Plumb-Lining Church Music



By: Debora Y. Fonteneau, Ph.D., M.Div. For precept must be upon

precept, precept upon precept,



line upon line, line

upon line, here a little, there

a little… Also I will make justice



the measuring line, and

righteousness the plummet.

Isaiah 28: 10; 17.

Before leaving Savannah State as Band Director and Assistant Professor of Music, Lorne Lee wanted to get a message out to Pastors, Church staff, and the faithful: “Dedicated disciples of Christian Music” “Fast from music that feeds the flesh”.

The author of Music in The Garden of Good and Evil (Innersound Books, 2008) uses Galatians 5, and its thesis on the “fruit of the Spirit” to direct readers’ understanding of “Sound Fruit”.

Just as the “fruit of sound Christians is measured by walking in the “Spirit”, so, too, Christian music can be measured by sound (as in tonal) fruit.

According to Lee, Satan has given the gifted musician knowledge between church music and Christian music.

In other words, the undertones may not carry healthy spiritual messages. Consequently. church behaviors may evince the very nature of unsound fruit-evil.

Lorne Lee, who grew up in a charismatic church, and recently served Savannah congregations, decries words that war against the Spirit of God. The main character, Otto, takes readers on an allegorical journey where they are taught to discern “sounds that do not line up and music that fights with the spirit rather than ushering the spirit in.

An entire Chapter (6) is dedicated to God’s instructions for putting the gifts of music together in harmonious sound, thusly disrupting chaos emanating from praising fruit sounds not understood.

Here, Lee is not shy about defining the role of church musicians who manipulate worship experiences, skillfully working transitions diminishing major keys of joy and praise, inverting minor keys of sorrow as a dominant overtone. In fact, some wise churches have chosen to starve themselves from music that feeds desire.

It is hard to deny that the body has its own pulse and rhythm, a need to move to music heard and unheard, but the word of God constrains and transforms, creating a higher desire (II Cor. 12:15) to be one with God, in both mind and body.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.