One of the first things that I looked at (I do this with nearly every book) when I picked up Bob Kauflin's Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God was the Index and Bibliography. First, I was a bit surprised to see how thorough and exhaustive a job was done on the Scripture Index and General Index. Someone needs to be commended here. Second, I was delighted to find that Kauflin included a section titled A BRIEF ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. This is a wonderful resource and I have already added his recommendations to the TheoSource database (see here). I especially appreciated the depth of his selections and also the perspective he offers as a minister of music (old-fashioned lingo for worship leader).
MY MIND: WHAT DO I BELIEVE?
In Chapter 3, Kauflin exhorts music ministers to read theology. How about that? Kauflin hits a home run in this chapter. Here's a quote:
But being moved emotionally is different from being changed spiritually. Music affecst and helps us in many ways, but it doesn't replace truth about God. Musci can never by itself help us understand the meaning of God' self-existence, the nature of the Incarnation, or Christ's substitutionary atonement. Nor can an instrumental solo tell us how music fundtions in worshiping God. For that, we need to read our Bibles. And to know what the Bible says, we need theology. Good theology.
NOTE: By the way, I found the following quote by Spurgeon in this chapter and have added it to the quotes at the top of the sidebar.
Good theology helps us keep music in its proper place. We learn that music isn't an end in itslef but rather a means of expressing the worship already present in our hearts through the new life we've received in Jesus Christ. (p. 30)
"He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves he has no brains of his own."
