” is expressed with a sudden change in the mood and music of the anthem. This portion of the piece takes on a frustrated tone as it continues to respond to scriptural discrepancies. The stories of Jesus riding into town with great pageantry, and the coming of Christ announced with celestial trumpets are found in the same Bible that reveals a Christ who arrives unexpectedly without preparation or fanfare. Question #4: Who will you visit? Who will you visit, Christ, who is coming? Who will you visit here? Who will you see? Will you be laughing and playing with children, or stay with prisoners who long to be free? Who will you visit? Who will you visit here? The beloved story of Jesus welcoming children and the teaching of the Christ being known in prisoners are both alluded to in this stanza describing diverse people in whom the divine is known. Another influence was the knowledge that my congregation includes persons who fight against the death penalty. Through the years this has included picketing outside of the state prison, visiting with death row inmates and holding congregational vigils before an execution. A line from this stanza originally expressed: “Will you be laughing and playing with children, or be a prisoner who longs to be free? Though I think this original line more closely communicates the teaching from Matthew of Christ being the prisoner, the publisher’s editors conversed with me about altering this line to the one above that is perhaps more poetic to sing. A Theological Statement And Jesus says: "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, so, wherever you will go, I will be; and, whatever you look like, I will look like, too; I will speak in your words and in everything you do. Whenever – my advent is whenever – my advent is whenever you discover I am in you; when you discover I AM in you!" The beauty and strength of the Gospels is that they present different and even contradictory descriptions of Jesus. This understanding supports the anthem’s paradoxical questions: Does Christ feast at banquets or starve in the streets? Is Christ wealthy or in need? Does Christ visit children on the playground or prisoners in jail? The concluding theological statement seeks to affirm the Christ-presence in all of these and more. Taking Jesus’ statement from Matthew 10:40 (“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me”) to its ultimate conclusion, the final section exclaims that every person of every description speaks and acts as Christ. This reveals that the coming (advent) of Christ happens whenever humankind discovers their divinity within. A theological play-on-words in the last few lines reinforces this concept. It occurs when Jesus’ proclamation: “I am in you” is repeated but transformed into “I AM in you.” In all caps, “I AM” is a name for the divine found in the Hebrew Scriptures and expresses the divine in all.  Whoever Welcomes You Welcomes Me is dedicated to my mother, Opal Lee Schultz, who was active in Woman’s Missionary Union, and involved me in missions education from an early age. That formative experience taught me that I was part of a global community and engaged my thinking on “who” was my neighbor, “what” they might look like, “when” I would encounter them, and “where” they might be. This anthem published by Choristers Guild (CGA1067) for unison or two-part voices with piano and optional flute accompaniment has been presented by choirs of all ages as well as vocal duets. The piece is meaningfully sung in the season of Advent or on any occasion when the divine is discovered. Whoever Welcomes You Welcomes Me is expressed by alto and tenor duet, piano and flute in worship at First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Before I knew it was one of the most historic and identifying characteristics of Baptists, my parents taught me what it meant to be a Separatist. In the mid-1970’s my family separated from our local Baptist church after it was strategically overtaken and controlled by a large group of new members who enforced outlandish theologies and unreasonable practices. This separation was not done lightly nor without grief as my parents had invested 30 years of their lives in this congregation. They made the decision to move from Tulsa’s Phoenix Avenue Baptist Church, to nearby Red Fork Baptist Church, in order to provide a positive experience for me as I entered junior high school. This change impacted my life for the better and demonstrated there would be occasions when being a Separatist was the best choice. As I grew and prepared for ministry, this understanding continued to guide my church and denominational life. The Southern Baptist Convention taught me what it meant to be Fundamentalist. In the 1980’s the SBC (a denomination whose history includes the endorsement of slavery) shamefully pronounced the inequality of women, the depravity of homosexuals and a disregard for Biblical scholarship. During this time, I was receiving excellent training for music ministry at Oklahoma Baptist University where I experienced the exact opposite: gifted women who were professors and church ministers, upstanding gay friends, and a responsible, thoughtful approach to the Bible. While continuing my education at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I witnessed the Convention’s fundamentalist takeover that resulted in hurtful actions bombarded upon professors and students. In response, I wrote a hymn in 1988 that was published in The Baptist Hymnal, 1991: “O God, We Ask for Strength.” At best, the hymn was my protest; naively, I thought the SBC might sing its words and repent. But it didn’t work, and I became a Separatist again, not wanting to be associated with a denominational group that weaponized the Bible to harm and abuse others. The national Cooperative Baptist Fellowship taught me what it meant to be Moderate. In the year 2000, the national CBF Coordinating Council voted to affirm policies that would communicate a position of being “Welcoming but Not Affirming” of LGBTQIA+ people. (If that’s not a moderate stance, I don’ t know what is.) At the time I was the youngest member of the national CBF Coordinating Council, and after standing with those who opposed this position, I immediately resigned from the council, becoming a Separatist once again. Having lived through the exclusionary trauma of the SBC, and after giving much time and energy to both state and national CBF bodies, I was physically sick to experience the national CBF’s acts of oppression. (Because of Baptist polity I make a distinction between the actions of the “national” and “state” CBF organizations, as each body is autonomous). It was not lost to me that the CBF, an organization whose membership was comprised of outcasts from the SBC, was now continuing the same cycle of exclusion. I knew that some members would remain in an effort to bring about change from within, but I also knew that individual and institutional advancement would take time. After personally witnessing the deeply injurious actions of the SBC, I didn’t want to spend my time in ministry trying to convince another ecclesiastical organization that it should be inclusive. I simply did not have the patience or desire. The Alliance of Baptists, my church congregation and others are teaching me what it means to be Liberal and “beyond.” During my seminary years I heard about the formation of the Alliance of Baptists, and the first two churches I served were minimally associated with this fledgling Baptist network. After my resignation from CBF, I became much more involved in the Alliance and read in its newsletter about the search for a Minister of Music at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC (which I became in 2001). I had previously learned about Pullen through national news articles that revealed the church’s commitment to fully include LGBTQUIA+ people. Because of this stance, in 1992 the SBC ousted Pullen from its membership, but a supportive community was already in place as five years earlier members of Pullen joined others in forming the Alliance. After becoming Pullen’s Minister of Music, I learned that the church never connected to the moderate CBF because it suspected from the beginning that the CBF would not be as open and inclusive as the Alliance. From my experience, this prediction was accurate. While no congregation or denominational organization is perfect, the liberalism expressed through Pullen and the Alliance of Baptists resonates with me and seems to have put an end to my Separatist ways. A liberalism that continues to progress encourages life-long learning, the willingness to venture out, and the equal willingness to change course as new wisdom emerges. Compared to the mental restraints of fundamentalism, progressive liberalism allows the freedom of inquiry essential for this post-theistic century. But liberalism also has limits. There are times when liberalism is inadequate and invites the search for what is “beyond." Perhaps even more descriptive for me than the term, “Liberal,” are words I suggested for a sanctuary art installation at Pullen: “Ever Embracing” and “Ever Becoming.” These active phrases express how I desire to be identified – “Ever Embracing,” as I participate with my church and other groups in welcoming and including all, and “Ever Becoming” as I evolve, explore new insights, and discover who continues to be excluded. Interestingly, it is by being a Separatist that I have been able in good conscience to remain both Christian and Baptist – two worlds in which I was born, have grown, was educated, and continue to offer my ministry of music. Songs Born Out of |
AuthorLarry E. Schultz is a Minister of Music, Composer, Hymn Writer, and Music Teacher. Archives
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