Author: Bradley Kevin Broadhead
Located in: Oyen
Submitted: January 31, 2019
Tell us a little about yourself. I hold a Ph.D. in theology from McMaster Divinity College and a B.Mus. in Jazz Studies from Capilano University. I have published a few articles in the area of theology and music and have taught as an adjunct instructor. I also taught low brass for over a decade and have played in a wide variety of ensembles as a trombonist. I am presently the pastor of Oyen Evangelical Missionary Church, Oyen, Alberta.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? I hope those who engage with my book will come away with a better grasp of Christian freedom and its importance to contemporary life. Freedom has always been central to the gospel of Jesus Christ, so we must keep it in mind as we live out the implications of this gospel and endeavor to share it with others.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? I owe a great deal to the pioneering work of Jeremy Begbie in the area of theology and music. I am also indebted to jazz musicians such as Bob Brookmeyer and Hal Crook for not only making great music, but reflecting on it in such an insightful manner.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: Here is an overview of my project:
Contemporary Western society has a strange relationship with freedom. Unbridled subjective liberty and narrow fundamentalism pull away from one another in mutual loathing while sociological forces seek to manipulate both sides. The church needs to recover and reconstruct a theology of freedom to navigate the perils of both extremes and to avoid being manipulated by these forces. Just as biblical figures are taught through parables and metaphors, this book uses jazz improvisation as an analogy for Christian freedom. Just as jazz improvisation relies on successfully navigating constraints such as the history and traditions of jazz, jazz theory, and musical instruments, so Christian freedom also relies on constraints such as the biblical canon, church history, theology, and the church itself. Through understanding the freedom jazz musicians enjoy in making music together, we can better understand how Christian freedom might be enacted in daily life. If Western churches discover and enact Christian freedom in a meaningful way, the songs that they improvise will be as siren calls to people in chains.
