Pastor Tope Dada
By 'Gbenga Bankole
"We are in the last days and our church as the end-time church must balance our musical skills with spirituality. Balance is a state of being in equilibrium. It is a state of harmonious proportion. It is what needs to be added to constitute symmetry. It is giving every side equal attention and equal consideration. It suggests a steadiness that is not outwardly evident until a disturbance occurs," says Christ Apostolic Church, Worldwide, Music Director, Pastor Tope Dada at the 2021 International Music Ministers Conference.
Delivering lecture on the topic "Leadership and Management of Church Music", the Cleric said due to the current change in the world settings and undaunting advancement in technology, the art of music has been impacted to an extent that has devastatingly affected the church.
He added that the reality is that proper balance must be made to avoid conflict in the delivery of our music to the advantage of all is inevitable.
According to him, leadership in the music ministry must entail people who are genuinely converted, pure in heart and those who have experienced the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
He further said that "acquaintance with the Word is a critical value to leadership in the music ministry (2Timothy 3:15; Psalm 119:11). We must hold fast to our doctrinal values as a mission: Loyalty to God and the Leaders, Respect for Authority, our heritage of holiness, humility, unity of faith, and moderation. As we live in a culture that is defined by diversity, which changes with such rapidity, we must also understand and appreciate musical diversity, and continually evaluate and refocus in line with the Bible. You cannot lead or manage church music in these contemporary times if you are not rightly positioned. Gone were the days when choristers and choirmasters are alien to training, conferences, Sunday School and Sermons. Great ministers across generations always come from among the choir. To get your bearing right as music ministers, you must position yourself to the right spiritual frequency to pick the unfailing directives from God. This requires ultra-sensitivity to spiritual vibrations and signals from Heaven. True leadership can only operate on the platform of spirituality. Your spiritual connectivity is a vital security channel for the prosperity of your destiny as leaders to access God and succeed in ministry."
Pastor Dada stressed that God’s intent for every leader is fulfillment without frustration, adding that wisdom is the principal in the school of leadership.
"It is making the best use of knowledge of self and others. Wisdom is not limited to knowing what to do; it also requires knowing what to do next, and even anticipating events before they come to pass, and planning to meet challenges head-on. We must possess a runner’s mindset. We are in a race and we must be listed among the prize winners. We must all be saturated with prayers. Prayer is our spiritual breathing. Angels attend to prayer while God personally attends to praise. That shows the import of our duties as music ministers. No situation will take more than praise to blow up. Intimate fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit is the dose to succeed as leaders," he stated.
While urging the Music Ministers on the importance of unity and team work in music ministry, Pastor Tope Dada explained that "the fastest men's 100m world record holder is Usain Bolt, with a record time set at 9.58s in 2009. Also, the 4x100 men in the Jamaican team made up of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt add a record of 36.84s (2012) with Bolt in the team. Their average time then was 9.21s. It means Bolt ran faster than when he ran alone as a part of a team. The truth is that if we run together as a team, we will do better than when we do it alone. None of us is as good as all of us. There is wisdom in working together as a team."