Instrumental Music: Missing More Than Music by Danny Corbitt, Introduction

Thanks to Tim Archer’s post of a few days ago, I’ve been reading Danny Corbitt’s Missing More Than Music: When Disputable Matters Eclipse Worship and Unity available from Amazon or as a free .pdf download. Corbitt is a former campus minister of 14 years and missionary, educated at ACU.

When I read Tim’s review, I figured he was doing his friend a favor, but I needed something to read while I killed a little time and so I figured I’d see what the book is about — but with great skepticism. You see, most self-published books are pretty awful. But I came away impressed. Very impressed.

Just as Todd Deaver’s Facing Our Failure destroys one of the linchpins of conservative theology — their utterly absent theology of apostasy — Corbitt’s Missing More Than Music obliterates many of the arguments that instrumental music is sin. I mean, the man has left the a cappella-only advocates with nothing to argue. He challenges both the textual arguments and arguments from the Patristics.

I expect the conservatives to diligently ignore the case he makes — just as the conservatives have largely ignored Todd’s Facing Our Failure — with only two bloggers having attempted to challenge his arguments and both having quit the effort before getting far down the road at all.

The conservative position is in deep, deep trouble and can only survive by refusing to engage its opponents.

I’m going to address Corbitt’s arguments in later posts. For now, let me point out that these two very valuable, very thoroughly researched books are self-published — which says a lot about the state of the progressive Church of Christ publishing houses. Our progressive publishing houses are more likely to publish books challenging inerrancy (why?) or cutting the instrumental churches out of our directory (why?) than a scholarly work that addresses the doctrinal issues that so divide us. I honestly cannot imagine why this would be. But something is very wrong.

Just as Christians are called to missional lives, so are publishing houses run by Christians for Christians. Part of our mission is to bring unity to God’s people, and in the Churches of Christ, this necessarily requires taking on the doctrinal divisions among us — and not contributing to the division.

Buy the book.

PS — Kudos to Corbitt for making the book available for free download. An author is entitled to be paid for his work, and writing a book of this quality is a deeply difficult, time-consuming work. His willingness to give his work away testifies to his heart for God’s people.