Tentative Schedule for Musicians' Conference (March 9-11)

Monday, March 9 

9:00am - Class #1 (Break-out Sessions for Song Leading, Guitar, Piano)

10:00am - Jam Session #1 (3 options)

11:00am - Class #2 - Aural Perception

12:00pm - Lunch and Fellowship (Meal provided)

2:00pm - Class #3 (Break-out Sessions for Song Leading, Guitar, Piano)

3:00pm - Jam Session #2 (3 options)

4:00pm - Class #4 - Music Theory

5:00pm - Soul-winning

7:00pm - Dinner (Meal provided)

8:00pm - Jam Session #3 (3 options)

Tuesday, March 10

9:00am - Class #5 (Break-out Sessions for Song Leading, Guitar, Piano)

10:00am - Jam Session #1 (3 options)

11:00am - Class #6 - Aural Perception

12:00pm - Lunch and Fellowship (Meal provided)

2:00pm - Class #7 (Break-out Sessions for Song Leading, Guitar, Piano)

3:00pm - Jam Session #2 (3 options)

4:00pm - Class #8 - Music Theory

5:00pm - Soul-winning

7:00pm - Dinner (Meal provided)

8:00pm - Jam Session #3 (3 options)

Wednesday, March 11

9:00am - Class #9 (Break-out Sessions for Song Leading, Guitar, Piano)

10:30am - Morning Preaching Service

12:00pm - Lunch and Fellowship (Meal provided)

2:00pm - Recital (Advanced only)

3:00pm - Putting psalms to music and Song-writing Workshop 

5:00pm - Soul-winning

7:00pm - Church Service

Musical Instruments & the "Regulative Principle of Worship"

Have you ever been to a church that did not believe in praising the Lord with musical instruments? Do you wonder how they can teach that, when all through Psalms we are commanded to praise the Lord with both singing and instruments? Well, there’s a teaching out there called the “regulative principle of worship,” which Wikipedia defines as follows:

“The regulative principle of worship is a Christian doctrine, held by some Calvinists and Anabaptists, that God commands churches to conduct public services of worship using certain distinct elements affirmatively found in Scripture, and conversely, that God prohibits any and all other practices in public worship. The doctrine further determines these affirmed elements to be those set forth in Scripture by express commands or examples, or if not expressed, those which are implied logically by good and necessary consequence. The regulative principle thus provides a governing concept of worship as obedience to God, identifies the set of specific practical elements constituting obedient worship, and identifies and excludes disobedient practices.

The regulative principle of worship is held, practiced, and vigorously maintained by conservative Reformed churches, the Restoration Movement, and other conservative Protestant denominations. Historic confessional standards stating the doctrine include the Westminster Confession of Faith,[1] the Heidelberg Catechism,[2] the Belgic Confession,[3] and the London Baptist Confession of Faith.[4]

The regulative principle contrasts with the normative principle of worship, which teaches that whatever is not prohibited in Scripture is permitted in worship, as long as it is agreeable to the peace and unity of the Church. In short, there must be agreement with the general practice of the Church and no prohibition in Scripture for whatever is done in worship. The normative principle of worship is the generally accepted approach to worship practiced by Anglicans, Lutherans, Evangelicals, and Methodists.”

In a nutshell, the regulative principle teaches that if something is not mentioned in the Bible, we shouldn’t do it, when really we should be avoiding things that are actually prohibited, which is what the “normative principle” teaches. The normative principle as explained here by Wikipedia seems to be the normal, logical position.

This is not to say that independent Baptists have an “anything goes” mentally about how we conduct our church services (far from it.) Obviously, we must use common sense when deciding what is right and wrong. If something is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, we look at biblical principles when making our decision about whether or not something is expedient. For example, smoking is not specifically prohibited, but gluttony and drunkenness are, and the Bible says our body is the temple of the Lord. For this reason, most preachers will at least advise against smoking.

Churches that do not allow musical instruments will bring up the fact that the New Testament doesn’t mention musical instruments being used in the early church. They somehow go with their man-made regulative principle, even though in this case their conclusion contradicts clear Old Testament scripture. The commands to praise the Lord with stringed instruments, etc. were never amended or done away with in the New Testament. We don’t get our doctrine from what IS NOT mentioned in the Bible but from what IS mentioned.

It’s not just the denominations listed in the above Wikipedia article that prohibit musical instruments in church. Most Church of Christ denominations are also against using any musical instruments in their services.

I know that the churches that hold that position have a lot bigger problems, but I still find this interesting. For some reason, they choose the regulatory principle over common sense. For example, a buddy of mine actually heard Psalm 150 being read in a Presbyterian church that did not allow musical instruments. He obviously found it ironic, but it’s really not that surprising since most Christian denominations don’t like to admit that they shy away from certain passages.

I know this isn’t a salvation issue, but when someone believes something as weird and unscriptural as banning musical instruments from church, I can’t help but doubt their salvation. The only way I can see a saved person agreeing with something like that is if they’ve never read the Bible because, over and over, God commands us to praise the Lord with various instruments. If anything, churches should be adding more musical instruments.

Stringed instruments, in particular, are emphasized in the Bible, yet many churches won’t allow so much as a piano. If a saved person believes this strange doctrine out of ignorance, I bet they are going to be surprised when they get to Heaven and at some point are issued a harp!

"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." - Revelation 15:2

Here is a video where I preach about this

Book 3 of the Complete Church Piano Course

 36 pages, soft cover 

The Complete Church Piano Course: Book Three
by Pastor Steven L Anderson

The primary goal of Book Three is to teach you to play directly from the hymnal. The first thing you must realize is that the music in the hymnal is not written for piano. It is written for voices singing in four part harmony. Therefore, if you were to play exactly what is written in the hymnal, it usually would not sound right on the piano. For this reason, your right hand will be playing exactly what you see on the page in the hymnal at this point, but your left hand will continue playing the chord and octave patterns that you learned in Book Two.

The first challenge of playing from the hymnal is that you will now be asked to play two notes at a time with your right hand instead of only one. Although technically you could continue playing only one note at a time with your right hand by playing just the top note of the four notes on the page, your playing will sound much better when you play both notes in the treble clef part. If you have mastered Books One and Two, you are ready to take this step.

The second challenge is that the hymnal does not tell you which chords to play with your left hand. Therefore you must learn how to figure out which chords to play based upon the notes written on the page. Eventually, your ear may help you instinctively know which chords to play. Until then, several techniques will be taught in this book that will help you quickly identify the proper chords to play in the left hand.

Your goal is to eventually be able to play hundreds of hymns from the hymnal on demand. You will not be able to memorize that many songs or their chord progressions. In order to become an effective church pianist, you will need to become very good at sight-reading the treble clef part and instantly knowing which chords to play with the left hand. This book will give you the tools to do so.

Songs included in Book Three:

Are You Washed in the Blood?
At the Cross
Blest be the Tie that Binds
Come Thou Fount
Count Your Blessings
Dare to be a Daniel
Dwelling in Beulah Land
Follow On
Glory to His Name
Higher Ground
I Need Thee Every Hour
In the Garden
Jesus Paid it All
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?
Rock of Ages
Sound the Battle Cry
Standing on the Promises
Take the Name of Jesus with You
There is Power in the Blood
There Shall Be Showers of Blessing
This is My Father’s World

This book can only be purchased by US residents who live outside the state of Arizona. Arizona residents can pick up a FREE copy at Faithful Word Baptist Church. No international shipping available.

TO ORDER, GO TO THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE AND CLICK "ADD TO CART." The books are $10 each, and the shipping is $2.50. 

Psalm 11 set to Music (composed by Clint Anderson)

This is my brother's version of Psalm 11. Part of our project to put all the KJV Psalms to music without changing any of the words. Great job, Clint! This is my favorite one so far!


http://www.faithfulwordbaptist.org/psalms.html

Psalm 15 set to music (Complete KJV Psalm)

Words: Psalm 15
Music: Composed by Steven L Anderson

This song is written in the key of D Dorian. The chords are Dm, G, and Am7.

Post Trib Hymn "Through Tribulation"

Words by Clint Anderson
Music by Steven L Anderson



Though it is dark in this world of sin
Though evil prospers it shall not win
First tribulation, then with a shout
We'll be caught away 'fore his wrath's poured out

Chorus:
The Lord will come with ten thousands of saints
He'll judge the earth for his righteous name's sake
Through tribulation, though we must come
There's naught can sep'rate us from his love

When sorrows increase, be not dismayed
All must be fulfilled before that day
The man of sin we will surely see
The sun and moon darkened then we shall be free

We must trust in him, though times seem dire
These trials purify us with refining fire
When these come to pass, redemption is nigh
He'll catch us away in the blink of an eye

Sheet Music for Hymnal:

http://www.kjvprophecy.com/480.pdf

Guitar Chords:

http://www.kjvprophecy.com/480guitar.pdf

Acts 14:22
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

New Hymns Page at Faithful Word Baptist Church Website

Click here to visit the new hymns page at the website of Faithful Word Baptist Church! There you can download mp3's of congregational singing. An rss feed and iTunes podcast are also available.