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Psalm 95:1-2 World English Bible
95 Oh come, let’s sing to Yahweh.
Let’s shout aloud to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let’s come before his presence with thanksgiving.
Let’s extol him with songs!
At Solusi in Zimbabwe and at Rusangu in Zambia and in many
other churches in the newly independent republics in Africa, I had my soul
transported into the grace and love of God by the singing. The people sang in
full four-part harmony. They sang with deep spiritual joy that was entirely
contagious.
As a kid I remember how we sang joyfully and forcefully
enough to make the windows rattle. We loved those songs that were joyful, that
had loud chords and praised the Lord.
Then I came to Ikizu in Tanzania. Most kids refused to sing.
Those who did sang as though they were singing a dirge. It was as if they were
forced to sing. They reminded me of the ancient Israelites who were marched off
in chains to Babylon. They hung their harps on the bushes and sat and wept on
the shores of the Euphrates.[2]
Their captors expected them to sing, but, of course, they couldn’t
Then Pastor Mbwana joined the school. He evidently saw what
I saw. However, he knew what to do to remedy the situation. He had a repertoire
of Swahili gospel songs all set to the much-loved folk tunes of the people.
Suddenly the students came to life. Their singing was joyous
and heartfelt. They made the walls reverberate. My heart leapt for joy. I must
admit that the alien, to me, music made me do a double take. I felt alienated,
strange. Was this really Christian music? This was music glorifying the gospel.
It just wasn’t western type music. I decided to embrace it.
Many of my fellow missionaries, however, were shocked to
their core. My music appreciation never has been very cultural or classical, so
I didn’t resonate with their horror. They wanted to put a stop to it before it
got out of hand. There was a distinct beat to the new music. Those who had long
taught and been taught about the evils of Rock and Roll feared it might lead to
that. I talked with them and pointed out to them the beautiful change that had
come over the students’ singing and themselves. This finally got them to hold
off their criticism and wait to see what would become of it.
Thank you, Lord,
that Your salvation reaches all people in their own setting.
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