Yes, I have begun singing with the Luther Seminary choir. From what I've recently written about worship and piety here, this may surprise you. The contradiction is there but there's more to it than that.

First of all, I don't dislike classical music or traditional music. I enjoy singing old hymns with energy and enthusiasm. I had a great high school vocal music teacher, and our choirs were always technically good and fun too. I competed and was accepted for the All-State choir 3 of my high school years. My first year and a half in undergrad I was a music major with an emphasis on voice. And I've sung in a lot of church choirs, and just have always enjoyed informal singing, with church youth, by myself, for my kids, etc...

Now, in terms of my seminary experience, I thought this would be 'good for me' above and beyond the opportunity to practice music and sing with a group again. I can be critical of Luther's strict adherence to formal worship, at times it can seem too rigid, too formulated. On the other hand, I've grown up with liturgy and there is beauty there I can enjoy and even be moved by.

It bothers me that while there are many lutheran churches out there embracing many forms of music, as well as more informal styles of conducting services, Luther seldom reflects this variety. Unless you count the occasional token ethnic song (a tune or hymn with origins in another culture that has been polished and prepared for use within a normal high church setting). There are plenty of critics of contemporary praise and worship, and I understand the criticisms and even agree to an extent but of course the extremes are always exaggerated or treated as the whole.

I always wonder how it is that some profs can complain that there is no contemporary worship music that is contains good teaching or reflects Lutheran theology (and in fact there is), while at the same time here at Luther seminary you can only be classically prepared to contribute to music in our churches. You can come here to be trained as an organist. Where are the classes for people who might be interested in creating excellent Lutheran worship music with guitar, or drums, keyboard, banjo, whatever?

But! I can get my contemporary fix elsewhere. And while I'm here at the sem I need to plug into this community more and enjoy what they do embrace even if I wish it weren't the only thing on the menu. When I started seminary, a good friend and I agreed that you can't speak into a community if you don't know the language. We couldn't push or attempt to coach a congregation or the larger Lutheran body -- as outsiders. I may not be as orthodox as some of my professors would like me to be, but I've committed to this denomination, I know it well, my theology is grounded in Lutheran confessions -- so being 'in there' is a part of my call and a part of my credibility.