Two ministry training papers were posted on Phillip Jensen’s website.
Ministry Training Paper: Use Of Music In Church
Excerpt:
So then music, singing in particular, is seen within the Bible as expressing emotions, through context and content. As expression of emotions can be articulated meaningfully, music can be used to teach and edify people.
Sometimes music can be out of keeping with its context for both good and ill. Thus it was in prison for the sake of the Gospel that Paul and Silas sang hymns to God. The very incongruity points to the power of the Gospel. Sometimes people can use their gifts without love controlling such usage so that others are not served or edified. Then their gifts are like the proverbial clanging cymbal.
Ministry Training Paper: Christian Experience
Excerpt:
The Bible is the lens, the glasses, through which we view the world of our experiences, rather than our experiences becoming the glasses though which we read the Bible. The Bible brings all things into focus and understanding.
I should not try to find my experiences in the Bible, for then I will tend to bend the Bible to fit my experiences, or worse, to fit my understanding of my experiences.
Instead, I should read the Bible first, as independently of my experiences as possible, and then seek to understand my experiences.
Useful insight and applications are present in both resources.
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