THE MUSICAL OFFERING: A QUESTION OF HONESTY ° MICHAEL R. BROWN ° Chair of the Division of Fine Arts Indiana Wesleyan University Early in Genesis Godly peoples are instructed regarding the appropriateness of offerings to God. Abel's offering was accepted and Cain's was rejected. The biblical account contains the grave issues of jealousy, hate, fratricide, and banishment, but the moral of the story begins with the rejection of an unacceptable offering due to an unacceptable heart. Many biblical scholars would agree that Cain's rejection was not due to the nature of his grain offering. Abel's gift was a blood offering and this fact does serve to introduce the blood offering that becomes a part of Judaic tradition preceding the shed blood of Christ for the remission of sin. Nevertheless, Cain and Abel predate the giving of the Law. Cain's offering was rejected not because of the nature or sophistication of his offering but due to the condition of his heart. Offerings of music have a long tradition in worship. David, Miriam, Deborah, and other biblical figures used music, dance, and words to honor and glorify God. The epitome of adoration of God through music in the Protestant faith would be the life's work of J. S. Bach. The great German Baroque composer dedicated his life and music entirely to the glory of God. Bach demonstrated his dedication by closing his compositions with S. D. G. (soli Deo gloria-to God alone be the glory). He opened manuscripts with J. J. (Jesu, juva-Jesus, aid). Even in technical exercise books for his son Wilhelm Friedemann, Bach's study, he initialed I. N. J. (in nomine Jesu-in the name of Jesus). The history of Bach's life reflects the spiritual fruits of a deeply committed Christian. His life was dedicated to musical service to his Lord. The craft, emotion, and substance that permeated his art was an act of offering. The masterworks of the "St. Matthew Passion," the "Mass in b minor," the "Art of Fugue," and the "Musical Offering," demonstrate Bach's genius and, more importantly, the dedication of his heart. Christian educators have the responsibility to direct and encourage the talents of our students, but also to encourage them to seek purity in their offering. This is the very essence of the integration of faith and learning. The renowned American composer, Roger Sessions, once said that there was no good or bad music, only honest and dishonest music. The definition of good music is perhaps only judged by time. During his lifetime Bach was considered adequate as a composer by his contemporaries, although somewhat old fashioned in style. He was largely forgotten a few years after his death but was enthusiastically reintroduced by Zelter and Mendelssohn nearly 80 years later. Time is the greatest of critics: musical offerings that survive its scrutiny render their greatness as art. Since no one can predict whether creations will stand the test of time, we must judge the honesty of our own offerings. While the honest offering may not survive time's march, a dishonest offering will never stand as art or as an acceptable offering. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:1 that we should "present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service." If we should present our bodies in this fashion, should our art be any less? Musicians must give of themselves to the discipline of practice and study. In our present society, instant gratification is a common goal of the world. Contemporary society invades the church on many levels and Christian colleges are no exception. The drop in the number of advanced pianists in the last two decades is drastic and a direct result of the world's fascination with instant success. Even more shocking is the paucity of organists across the nation. Organ majors graduating from all institutions of higher learning-Christian and secular-was less than 100 nationwide last spring. Keyboard performance requires many hours of dedicated practice. Reasonable service, "holy and acceptable unto God" is not a "quick fix": honest offerings require great dedication. Contemporary society has also invaded the church through the entertainment industry and particularly via the medium of television. The church attempts to attract and retain members who are increasingly visually and aurally oriented and are decreasingly spiritually and mentally oriented. One of the results of this invasion is a contemporary Christian music industry that is commercially based and consumer driven. There is little difference in the style, instrumentation, tone and presentation of this music and that of MTV or Nashville. The real difference is the slant of the promotional style and, at times, the lyrics. Unfortunately, at times, the lyrics are not coherent or understandable. Only time will tell if this music will stand its test as art. In actuality, in a commercially oriented industry, the test of time is in days or weeks at the top of the charts not in centuries. In a sense, it is disposable music. Despite the commercial nature of the industry, there are undoubtedly many honest offerings from the performers of this genre. Regardless of the original intent, the popular notion of star status and hero worship that is such an important aspect of any commercial music industry can pervert the offerings of the adoring amateur. The popularity of the original offering can lead the impressionable amateur to adopt the idea that he or she can clone the offerings of popular idols. Many evangelical churches have readily accepted the use of accompaniment tapes for music offerings. This use of "trax" allows the amateur to supposedly "sound just like" the commercially successful star of the moment. Indeed, the sales of the "trax" add to the commercial success of many of these stars or, at least, their record company. The pseudo-sophistication of attempting to sound like someone else, to sing with an unseen orchestra, to be bigger than life, can amount to hero worship and not the worship of God. The common arguments for taped accompaniment are many, including: convenience, a larger and more sophisticated sound, and the lack of a suitable accompanist. These arguments could be labeled: lack of discipline and diligence, self-absorption or adoration, and self-promotion. This philosophy also exacerbates the aforementioned paucity of keyboardists. The amateur pianist or organist cannot compete with the sophistication or the consistency of a tape. Both the amateur and the professional performer should remember that sophistication and honesty have never been synonyms. The sophistication of Cain's offering was not judged-the judgment was made of his heart. A final invasion of the values of the world on musical offerings is the desire for self-glorification. Fame and fortune are the marks of success in all commercial endeavors. The completion of a musical offering to God seems somewhat tainted by applause from others. The popular notion that the applause is only to the glory of God seems somewhat weak in that prayers are not usually concluded with applause-nor are Scripture readings, sermons, or worship services for that matter. While no one is capable of judging the condition of another's heart, pandering to popular tastes or seeking the approval of others rather than giving your best to God is dangerous and not in the image of Christ. In fairness, self-glorification is not unique to the 20th century, but seems particularly problematic in an age when worship services are increasingly entertainment oriented. Christians-and particularly Christian educators-have the responsibility to see beyond the temporal. The invasion of the world on worship is not limited to musical offerings. As educators we must challenge our students with eternal truths and give them the opportunity to grow beyond the expectations of the world. In music, we have the machinations of time to define and preserve art. A musical offering will be judged by time for its inherent quality, yet as Christians we must be held accountable for the condition of our hearts as we make our offerings in the same manner as Cain and Abel were judged. A pure heart will produce a pure offering. Honesty, discipline, dedication, humility, and self-denial are not commercially viable or worldly respected characteristics but are attributes that can be ascribed to Christ and Christ-like people.