The Music Architect: Blueprints for Engaging Worshipers in Song

by Constance M. Cherry

Guidance for Leaders Seeking a Richer Way to Employ Worship Music

Worship expert Constance Cherry offers comprehensive guidance to Christian leaders seeking a deeper, richer way to employ worship music in engaging ways for twenty-first-century worshipers. Following Cherry's successful book The Worship Architect , this work helps Christian leaders think theologically and act pastorally about worship music in their churches. It addresses larger issues beyond the surface struggles of musical styles and provides tools to critically evaluate worship songs. The book is applicable to all Christian traditions and worship styles and is well suited to both the classroom and the local church. Each chapter concludes with suggested practical exercises, recommended reading, and basic vocabulary terms.

Genres: Music

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2016

About the author

Constance M. Cherry (DMin, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of worship and Christian ministries at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, and is on the faculty of the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies, where she has taught since its inception. She speaks and teaches internationally and is a regular adjunct professor at several seminaries. Cherry has also served local churches as a minister of music/worship and as a United Methodist pastor.

Reviews

[John Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

2017 Reading Challenge  — Book 24: A book by a female author

Though I purchased this book more to be a resource volume on my shelf than anything else, I did find it an enjoyable read. Cherry's opening chapter about what it means to be a "pastoral musician" was very good, and I appreciate very much the priority she gives to corporate singing throughout, as she lays out her "blueprints" for congregational engagement.

I found myself skimming this book far more than reading it closely, for a couple reasons. For one, it's very similar to a lot of other things in my library, and being familiar already with the concepts she was presenting as well as with most of the sources she was quoting meant there wasn't much new to process. Also, I often felt like chapters continued on long after she'd gotten her point across.

Still, the sections about the history and development of different types of songs used in worship services, and the appendix at the end designed to evaluate your church's "canon of songs" are the reason I bought the book, and will serve well as a resource, so I'm glad I added it to the collection. If you'd like to do the same, you can grab a copy here .

BONUS POINTS! I don't usually read a book's "Acknowledgements" section, but for some reason I glanced at that page in this one. Imagine my surprise seeing some folks in there from my little home town of Huntington, Indiana! Turns out Dr. Cherry is from Huntington, too. Small world!

[Phallen (Helen) Sakhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many musicians serving in worship services who are very talented but far fewer who have had any real education in worship. This has left us with a lot of talented, well-intentioned but underprepared individuals when it comes to leading God’s people in the most important work to which we are called.

One of the greatest needs of the church today is for its leaders to have a clear understanding of music’s purpose and a shared vision for its proper role, not only on its own merits but also in relation to the whole service.

All sorts of people qualify as “musicians architects” – any persons who share responsibility for providing music in worship. Music architects also bring order and beauty​ together, arranging for the necessary parameters for music to best function in worship that will enhance the relationship that occurs there between God and people. They understand music’s place in the worship service, its relationship to other components, and its capabilities for encouraging holy encounters.

Who we are and what we do are often related, for our interests, natural talents, spiritual giftedness, cultural contexts, and so on not only help to form who we are but also often determine the trajectories of our lives, leading us naturally to our primary vocations.

The title “pastoral musician” reflects a multidimensional type of leadership that combines both being and doing – a leader who is being conformed to the image of Christ and, as a result, is able to do God-focused ministry with others.

A pastoral musician is a spiritual leader with developed skill and God-given responsibility for selecting, employing, and/or leading music in worship in ways that serve the actions of the liturgy, engage worshipers as full participants, and reflect upon biblical, theological, and contextual implications, all for the ultimate purpose of glorifying God.

The person who you are in ministry will affect your ministry more than any skill or quality you possess. While the source of our identity is rooted in our relationship with God, our personhood develops and matures over time; it is a lifetime process.

[Ryan Shelton]

Constance Cherry's volume would be a great primer for a young worship leader just beginning to lead congregational song. The vision of worship leadership she presents is a refreshing departure from the increasingly omnipresent performance-artist paradigm, and throughout she develops the concept of a "pastoral musician," which seems more appropriate to churches of all sizes and theological distinctions than the spiritual rock star. Her tone is exceedingly generous throughout, accommodating a very wide spectrum of stylistic preferences without borderless ecumenicalism. There were a few times her tolerance for certain practices within Christendom went too far for my comfort (icons, for example), but on the catholic essentials I appreciated her firm line.

This book might make an effective primer for, say, an undergraduate-level introduction to the subject, but seems a bit tedious for those who are already familiar with the relevant literature. Cherry often summarizes—rather than thoughtfully interacts with or contributes to—the worship writings of Nicholas Wolterstorff, James K. A. Smith, Bryan Chappell, Harold Best, Paul Westermeyer, Robert Webber, etc. While it was nice to see so many voices collected together in a unified project, there weren't many fresh insights, rather a good synthesis of the better voices. The writing style seems a bit bloated with cutesy suggestions to think about things over chai, or filling word counts with dictionary definitions. With a better editor, these 288 pages could have been a lean and efficient 150-200.

I would still recommend having it on your shelf if you are involved in church music. There are a few chapters in the middle with descriptions of different styles and forms of Christian songs that might make a handy reference for the inevitable controversies among churchmen over hymns and choruses, traditional and contemporary, repetitive and dense.

Note: A review copy was provided by the publisher.

[Jason Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Music Architect" is an excellent follow-up to Dr. Cherry's "The Worship Architect," and it also stands quite well on its own. The author thoroughly examines the role of the pastoral musician, the functions of congregational song, and the meaning of excellence in worship. She also gets into the details of different song forms and worship service models. I am a huge fan of the Fourfold Order presented here and in "The Worship Architect," and I use it as a framework every week. I definitely recommend this work for all current or aspiring worship leaders.