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Fall 2009 | Volume 68, No. 1
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President's Letter
by Paige Patterson
The issue of Southwestern News that you hold in your hand is the subject of great delight to me. Across the past few years, I have been concerned about “worship wars” and specifically the question of music employed in the churches. Not only have these disputes about the genre of music been the cause of rifts in many congregations, but whether or not a seminary music school can relate to the current desires of churches is a question that a seminary president must face.
The Lord from heaven has shown Himself phenomenally gracious to the School of Church Music at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Not only has He provided for us Dr. Stephen Johnson, a genuine man of God and a great musician, as our dean; but also the entire faculty of the School of Church Music has achieved the impossible. Without abandoning the aesthetics and teaching values of the classical musician, they have wed together the various kinds of music genres and now provide, as far as I know, one of the very few schools of church music in American seminaries. The men and women who comprise its faculty not only relate wonderfully to the churches, but they also hold the highest conceivable standards in music education and development. You will see some of them featured in the articles in this magazine.
In addition to that, I have addressed the subject from time to time in chapel. As I often say to the students, commonly, though erroneously, some believe that the president hates contemporary music.
The truth is that I do not care for any music that is poorly performed or theologically adrift, but I am an enthusiastic fan of contemporary, classical, and gospel music when each is faithful to Scripture and when the music is well done. In one of my recent sermons, I mentioned several of the items that appear to me to be important, and the editor has excerpted from that sermon some of these observations in my article in this issue. Finally, you will see the profiles of some of our students who have remarkable talents in music leadership and performance. I believe that you will find this issue of Southwestern News an encouragement to your soul. Thank you for your support of what I believe to be the most remarkable of all music schools anywhere. We praise God for your support of Southwestern’s School of Church Music, for the faithful service of our music faculty, and for the gifted and committed students God continues to send SWBTS!
Until He Comes,
Paige Patterson
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