Your Belief System and Your Church (4): Gateway Skills

[Dave Knauss]

MUSIC GATEWAY SKILLS. Music has two gateway skills, upon which ALL other music skills are built. After changing my beliefs about “haves” and “have nots,” I learned that all of music is founded on two basic skills, and that no one can DO anything in music without them. One is the ability to sing in tune (match pitches) and the other is performing a steady beat. Upon these skills are built singing, moving, playing, improvising, creating, composing, arranging, and so on. These two gateway skills are absolutely necessary for any participation in music from being a hobbyist to the serious musician, from humming and whistling around the house to playing in a band or orchestra, or even participating in worship in church. These two skills are so critical that WITHOUT them, one is handicapped into being a lifelong music “spectator” rather than a “participator.” Additionally, there is something unique about these two skills—once learned they cannot be UNLEARNED. Even if you have not picked up an instrument in decades, you may have lost some physical dexterity, but you cannot forget how to match pitches or perform a steady beat. Let me say it again, these two skills are the difference between being a music spectator or a participator! When I realized the enormity of this as related to my music teaching, no student ever passed me again without learning how to sing in tune and perform a steady beat. If they did not automatically know how to do them, I learned HOW to help them learn!

SPIRITUAL GATEWAY SKILLS. These two music gateway skills are an important analogy for the Christian church. Ephesians 4:11 speaks of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. Aside from the ecclesiastical debate on whether or not these exist today as positions, it is without debate that Christians had better be doing these as activities. They are the gateway skills of the church.

(1) Apostolic ministry starts and builds new works, and also develops and restructures, if needed, existing ministries. Either by direct involvement or other means, every Christian needs to support God’s works. (2) A prophet is a communicator of Truth. God reveals His Truth to us and we must pass that on to others. Truth is a plumb line to teachings and activities to test their verity. (3) An evangelist is a messenger of the Gospel. Every believer can share the Good News of what God has done and is doing daily in one’s life. (4) A pastor or shepherd is a caregiver. Every believer can provide care and support for others, saved or unsaved. (5) A teacher breaks down complex Truths into easy-to-understand concepts. Every life situation requires that we teach whoever is placed in our daily living, and be instant with a ready word. I see these five skills as the difference between spiritual spectators or participators. Where these five gateway skills are NOT being taught and practiced in church, I would be willing to bet there is a healthy inactive list instead. (There is NO evidence of an inactive list in the New Testament church.)

In God’s infinite wisdom, I believe there must be amazing sequential reasons for the five activities in the order they are presented. From my viewpoint, I can see deep connections as to why pastoring, shepherding, and caregiving are immediately next to teaching. Each of them are more complete together than when alone.

Pastor, have you realized the importance of every one of your members learning and practicing the five spiritual gateway skills? Do you realize that no church member must ever pass you again without learning them? Are you guiding your people into being spiritually engaged participators, or leaving them in the bondage of lifelong spectators?

Your Belief System and Your Church: (1) Introduction

Your Belief System and Your Church: (2) Your Paradigms

Your Belief System and Your Church: (3) Bondage or Freedom

Your Belief System and Your Church: (4) Gateway Skills

Your Belief System and Your Church: (5) Teacher Accountability

Your Belief System and Your Church: (6) Talking About vs. Doing

Your Belief System and Your Church: (7) Student Accountability

Your Belief System and Your Church: (8) Assessment

Your Belief System and Your Church: (9) Bury Dead Tradition

Your Belief System and Your Church: (10) Teaching vs. Learning

Your Belief System and Your Church: (11) Teachers' Three Phases

Your Belief System and Your Church: (12) Excellence is NOT a Goal

Your Belief System and Your Church: (13) My Teaching Limits Were Their Learning Limits

Your Belief System and Your Church: (14) Unlearning Creates Success

Your Belief System and Your Church: (15) Pioneers vs. Settlers

Your Belief System and Your Church: (16) Real and Lasting Learning

Your Belief System and Your Church: (17) Problems With Memory

Your Belief System and Your Church: (18) Ownership Creates Success

Your Belief System and Your Church: (19) Not Perfect, But Honest

Your Belief System and Your Church: (20) Take Risks and Give Away Control

Your Belief System and Your Church: (21) Out of a Job

Your Belief System and Your Church: (22) KCAASE and Proverbs 24

Your Belief System and Your Church: (23) Responding vs. Reacting

Your Belief System and Your Church: (24) Only When Performed

Your Belief System and Your Church: (25) A Supervisor's Vision

Your Belief System and Your Church: (26) Glimpses Into the Spiritual

Your Belief System and Your Church: (27) One Reason Alone

[Lisa]

Hey what are the chances that worship participation in the pews would increase if you taught the music gateway skills? ....Theres no one better gualified than you. Just a thought. I keep time only by the Grace of God. Frankly think I am still out of time as much as in time.

Assume you are pointing pastors to learning how to teach the spiritual gateway skills.

[Dave Knauss]

Thanks, Lisa, for pointing out that assumption, which was supposed to be plain statement instead of an inference. You make a great proofreader! May I engage you to proofread all the others too? I think it'd be absolutely cool to have happen in a church what I was able to instigate in a secular classroom. After all, if I got each group (classroom) of street-wise, unchurched, scattered kids to perform music together harmoniously like an ensemble, why can't a preacher do the same in a church in the spiritual realm where everyone is automatically focused one direction on God?
Blessings, Dave

[Lisa]

And didn't even know I was proof reading... Then again it is something I like to do so it just sort of happens. Will see what I can do with the others.

[Juanita]

David - what an incredible illustration! I am sending a link to this to all of our members -- this is certainly a discussion that they don't want to miss!

[Dave Knauss]

Thanks, Juanita. The Lord said very clearly to me last week that He taught me these lessons in success in public school teaching "for such a time as this" (Esther) to transfer the same to pastors and churches, i.e., the Bride of Christ. Jesus is awaiting a church without "spot or wrinkle" and there is lots we can do to operate that level of excellence RIGHT NOW--not later!
Blessings, Dave

[Rev. David Garlich]

Soooooo – how do we teach timing? Our music leader knows it, but most of us don’t, so we just follow along. To move into participation, what is the first thing we need to “focus on” to learn the skill of rhythm?

[Paige]

I am not so sure "God's timing" can be taught....it seems to me that learning the timing of God only comes through missing the timing of God a few times. Atleast that has been my experience....I think the more time you spend in relationship with God...the understanding of time(His time) comes.

I am intrigued by Dave's expressions and understanding of taking spectators and turning them into participators.....I see so much spectating lately...I have an impression from God...that it is as if everyone has been watching and waiting on God's perfect timing, that they forget in the "waiting" to just minister to Him, until He comes. Instead they are in a state of spectating until He comes....so the new Christians come into a church service...see the masses watching and waiting(spectating) and they never learn by example that we are to minister during the wait. Participate as we spectate....yeah, am I making any sense...hahahhahaha!

[Dave Knauss]

Dear Rev. Garlich,
Want me to visit your church and show you how? Performing a steady beat is nothing more than sensing an unchanging interval of time with a clap at either end of the interval. While in the middle of the time interval, it is the ability to perceive ahead where that interval of time will end and place a clap at that split second.

In a group setting, I'll have everyone performing the steady beat within 1 minute. Inside that group will be two different types of persons. The one will be "independent" and can perform a steady beat without anyone around helping him or her. The other person will be "dependent" who needs an independent person(s) close by to copy. With continual practice, the dependent person will emerge into being independent.

In an individual setting, you allow that one person to strike up his/her on steady beat as best they know how by clapping his/her hands together following an unchanging interval of time in between the claps. Then very carefully add music to that person's established beat. Little by little, they make the mental connection between performing a physical interval of time and the feel of the same in the aural sound of the music.
Blessings, Dave

P.S. to Paige: Your observation on "God's timing" in the spiritual realm is a whole different matter of infinite wonder. I hope readers don't overlook your astounding observation of "learning comes through missing." How true! I became an excellent teacher because I made every stupid mistake in the book and many more not even written in the book. But the art is not in making the mistakes, but in what you LEARN and DO as a result of them.

[Rev. David Garlich]

I will speak with my music leader about your kind invitation to come help - and with your permission I'll suggest he incorporate your method into his "teaching" us.

Dave Knauss said:

Dear Rev. Garlich,
Want me to visit your church and show you how? Performing a steady beat is nothing more than sensing an unchanging interval of time with a clap at either end of the interval. While in the middle of the time interval, it is the ability to perceive ahead where that interval of time will end and place a clap at that split second.

In a group setting, I'll have everyone performing the steady beat within 1 minute. Inside that group will be two different types of persons. The one will be "independent" and can perform a steady beat without anyone around helping him or her. The other person will be "dependent" who needs an independent person(s) close by to copy. With continual practice, the dependent person will emerge into being independent.

In an individual setting, you allow that one person to strike up his/her on steady beat as best they know how by clapping his/her hands together following an unchanging interval of time in between the claps. Then very carefully add music to that person's established beat. Little by little, they make the mental connection between performing a physical interval of time and the feel of the same in the aural sound of the music.
Blessings, Dave

P.S. to Paige: Your observation on "God's timing" in the spiritual realm is a whole different matter of infinite wonder. I hope readers don't overlook your astounding observation of "learning comes through missing." How true! I became an excellent teacher because I made every stupid mistake in the book and many more not even written in the book. But the art is not in making the mistakes, but in what you LEARN and DO as a result of them.

[Dave Knauss]

Rev. Garlich,
Spinning off from your response of "how to incorporate your method into his 'teaching' us," this is a whole chapter on its own. I have yet to find a church that does what I did in a music classroom. It was a given in my classroom that we talked very little "about" music, instead we "did" the music. Music is an art form to be performed. Active participation. Everyone was constantly moving and performing all aspects of the music. Never sitting still and singing. When we sang, we'd move our bodies either to dramatize the text of the song or to perform an inherent music concept in the song. We'd also perform instruments while singing. It was clearly understood no one was allowed to be a non-participator. Music is an automatic upper that generates all kinds of heightened enthusiasm. I assumed all non-participation was a result of "not knowing how" rather than "not wanting to." So when I saw a student reluctant to enter in, I asked them permission to touch their person to show them how. After a few seconds of doing it for them, I let them continue on their own and praised and encouraged every effort. In a very short time, the reluctance turned into anticipation and enthusiasm.
Blessings, Dave

[Paige]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! *dumb look* you were all talking about musical timing.....hahhahahaha!!! Skip my post...

[The McLeans]

Dave
Excellent analogy of participating vs spectating. But is singing in tune a gateway skill to understanding or playing music? - there are instrumental musicians and conductors out there who do not/cannot sing in tune. Singing in tune is a gateway skill to not making our neighbors cringe in their pews, though. :D