For seven years I taught music at Boise State University. I taught an upper division core music history class; I taught an ear-training class; but the class that I most frequently taught (and truly enjoyed the most) was “Intro to Music” – music appreciation for non-music majors.
The first day of class I would always go around the room and ask what kind of musical experiences each student had, and what kind of music they liked and disliked. Experiences ranged from playing in band in Junior High and High School to playing in a garage band to just playing the radio. And while there was usually a wide variety of likes, the dislikes were usually rap… and opera. I didn’t have the heart to tell them at that point opera was part of the curriculum (I knew that information would not be well received). But what I did tell them was that we would be listening to a lot of music, and this kind of listening was going to be different. The kind of listening they had most likely done in the past was passive listening. What they were going to have to do for the class was active listening.
What’s the difference, you may ask?
Passive listening is more like hearing – as I write this I can hear cars and trucks driving past on Six Forks, I hear people talking in the office, the sound of the phone ringing (not mine), and the furnace. Active listening is really listening – paying attention, blocking out the other sounds, trying to figure out exactly what it is that you hear. And often it takes listening more than once to hear everything there is to be heard. The more you actively listen, the more you will hear, and your experience will become richer!
So what does this have to do with this week’s focus on intentional faith development?
Much like passive listening, we sometimes come to church on Sunday morning and just hear the message and the music, but when we walk out the door we barely remember what we just heard; sometimes we read the Bible and our devotional books, but once we put them down we can hardly remember what it is we just read. We have been passive in our worship and in our study. Now, there may be days when just getting to church is a major achievement, or just picking up the Bible and reading something is an accomplishment. But if you will go to the effort to be intentional – to be actively involved in deepening your relationship with God, you will be rewarded with a much richer experience.
I always looked forward to the end of the term. Not because it was over – but because one of the questions I put on the final exam was, “Essay Question: As you look back over what you have learned and listened to this term, what has surprised you the most? (worth 10 points).” Every term, I had at least a couple of students say – I appreciate opera (and maybe even like it), because now I know how to listen to it.
Bravo!
Julie
