What’s Wrong with the Music?

In last week’s Principal Thoughts (Heart's Theme), we explored the correlation between musical theme and the mission of Christian education. As you read the article, you may have asked this question, “If the mission of Christian education is resonating like a musical theme throughout the school, why doesn’t the ‘music’ always sound right?” At the core of this question, rests a compelling reason for Christian education.

In a former ministry, my office was directly across from the music room. I loved having my door open so that I could hear the “music” from the room. Those of you that have experience with elementary music students learning their craft are questioning my sanity in intentionally exposing myself to such an endeavor. It is true that dissonance and chaos seem to reign in the beginning, but then you hear it. A melody, broken and distorted, can be faintly discerned. As the students mature and develop, the theme grows more distinct and purposeful.

In classrooms across the world, the mission of Christian education resonates. Yet sometimes, the melody of our mission is broken and distorted. What is wrong with the music? Our classrooms share something in common with every classroom that meets: 100% of the people in the classroom including the teacher battle a sin nature. Guided by the Holy Spirit, our teachers guide our students through the brokenness and distortion we find evident in our lives. Through loving and firm guidance, the melody of our mission grows more distinct and purposeful in the hearts of the child. What better place to address the distortions of sin than where the Word of God is applied toward each situation. The reformer Martin Luther proclaimed, “I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign supreme.”