We Got the Beat!

Posted On September 18, 2022

“I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to live in harmony with each other. . . . be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.”

1 Corinthians 1:10 NLT

“Then all of you together will praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 15:6 CEV

My youngest daughter, who is in seventh grade, plays the trumpet in her middle school band. This past week she and her bandmates had the opportunity to play with the high school band at the Friday night football game — an annual event known as Middle School Band Night. Every year the high school band invites the middle school students to join them for one game to let them experience the fun that awaits them when they get to high school. Well, they accomplished their goal! My daughter had a great time and is very excited to be a member of the band family, both now and in the future.

The middle school students learned a few songs to play along with high school band in the stands during the game and on the field at halftime, including “We Got the Beat” and the high school fight song. They even got to stand in formation with them, spelling out a huge “CHS” on the field. While I was watching them rehearse, some things came to mind that I thought would be good to share in this week’s post…

So let’s go! To get us fired up, press play (the little triangle below) to hear the “CHS Fight Song”:

“Let’s seek to be united in Christ so that God can bring about good through us.”

Amy Boucher Bye

“God wants all believers to unite as one. We’re all children of God. Despite our differences, Christians can and should work together to spread the good news.”

Samuel Yali Ituma

The main theme of these week’s post, in case you haven’t already figured it out, is unity. To be a Christian is to be a part of something larger than ourselves, and we must all work together to accomplish the work God has for us to do. We are all members of Christ’s body, the Church, and we all have unique roles to fulfill. Like members of a marching band, we each have a part to play, and each one of us is important.

Here’s a quick question for you: Which band section is the most important?
A. Brass
B. Woodwinds
C. Percussion
D. Color guard
E. All of the above

The answer is E. Every section is important. They all contribute to the overall look and sound of the band. And every single member is important, because each person contributes a necessary part. If even one band member is missing, there will be a hole in the formation. The same is true for us as Christians. We were each designed to fulfill a specific role in God’s kingdom, and we were gifted accordingly. If we don’t do the job we were uniquely created to do, there will be something missing, and the whole body will suffer.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

1 Corinthians 12:27 NIV

“Faith in Christ is a communal experience rather than an individual one. When the New Testament describes the lives of believers in Jesus, the terms used are almost always plural . . . . In each case, the body of Christ, not the individual, is in view.”

Arthur Jackson

The screen shot above was taken from a YouTube video of the Ohio State Marching Band performing a halftime show called “Superheroes!” I included the video at the end of this post. It’s really fun and amazing to watch! Here we see them marching in formation to form the body of Iron Man. We can see it from our perspective high in the stands. But imagine what it must look like to the band members on the field. They can’t see the big picture. They just have to trust in the vision of the director and follow his instructions without questioning them. If they each tried to go their own way, following their own ideas or making their own plans, imagine what chaos that would be! They’d all run into each other, and people could get hurt. Instead, they have to let go of what they think is best and trust the director. He is the only one with the proper perspective to guide them.

The same is true for the music. My daughter, who is new to marching band, asked me who the people on the “little ladders” were. She was referring to the drum majors. I explained to her that they are like human metronomes. I told her that while the band is marching on the field, they can’t always trust their ears to keep the beat. With the wind blowing and everyone marching around, the sound carries in ways you can’t always predict. So if you rely on your ears only, you may get behind or rush ahead of everyone else while you’re playing. The job of the drum majors is to keep the beat with their arm movements. This gives the rest of the band a visual reference to follow. As long as everyone keeps their eyes on the drum majors, they will all play together.

I think you see where I’m going with this. As Christians, we cannot see the big picture from our limited perspective, and we cannot always trust in our own senses to tell us what we should do. That’s why it’s vital to trust in the vision of our Director, to follow His instructions without questioning them, and to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. When we do, we can work together to accomplish incredible things! In the image above, it took each member of the band to form the body of the superhero Iron Man. When the body of Christ was nailed to a cross with iron spikes, He saved us all — He became our superhero, our own “Iron Man.” Now we, as believers, form His body. This means that when we join together, we can become superheroes, too: We can fight evil and help others in ways far beyond anything we could do alone.

Here’s one final thought before we close. Members of the same band are identified by the uniforms they wear. As Christians, our uniform is love. We are called to clothe ourselves with it so that we will be ready to work together as God leads us. Love is what identifies us. Love is what unites us. And love is what keeps us marching to God’s beat instead of our own!

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

Colossians 3:14 NLT

This week’s Scripture passages remind us that God’s people are called to live together in harmony. Jesus prayed that we would all be one, and He wants us to be united in heart and mind as we do His work. We were not created to perform our part all alone — we need each other. Like my daughter, who discovered the joy of being a part of something larger than herself, let’s get excited about being members of God’s family, both now and in the future!

We end this post with a video of the Ohio State University Marching Band performing it’s “Superheroes!” halftime show. I hope it inspires you, and I hope it illustrates for you, as it did for me: When we let go of our own ideas and trust God to direct our steps, when we love others and hold on to what is good, when we work hard with one purpose and praise God together…

We can be superheroes!

“In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ,
and individually we belong to each other.”

Romans 12:5 CEB

References:

• “CHS Fight Song” recording taken from CHS “New Student Information” online newsletter
• “Halftime: SUPERHEROES! – Ohio State vs. Nebraska (Nov. 5, 2016).” YouTube, uploaded by The Ohio State University Marching Band, 5 November 2016, https://youtu.be/qPHs-YBRUuU.
• Ituma, Samuel Yali. “The Importance of Unity.” The Upper Room, vol. 88, no. 4, 15 September 2022.
• Jackson, Arthur. “A House Undivided.” Our Daily Bread App, 14 September 2022, https://ourdailybread.org/mobileresources/.
• Pye, Amy Boucher. “Where I Belong.” Our Daily Bread App, 15 September 2022, https://ourdailybread.org/mobileresources/.

Images:

• Clip Art Band Featured image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
• Marching Band on Field image by lisa runnels from Pixabay
• Band Members in Line image by Joshua Hanson on Unsplash
• Iron Man image taken from “Halftime: SUPERHEROES! – Ohio State vs. Nebraska (Nov. 5, 2016).” YouTube, uploaded by The Ohio State University Marching Band, 5 November 2016, https://youtu.be/qPHs-YBRUuU.