Did you know that BI has produced its own  “ethnodoxologist” ?     Er, excuse me?

This is a term coined to describe a person who is concerned about people knowing and worshipping God through their own heart-music and not through imposed foreign cultural music. For instance, the Murle people of Southern Sudan have an entire hymnology in their own cultural music style.

The missiologists of previous generations, whilst understanding the need to be culturally and linguistically literate, did not understand the need to be bi-musical.

Many years ago, whilst struggling to teach English-style music to young Kenyans, Joyce Scott, a missionary with AIM, was challenged by them to listen to their own music.

Joyce began to understand the concept of heart-music and how this can be used by the Lord to reach people for the Gospel. Today, the Lord has faithfully enabled her, as a retiree living in Cape Town, to lecture on ethnomusicology and visit African nations to encourage Missionaries to develop indigenous music to the Glory of God.

(Extracted from the 85^th Anniversary Special Edition of ‘Newsline’.)