Michael Card - Biblical Imagination Series Review

One thing about me - I am an independent learner when it comes to the Bible. I don't go about chasing after the latest, greatest, flavour-of-the-month when it comes to Bible teachers. Why would I do that when I can just stay at home and read the Bible by myself? Of course there are other people who say the same thing, but not that many of them actually read the Bible. I do. I spend extended periods of time in the Scriptures and enjoy it.

But Michael Card has gotten me all excited about his Biblical Imagination Series!

The timing was interesting - I was going through the Gospel of John as part of my Bible reading plan this year and this time through I felt that I wasn't quite getting it. The Gospel of John wasn't quite sinking into me as much as usual. And just about that time I found out that Sought After Music was bringing in Michael Card to teach on the Gospel of John, I just KNEW I had to be there.

And I certainly was not disappointed.

To humour those of us who knew him more for his songwriting than for his teaching, he began by singing three of his songs, including his classic El Shaddai.


Putting it simply, he was singing in Hebrew way before it was considered cool!

Then he went into his prologue, giving us a broad overview of Jesus as presented in the Gospels, pointing out details that make each Gospel account unique. For example, the Gospel of John only spoke about Jesus' emotions four times, while the Gospel of Mark had fifteen adjectives for Jesus' emotions. And Mr Card used this example to drive home his point - we not only have to listen to what the Gospels say, we also have to listen out for what they do NOT say.

Especially for the Gospel of John, what he does not say is very important to note. 92% of the Gospel of John does not occur in the other Gospels. Because yesterday's session was only the first part, Mr Card did not yet delve much into the Gospel of John yet. He did, however, point out that John was a preacher, who by the time he wrote the Gospel account would have had 50 years of preaching experience. He would therefore know through experience when we listeners would need help and would insert parenthetical statements to explain his point further.

For example:

John 7:2-5 (NASB) - Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For not even His brothers were believing in Him. (emphasis mine)

I am not going to go into more detail here, because there is no way I can do Mr Card's material and presentation justice. But I urge you, strongly urge you, to attend his teaching yourself. He teaches in a way that is possible only for people who have spent huge amounts of time and effort digging into the details of the Gospels, the historical context of the events and the nuances of the Biblical languages.

So turn up. Mr Card still has one more session on tonight (9th November 2016), 7.30 pm, at Bible House, 7 Armenian Street, 5th Level. Entry is at $40 for the session, and you'll have to hurry because the seating is limited. I'll certainly be there for tonight's session. Hope to see you there!

Practice, practice, practice

Many adult students I have think it is much easier for children to learn a music instrument. Having taught young children before, I can tell you they face the same difficulties as the adults do: learning physical coordination for a unfamiliar form of movement, learning how to read music and think in the music language (especially the counts). I see them struggle the same way we adults do.

The main advantages children have, compared to us, are:

1. They are used to struggling to learn anything. They have just learned how to walk, they are in the midst of learning languages and maybe even mathematics and all that. Everything was a struggle, they learned nothing effortlessly. We adults are used to knowing what we are doing, and sometimes the struggle of learning new things catches us by surprise. Sometimes we let that overwhelm us into thinking things are more difficult than they actually are. Nope, they are not. You want to know what’s difficult? A young child learning English. That is so difficult it is a miracle that some people succeed!
2. They have fewer demands on their time. It’s easier to get kids to practice an hour a day, or even more. We have to juggle practice with work, family and church. That is why I respect those people who make themselves available to serve at church even at a moment’s notice. Every church needs a few of those in-case-of-emergency-break-glass people. It is a big deal in my eyes! 
3. They also have parents to pay for the music lessons for them. Admit it, people. No matter how much you currently earn, you would still rather someone else pay for your music lessons and buy you your first instrument, right?

But since we are adults, like it or not, we’ll just have to make do with the time and resources we currently have. What then can we do to best optimize our limited practice time?

Keep turning up for lessons.

Over the years I’ve seen many people will cancel a lesson if they have not been practicing. By now I have taught even more adults than children, and I know with absolute certainty these people end up not practicing in the long run. This just doesn’t work.

You people know I don’t do a prima donna thing or throw tantrums during lessons if you don’t measure up. If you don’t get things right I will tell you, but I still try to show the fruit of the Spirit during lessons. I also pace out the lesson contents so that as long as you keep turning up for lessons you WILL improve, even if you don’t practice. And if you are having any difficulty getting the hang of any particular lesson, lesson time gives me a better chance to figure out what is actually going on and to help you work your way around your difficulties.

So keep turning up!

Important point – when it comes to drums, turning up for lessons is even more important than for other instruments such as piano. Playing drums is a very physical activity, and if you are intending to practice a lot by yourself I need to keep an eye on you to make sure you are not picking up any bad habits.

Fit practice into your lifestyle

I was always the weird guy in secondary school; I carried a pair of drumsticks in my school bag every day. It didn’t help my dating life, but I certainly got a lot of practice done! I have heard of people who work for themselves, and when they want to learn guitar or keyboard they actually keep those instruments in their offices and squeeze in some practice during their lunchtime or during quieter afternoons.

Doing the same for drums is of course a challenge, but there are still things we can do to get more practice done. A pair of sticks and a drum pad allows us to practice our single strokes and all that even on long bus journeys. Listening to a metronome app on your phone while tapping your feet helps you develop your sense of tempo even further. And any time you get to sit down for a couple of minutes, on a train journey or waiting for your food at a restaurant, is an opportunity to train your limb coordination with the ABC drill.

Don’t think you can practice effectively only if you have the proper drum set at home. In my generation, most drum students didn’t have supportive parents or easy access to equipment, so we would make do with drum sticks on the phone book (Yellow Pages), or set up cushions on the family sofa just to have something to bang on. It actually allowed us to focus on getting our movement correct (wrist, not arm) instead of getting distracted by all the bells and whistles on the drum kit. 

Those improvised practice sets could not totally replace practicing on the actual drums, but they made sure that by the time we could sit down there to practice, we could practice just what we needed the kit for. No point trying out advanced snare and tom patterns if you can’t even manage your sticks correctly, agree?

Focus on the foundations

As I just said, there is no point trying out advanced snare and tom patterns if you don’t manage your sticks properly. The foundations of drumming are still essential and you still need to keep practicing them (I still do).

1. Basic stick control (drum rudiments).
2. Hand-foot coordination; and
3. Counting (music pulse).

All these can be practiced with 2 chairs, a cushion (or drum pad) and a pair of sticks. When you start practicing fills you can get away with using 2 drum pads (to simulate the hi-hat and the snare). The point is that you have to show yourself faithful with the little first before you can be entrusted with much. We are now at the point of the lessons when we are learning drum fills and how to apply them. Your hands have to move from the hi-hat to the snare, the toms and the crash cymbal. If you will still continue to practice those foundational skills you will find all of the other stuff you are learning now much easier.

So do not despise doing the paradiddle exercise I taught you in the first lesson. I still practice that myself to maintain my basic coordination and stick work!

I hope all these thoughts help you get more out of your practice from now on. See you at the next lesson!