On 26th October 2024, music students from 12 different institutions in 8 cities across the UK gathered in Birmingham for the UCCF Music Network’s annual Autumn Gathering – a day of teaching, discussion and fellowship centred this year around how we worship God in both our music and our whole lives. It’s always encouraging to come together with other music students and discuss the challenges and joys of living as faithful Christians in our particular context, and this year’s Autumn Gathering was no exception!
It was a blessing and privilege to spend so much time with fellow music students – on the trains to and from Birmingham, throughout the day, and during the UCCF-subsidised meal out following the event. In the end, it was almost cheering to have our return train to Manchester cancelled, as we were able to spend even more time enriched by the company of Music Network members and staff!
Bowing down before God in all things
At Music Network events, I’m always struck by how many of us music students are grappling with the same issues, questions and convictions. How do we make Jesus the Lord of our practice, or of our essays and analysis? How do we witness faithfully in a context that so often idolises individual achievement? Taking the theme of worship as a starting-point, the four talks from Tom Chevis (Music Network co-ordinator), Katie Lewis (professional oboist) and Barny (CU staff worker for RNCM) set out to answer some of these questions.
We started the day with an exploration of the two main meanings of “worship” in the Bible – the offering of one’s whole life in service, and the specific act of paying homage and bowing down. These two definitions were themes that developed over the course of the day, with further talks elaborating on both of them at greater length.
I felt particularly convicted as we discussed the heart posture of bowing down before God and I started to see some of the areas in which I don’t fall down and submit fully to God, or where I’m more reserved about giving Him the glory He deserves. We were given practical examples of how we might adopt a heart posture of bowing down in these areas – in our life rhythms, in our musical practice and with our church families. Since the day, I’ve felt God challenging me quite strongly to find ways to worship Him in situations where I naturally find it harder, and to build habits which act out and reinforce this heart posture. The later talk on worship as all of life service to God built on this theme as we were exhorted to “do … all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31), looking at specific areas of our lives as musicians where we are called to make Christ sovereign. I left this talk feeling both challenged to put God at the centre of my practice, performance and relationships with peers and tutors, and excited to see and live out this change!
A highlight of the day was the fellowship shared with fellow music students, as we ate, sang, prayed and chatted together. In particular, it was a great blessing and encouragement to sing God’s praises together after each talk. I was especially encouraged by how our times of sung worship reflected the diversity of our church backgrounds, with the music ranging from contemporary worship songs to unaccompanied metrical psalms!
Worship leads to witness
The final talk of the day was focused on how our worship relates to our witness. It was great to be reminded of our call to declare God’s glory –
Worship doesn’t stop at the right orientation of our own hearts, but flows out naturally into joyful, exuberant proclamation of what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will do when He returns.
When we are convinced of the glory of God, of the fact that He alone is worthy of our worship, what response remains but to invite those around us to join us in worship?
I left the Autumn Gathering 2024 re-envisioned and excited to share the gospel with my course-mates and fellow musicians. As we were reminded towards the end of the day, we as students have an imperative and a unique opportunity to share the good news with which God has blessed us. My prayer is that this fire and enthusiasm would continue to grow in all of our CUs, and that we would remember more and more that Christ is sovereign over absolutely everything!
