Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Ritual, Spectacle, And Theatre In Late Medieval Seville (Chapter 1), Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

From the fall of Islamic Išbīliya in 1248 to the conquest of the New World, Seville was a nexus of economic and religious power where interconfessional living among Christians, Jews, and Muslims was negotiated on public stages. From out of seemingly irreconcilable ideologies of faith, hybrid performance culture emerged in spectacles of miraculous transformation, disciplinary processionals, and representations of religious identity. Ritual, Spectacle, and Theatre in Late Medieval Seville reinvigorates the study of medieval Iberian theater by revealing the ways in which public expressions of devotion, penance, and power fostered cultural reciprocity, rehearsed religious difference, and ultimately helped establish Seville …

People And Places: The Evidence Of Holiness, Hannah Landman, Kara Jasper

Student Work

"Gilded altars, carved marble, nuances of light, brilliant colored glass contribute to telling a story—the story of scripture and the story of the church in this place."

Posting about reflections of the choir's European tour from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/people-and-places-the-evidence-of-holiness/

Reading Igor Stravinsky's Poetics Of Music In Christian Higher Education, John Macinnis, Mark Peters

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This article presents the composer Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) as an historical educator in the context of the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures on Poetry at Harvard University (1939–1940), published as The Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons. As music professors at North American institutions of Christian Higher Education, the authors each read Stravinsky’s Poetics with students in music classes. We describe here our different pedagogical methods and how we employ Stravinsky’s Poetics to form students with Christian approaches to culture-making.

Building Healthy Families Through Intergenerational Worship Ministry, Frank Richard Gillespie

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Although literature exists concerning family ministry in the local church, there is little research that gives explicit insight into music and worship ministry’s role in helping to strengthen families. Since worship is one of the ultimate functions of both the church and the family, this study integrates family ministry methodology with worship ministry methodology to discover theological sound and practical ways to build up the family through corporate worship, structured music programs, and community involvement. Guided by biblical and historical foundational teachings on church and family, this qualitative research study identifies perspectives that have not yet been explored and documented …

Palestinian Evangelical Christian Music In Bethlehem, Israel/Palestine, Abby Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Often the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is portrayed as Jewish vs. Muslim, Hebrew vs. Arab. There is little room in the international dialogue for minorities such as Arab Christians. Though Palestinians have a rich culture of Arabic musical and poetic heritage, they are unable to produce their own new songs. In this study I interviewed three members of Immanuel Evangelical Church on their experiences and opinions on local Christian worship. The findings show that Palestinian Christians may feel unable to write worship music because of a prevalent feeling of inadequacy and a lack of musical training. I propose several …

A Plan To Unify Generational Worship Divisions Through The Development And Implementation Of A Biblical Philosophy Of Generational Worship, Leonard L. Tomlin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Westside Baptist Church is a multigenerational Southern Baptist Church with an established culture of dynamic musical worship. Throughout the last four decades, this congregation has flourished in its weekly engagement of musical worship. Westside's musical worship styles are generally comprised of traditional hymns, southern gospel, and praise and worship music. While the church has maintained a reputation of first-rate worship music, the last decade has revealed a growing division among the congregation's generational worship style preferences. One generation of the church longs to worship with the songs that they grew up with, while another generation prefers to grow up with …

An Analysis Of The Roles And Responsibilities Of The Music Ministry In The African American Church, Jeffrey Leonta Wilson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The perfect church does not exist. All churches have issues, and Church of Faith and Deliverance in Kinston, North Carolina, is no exception. The church has a problem within the music ministry. The purpose of this DMIN action research thesis is to teach and provide adequate training on the roles and responsibilities of the music ministry at Church of Faith and Deliverance. If the roles and responsibilities of individuals in the music ministry are taught at Church of Faith and Deliverance, then unity of worship may result. The church is a living and breathing organism. When parishioners gather in the …

Methods And Motivations Of Multigenerational Churches In Selecting A Worship Music Identity, Joshua Charles Morton

Masters Theses

Churches in the twenty-first century come in all types, shapes, and sizes. The church plant movement is bringing many new churches into existence. With many of these church plants, the assumption is that a contemporary worship style comes with it. This could be viewed this way, because of the high population of younger people that attend these churches. Churches like Elevation Church, North Point Church, Passion City Church, and Saddleback Community Church are all church plants. These churches are magnets for newly established Christians and those seeking to answer questions about God for the first time. They are magnets for …

Contextualized Songwriting In The Japanese Church, Katie Ann Mcwilliams

Masters Theses

The Christian Church of Japan has very few songs written in their own language and style. Most songs are translated from English or another language. While Japan is a very westernized country, this is a problem because things can get lost in translation and these songs are not always representative of their musical style. Furthermore, they have a unique voice of worship that is currently missing from the global Church. My research project was intended to identify songwriters and encourage songwriting for the local church with the intention of expanding the Japanese voice in the global context and raising awareness …

Follow Me: Following Jesus With Your Head, Heart, Hands, And Feet, Vincent Dodge Frampton

Masters Theses

Following Jesus requires more than merely a mind exercise. It is more than giving money to the right causes or helping to build hospitals. Following Jesus requires the head, heart, hands, and feet--the whole self. The goal of this music and worship ministry project is to help people to follow Jesus with their whole selves.

Book Review: Singing The Congregation: How Contemporary Worship Music Forms Evangelical Community, John Macinnis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The desire of concert attendees for an authentic spiritual experience maps onto the search for other authentic experiences by consumers today."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Singing the Congregation from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/book-review-singing-the-congregation-how-contemporary-worship-music-forms-evangelical-community/

Praising God Around The World: Christian Worship Music As An Individual And Collective Experience, Divya Putty

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The artists “Bethel” and “Hillsong” are frequently recognized by Christians living in America. But what about the names “Bridge Music India” or “Sinach”? These names would be most likely unknown in the states but celebrated in India and Nigeria. While each stems from vastly different cultural backgrounds, they all serve the purpose of creating a space for people to connect with God and each other through musical worship. Drawing on four different pieces of worship music and their use in live services, this article analyzes the effects of worship music, specifically their lyrical and musical content, on the individuals participating …

A Study Of Music: Music Psychology, Music Therapy, And Worship Music, Jessica Whittemore

Senior Honors Theses

There are three specific fields related to music: the psychology of Music and how it affects human brain and functions, the methodology of Music Therapy and how it affects individuals undergoing treatment, and the psychological effects of Worship Music and how it can be used in music therapy. Music therapy is a growing field in which the therapeutic outcomes greatly benefit the patients. The overall purpose is to create a greater understanding of music and music therapy in order to a provide a system for introducing group worship services into music therapy to ultimately bring spiritual healing to individuals.

The Makings Of An Ep: From Silence To Portable Sounds, Emily Ream

Senior Honors Theses

The creation of an EP is a process that requires skills in multiple areas. Once, creating an EP was only available to those who garnered resources and support from a record label. However, an increasing number of aspiring musicians are writing, recording, and making their music available for download or purchase without the assistance of a record label. Doing this successfully and excellently requires application of knowledge in areas such as literature, theology (for Christian artists), music theory, music technology, and marketing. This thesis will describe one process used to turn inspiration into a tangible product that one can purchase …

Promise That You Will Sing About Me: Kendrick Lamar In Posterity, Brandon Apol

Music and Worship Student Presentations

Sometimes it would seem that the quietest moments turn out to have the loudest repercussions. This would seem to be a consistent case for twenty eight-year old Kendrick Lamar, whose career has been defined by surprise and unannounced publications of music that shortly afterward are spun into respected works of art. With an album that no one anticipated going to the 2013 Grammy awards, another album that leaked a week ahead of schedule (and brought Kendrick 5 Grammys), and an album that was released with almost no warning whatsoever, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth makes headlines with his art; of this there …

Thy Word Have I Hid In My Heart, James C. Schaap

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Something there is about music that won’t let go. Dementia robbed my friend’s mother of most of her sense, but when her children sang her favorite hymns, she was right there with them."

Posting about hymns of the heart from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/thy-word-have-i-hid-in-my-heart/

Here We Are Now... Hold Us Together, David J. Mulder

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"I am thankful for teachers who planted seeds, or watered them, or pulled weeds, or simply waited patiently for fruit to start showing up."

Posting about teaching children to live out their faith­­­­­­­­ from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/here-we-are-nowhold-us-together/

Prince, Common Grace, And What Is Within, Shelbi Gesch

Student Work

"It’s unnecessary to run the other direction every time something bearing the marks of a fallen culture comes along. Everything in this world bears the marks of a fallen culture."

Posting about the struggle between light and darkness from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.

http://inallthings.org/prince-common-grace-and-what-is-within-us/

“Mi Alma Cantará”: Tracing Issues In Music Education Within The Colonial And Contemporary Latin American Church, Kerry Digiacomo

Senior Honors Theses

Music education and institutionalized Christianity have been criticized by historians and ethnomusicologists for their role in the domination and transformation of indigenous Latin American cultures since the late 15th century. However, indigenous peoples, including Amerindians as well as more recent mestizo and Ladino people groups, have also taken an active role in transforming European musics to reflect an emic understanding of their own cultural identity. Music education within the Latin American church has provided an interface for these complex interactions between foreign and native cultural influences. This paper will explore the connections between colonial and contemporary-era music education movements in …

The Intersections Of Music, Love, And Worship, Jacob C. Wessel

Senior Honors Theses

When a right understanding of the doctrine of love infiltrates the art of music in the event of corporate worship, an opportunity arises for a unique synergism of knowledge, emotion and relationships. These qualities are paramount in the doctrine of love and practice of corporate worship, and they are especially encouraged by the powers of music. An exploration of these three aspects of love—knowledge, emotion and relationships—is here provided with special attention to the opportunity music and worship provide for intersections between them.

The Sounds Of Vatican Ii: Musical Change And Experimentation In Two U.S. Trappist Monasteries, 1965−1984, Bradford Lee Eden

Library Faculty Publications

The Second Vatican Council impacted the use of liturgical music within religious communities. Two U.S. Trappist monasteries, New Melleray Abbey in Dubuque, Iowa, and Gethsemani Abbey in Bardstown, Kentucky, evidenced distinctive approaches to the musical freedom resulting from the Vatican II reforms. New Melleray incorporated contemporary folk music and instruments. At Gethsemani, Father Chrysogonus Waddell pioneered the use of Gregorian notation and English psalmody. The musical changes had a profound effect on the Trappists’ celebration of the Mass and the praying of the Liturgy of the Hours.

Arts Of War: Reconsidering Conflict Through Interdisciplinary Artistic Collaboration, John Macinnis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

CORE 160: Introduction to the Arts is required as part of the core curriculum at Dordt College and is team taught every semester by four professors who each address a different art form: Music, Theatre, Film, and Visual Art. Semesters are divided in half, and students select two art forms for special attention. Additionally, all students meet in two mass sections in which the team of professors address topics spanning all the arts. These mass sections are an opportunity to demonstrate for students that interdisciplinary collaboration around a given topic often produces remarkable insight.

Last year, in recognition of the …

Christian Music Experiences In The Faith Development Of Adolescents: A Phenomenological Study, Winnie White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenology study was to discover how Christian music experiences affect the faith development of adolescents. The lived experiences are the on-going process in which adolescents develop through the stages of faith and how Christian music fits into that process. The participants were adolescents who participated in a youth group with an active music experience on a weekly basis. I used the transcendental phenomenology model which included the epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis of texture and structure to collect, gather, and analyze the data. Data were collected from 11 adolescents utilizing observations, Fowler's Life …

An Analysis Of The Need For A Congregational Songwriting Manual For The Evangelical Community, Travis Doucette

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Music has always been an essential part of the faith journey of God's people. The modern worship movement over the past twenty years has created an industry for new songs of worship. In conjunction with advances in technology, more than ever, songwriters have been able to easily create well-produced compositions. It is the author's opinion that with the massive influx of music, the craft of well-composed, singable tunes matched with theologically accurate lyrics has been largely neglected. There is a need for an academic songwriting manual, teaching students and worship leaders how to write congregational songs for the evangelical church. …

The Role Of The Pastor As The Primary Worship Leader In The Local Church, Roger Holliman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this project is to encourage pastors to embrace their role as the principle worship leader, rather than to accept and believe "I am not the worship leader." This thesis project investigates and examines a senior pastor's theological duty and obligation as the worship leader of his or her church, and provides the biblical mandate and approaches for how to do this effectively and as a team leader. Through personal interviews of six pastors, plus current research on the topic of worship, this thesis provides instructions on how senior pastors may implement strategies to enhance their understanding of …

Kachin Sound Instruments Within The Context Of The Kachin Baptist Convention Of Northern Burma: History, Classification, And Uses, Walter Brath

Masters Theses

This organology identifies and describes the Kachin's sound instruments, classifies them according to the Hornbostel-Sachs' system, and considers evidence of an indigenous classification scheme. Very little research exists to date on the music of the Kachin peoples of Northern Burma. This paper cites the only known indigenous organology and is the first English language study to extrapolate evidence into an emergent classification system. This qualitative study is based on ethnographic interviews, the minimal literature available on the topic, and participant observation drawn from fieldwork conducted in the Kachin State of Northern Burma (modern day Myanmar) during the months of May …

When Black Meets White In The Heart Of Worship: A Case-Study Of Musical Changes In A Multiracial Church, Serge Volpe

Masters Theses

The Worldwide Church of God began as a denomination relying on certain Jewish practices and other Euro-centric distinctions to define its' identity. In the New York City area, African-American churchgoers exceeded that of whites; yet church liturgy retained its European-American flavor. When the denomination underwent transformation in the 1990s, many congregants were unable to accept changes, including new musical styles, and reacted in a manner inconsistent with what church leaders had hoped for. This thesis examines what some African-Americans experienced during this period when liturgy changed to include music representative of their culture. Interviews were conducted with African-American churchgoers from …

Discipling Worship Leadership: Biblical And Theological Rationale For Discipling Worship Leaders, Byron Spradlin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A review of current worship literature reveals very little guidance to assist Protestant church leaders in training, discipling or mentoring congregational worship leadership. Therefore, this thesis project researched and presents a basic rationale for developing worship leadership discipling curricula strategically targeting the needs related to discipling and training artistic Christians who are called to worship leadership in the local church.