The following article deals with the "beginning" stages of internet exploration for the minister of music. The author has discovered many additional resources since this article was written in January of 1998. You can use this, though, as a "starting point" for your internet experience. (The article was revised 11/99)
INTERNET RESOURCES FOR THE MINISTER OF MUSIC
Using the Internet to build your music ministry.
Roger C. Thomassen
Recently I saw a cartoon of a mother sitting at the computer. "How do I get on the Internet?" she asked her young son.
"Boot up your computer, dial your server, double click on your web browser, and type in your URL... it's a simple as programming a VCR."
The mother exclaims, "That's what I was afraid of."
Minister of Music, have no fear! The Internet is a lot easier than programming a VCR! Take courage and join in a great adventure, if you have not already done so. The Internet (1) provides access to an enormous amount of resources pertinent to the church musician. What are some of the resources and how are they accessed? Let us look at web sites that are helpful to the minister of music. This will be an interactive article. Try to be at your computer as you read this.
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Before we follow the instruction of our cartoon character above, consider three things:
FIRST-- Don't be afraid! The computer is only a tool. It takes time to learn. You learn by doing; studying, searching, and "trial and error" are all involved.
SECOND-- Ask questions. Many people would love to share what they have learned. Where are they? Possibly in your home! Parents, ask your children. Visit the youth group in your church. Many college students live on the Internet. You will have more than one of your musicians who is on the Internet (or "Net") while on the job.
THIRD-- Be adventurous. You may say, "I don't even own a computer," or "My computer does not have a modem (2)." Visit your public library. May public libraries are online, that is, they have access to the Internet and the World Wide Web (3). You can usually use this equipment for free. For your home computer, you will pay for the services of an Internet Service Provider--ISP (the people who provide you with Internet access). Yet, there are ways to get on the Internet "free." For example Springfield, MO has ORION (Ozarks Regional Information Online Network) which is available at no cost. With it you receive e-mail as well as Internet access. Check your area for information about service providers and costs.
SOME WEB SITES
You have booted up the computer (turned it on), dialed the server, double-clicked the web browser (I am using Netscape), and now you are ready to type in your URL (or location--think of this as the address). Where do I start? What sites will be helpful to me as a minister of music?
Let's get started. First, we will start with the Christianity Today site. Take you mouse and click on Christianity Today in the sentence above. Notice that it is underlined and also another color. This signifies a LINK. When you click on a link, you are brought to that web page. So, try it! When you are finished at that site, take your mouse and hit BACK (up at the top left-hand side of your broswer...whether you are using Netscape or Microsoft Explorer, for example. You'll come back to this page. Then continue reading and clicking and visiting other sites.
On the homepage for Christianity Today, look for Music & Media. Click on and a new page appears with many other articles and music/media information. Visit some of those pages. Again, be adventuresome....you can't get lost! There are many things to visit on the Christianity Today site. For example, you will find access to the CT publications (listed on the left side bar- the left hand column):
Christianity.Net/SEARCH Directory of Christian Resources Music Sites-- click here to view submitted sites!
Current Uplink Article From Computing Today Magazine-- click here to read the latest article!
Point your mouse to Christianity.Net/SEARCH Directory of Christian Resources Music Sites and click. You will be able to search over 7700 sites. Choose your category and begin searching. Put in the word "worship" and see what sites come up. You then visit these and see what they have to do with worship.
"One-stop shopping" can be done at <www.gospelcom.net>, a service of Gospel Films. Questions about the Internet? Click on Quentin Shultze's Internet for Christians (located on the sidebar) and find the answer to many questions. This is a major source with search engines and links. It will take you to various ONLINE MAGAZINES, including a great site: Christian Computing Magazine. Select from over 145 different ministries (Billy Graham, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, etc.) and visit their sites.
GospelCom will take you to CrossSearch, <www.crosssearch.com/Music> which has many links to all genres of music.
CCLI's website <www.ccli.com> is a must for all church musicians. No worship leader should forget the legal ramifications of failing to get copyright licensing, so a visit to the Christian Copyright Licensing International website is a must. If you're a member of CCLI, there are many great and valuable tools available to you through the site. Links to other licensing agencies are available as well (ASCAP, SESAC, and BMI).
At the CCLI site, click on the Worship Leader, one of the foremost magazines about worship. The links provide a wealth of information for the music minister: worship sites, publishers, artists, etc.
Another suggestion is a non-music website called Phil Cooke Pictures <www.cookefilm.com>. It is maintained by a well-known Christian TV/film engineer with good advice for producing a multimedia church event. There is a host of helpful articles under TV Production Library. The links connection has an abundance of materials: several TV production links, NRB, and the US Copyright Office.
There is a site specifically for the minister of music <www.minister-of-music.com>. This includes a Resource Directory (listed by subjects) and the Minister of Music Online Directory (addresses, websites and e-mail addresses). Be sure to sign up for this free listing. Check out some of the 150 downloadable articles on worship. (Each week more articles are added.)
My exploration of the Internet has taken me to hundreds of sites around the world. Below is a variety of sites which can be of assistance to the music minister. Although they do not all deal directly with church music, they can benefit you. I chose a variety of sites including good links. These appear in no particular order, nor do I, nor the national Music Department endorse everything in all the sites.
ADDITIONAL SITES
Contemporary Christian Magazine (CCM)
Integrity Music, Worship Resource Center
Maranatha Music
Choral Net: the Internet Center for Choral Music (links to ACDA and to many vocal and orchestral music links)
Choristers Guild
The Church Music Report
J&J Music
Guitar-dot-NET is a popular education-based service especially for the guitar community. Gawain Reifsnyder of Take 6 brings you the Official Guitar Chord of the Week. Master guitar builder, Abraham Wechter, serves up Ask the Guitar Maker, and much more!
Worship Resource Center (including a large data base of choruses)
New York Public Library: an excellent research tool. Click on Selected Music Resources on the Internet <www.nypl.org/research/lpa/mus/mus.resources.html>
NetCentral takes you to CCM, CCLI, and WORD records (many top artists)
National Religious Broadcasters (NRB)at the top of the page, click on the site index and scroll to the Web Dictionary. Then click Music Recording and Publishing for a long list of resources. Scroll to the top of the page for Film and Entertainment for drama sites.
**A note from the NRB homepage: "If you are broadcasting music from your website, there are some important licensing issues you need to be aware of. Visit the ASCAP and BMI sites for full details on web licensing obligations, along with other music licensing obligations." This is important because many web sites are using music. Know the laws!**
Christian Music Online
Encouraging Music by Rich Muchow, pastor of magnification at Saddleback Church (Rick Warren, senior pastor). An example of what one music minister is doing.
Jesus Music (for you old-timers!). A good source for that old song you are searching for. Real audio clips from tons of artists. Dedicated to the artists, albums, and music of the Jesus Movement and the '70's.
Bible Search in multiple versions and languages. For your personal Bible research and study. An example of the NIV. <www.bible.gospelcom.net/bible/version=NIV>
Logos
The Online Bible
Delirious Music. Worship music from England
Istrumental Music
Worship Together is a new site which offers some very helpful information on worship leaders, as well as new songs. WT says, "Play, preview, download, and print high-quality copies of songs..."
Back at AGOL, take an adventure and visit various Assemblies of God church web sites from around the nation, and even around the world. Look for the Church Finder. You can pick up a lot of good ideas for promotion and concert ideas. Make sure you visit the national Music Department's web page <music.ag.org>.
Many sites have MIDI files which can be downloaded. For a discussion of this, read Disk Drives & Duct Tape: "Tips and Shortcuts for the church tech" by John Morton in the Network News Fall '97 issue, "What is MIDI?" as well as past issues. Also check out J&J online and their link to a MIDI tutorial. Download lessons which teach you the whole MIDI process and the equipment needed.
The Internet offers many more helps, including Online Discussion Groups (listserv), search engines (try <www.search.com> a multitude of search engines), as well as email. Let me encourage you to use this tool; it will help encourage the building of relationships. this can also be used to share ideas, ask questions, offer assistance, and much more. If you do not have
e-mail, here is a freebie! Get FREE email by downloading from JUNO <www.juno.com>.
There are other "free" e-mail opportunities. For example, Microsoft has "hotmail."
Please send me the URL of your favorite web sites or the names of favorite Online Discussion Groups. If you have questions about the topics discussed in this article, additional web sites, or ways I can assist you (note: I am a learner, too!), please email me <thomasse@cbcag.edu>, or contact the national Music Department <music@ag.org>.
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(1) Internet: The entire collection of connected networks and computers available to each other; all the resources available to other computers; the community of people using the Internet; also called "The Net." (Note: Definitions are provided by the General Council of the Assemblies of God Information and Training Center.)
(2) Modem: An instrument which converts "computer language" into tones transmitted over standard phone lines.
(3) World Wide Web: An Internet resource which allows users to access documents, including graphics, sounds, and links to other Websites. Commonly referred to as "The Web." Usually a browser is needed to access this resource.
Taken from the Music Ministry Network Leadership Training Series, a resource of the Assemblies of God National Music Department © 1998 used by permission.
For information about the Music Ministry Network Leadership Training Series visit the National Music Department's site.
Other links can be accessed through this site. Go to Music2World home page and follow the links.