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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.
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 |
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Dr. Wren inscribed the book’s flyleaf for me and my wife: “Signed on a night of good news! Cindy & Larry Schultz, Shalom! Brian Wren 22/9/89.” His inscription details memorable things about that night. The date commemorates that my wife and I had been married for just over 3 months, and this was the first professional event we eagerly attended as a married couple. An added joy for us was that the conference was held in the school’s music building connected to the seminary chapel where we had met three years earlier and where our wedding service had recently taken place. Wren’s “night of good news” inscription refers to the fact that when walking into the reception, my hymnology professor, Dr. Hugh McElrath, came to me to shake my hand and say: “Congratulations on your hymn making it into The Baptist Hymnal (1991)!” "What!" I joyfully exclaimed. (Dr. McElrath, who was on the hymnal’s committee, did not realize I had not yet heard that a hymn text I had written for his class[3] was going to be included.) Still on an emotional high from singing the hymns of Brian Wren, I was overjoyed to hear that my first hymn would be published. As news of this surprise spread around the room, the congratulations of many friends grew to become a large group hug that moved around the room reminding us of the last scene of The Mary Tyler Moore Show! With his congratulations, Dr. Wren also asked me to send him a copy of the hymn for review. As he traveled home following the conference, he kindly composed a letter of suggestions and encouragement regarding the hymn and my writing.
Everything about that evening was exciting and memorable. It was indeed a “night of good news” in many respects, including my awakening to the good news of feminist and intersecting theologies in my own ministry. This experience was foundational to my creative work that would follow, including my connection and collaboration with feminist theologian, Dr. Jann Aldredge-Clanton, which I celebrate in the next blog post.
Epilogue:
After my initial introduction to Brian Wren at the Southern Seminary conference, I was fortunate to learn from him at two other conferences during my early years in church music ministry.
In 2003 it was a dream-come-true to have the opportunity to compose music for one of Brian Wren's hymn poems, "The Name We Have Begun to Know." My congregation, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC, hosted Dr. Wren for a weekend conference and commissioned from him this interfaith text for which I provided the tune, LOVE-SONG. It is published by Hope Publishing in Wren's hymnal, Christ Our Hope, and was included in a recording of selected hymns from the collection.[4]
Everything about that evening was exciting and memorable. It was indeed a “night of good news” in many respects, including my awakening to the good news of feminist and intersecting theologies in my own ministry. This experience was foundational to my creative work that would follow, including my connection and collaboration with feminist theologian, Dr. Jann Aldredge-Clanton, which I celebrate in the next blog post.
Epilogue:
After my initial introduction to Brian Wren at the Southern Seminary conference, I was fortunate to learn from him at two other conferences during my early years in church music ministry.
In 2003 it was a dream-come-true to have the opportunity to compose music for one of Brian Wren's hymn poems, "The Name We Have Begun to Know." My congregation, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC, hosted Dr. Wren for a weekend conference and commissioned from him this interfaith text for which I provided the tune, LOVE-SONG. It is published by Hope Publishing in Wren's hymnal, Christ Our Hope, and was included in a recording of selected hymns from the collection.[4]
Hymn Score and Tune Recording:
| The Name We Have Begun to Know - LOVE-SONG |
In 2011 I was thrilled to win a hymn tune contest sponsored by Faith Alive Christian Resources for Wren's text, "We Are Your People." The publisher coupled the text with my tune, SPIRIT-PRAYER, in the Lift Up Your Hearts hymnal, a joint publication of the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Reformed Church in America.
Hymn Score and Tune Recording:
| We Are Your People - SPIRIT-PRAYER |
[1] Hope Publishing Company, 1989.
[2] Crossroad, 1989.
[3] “O God We Ask for Strength” (Hymn 498, The Baptist Hymnal, 1991).
[4] Selections from Christ Our Hope CD recorded by the choir of Armour Heights Presbyterian Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,
[2] Crossroad, 1989.
[3] “O God We Ask for Strength” (Hymn 498, The Baptist Hymnal, 1991).
[4] Selections from Christ Our Hope CD recorded by the choir of Armour Heights Presbyterian Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada,
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Larry E. Schultz is a Minister of Music, Composer, Hymn Writer, and Music Teacher.
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