Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Preachers Walking the Tightrope

Preachers Need to Walk the Tightrope

Walking the tightrope for a pastor means preparing and preaching a new sermon every Sunday, rarely preaching a sermon a second time.  It may also mean preaching without notes of any kind.

Time for Three (TF3) is a trio of classically trained musicians whose eight years on the road together have earned them the sobriquet of "fervent travelers."  Over this period the trio has crisscrossed the world and crosscrissed musical styles.  They have listened to America and given a musical response. The liner notes from their album Fervent Travelers describes the opening song Wyoming 307, as  an "ode to the state and its singular area code", while the song Ecuador is "a travelogue in song that evokes the daily temperate highs and lows and manic modes of transport in a foreign land."

When we saw them perform on May 17 they put Beatles tunes to a classical arrangement.  I call this The Millennial Generation Rediscovers Classical Music.  Rather than swinging an electric guitar young women and men ages 30 to 10 will seek to emulate violinists Zach DePue and Nick Kendall.

The May 17 performance at the Hilbert Circle Theater in Indianapolis was amazing. I have never seen musicians  so loose and enjoy themselves so much on stage. They were relaxed without being distant or forgetful.  They were having a ball, living life this one day at a time.

The audience responded with repeated standing ovations, feeding off this energy and courage.  TF3 fed off the energy of the audience. You can see how the outcome could be somthing special with so much energy flowing back and forth.

During the performance Double bassist Ranaan Meyer related a conversation with folk singer Arlo Guthrie. TF3 and Arlo had performed together. After the show Arlo impressed upon Ranaan the need for musicians to "walk the tightrope." 

Walking the tightrope for a musician means taking calculated risks, performing music that,  while rehearsed, is played for the first time before a live audience.  The performer has to concentrate because this is not the umpteenth rendition, this is new and a little scary. Both musician and audience are rewarded for the boldness and courage.

Walking the tightrope for a pastor means preparing and preaching a new sermon every Sunday, rarely preaching a sermon a second time.  It may also mean preaching without notes of any kind.