The carnival drums beat out their rhythms
the joy and passion of the dance.
They call to the reveller
to enter their sacred trance.
Slaves to the beat they move
in an endless pattern of unending frenzy.
Louder, faster and pounding away
till they can stand no more.
Their hearts are lost,
their bodies tired.
Their heads are weary,
their blood begins to flow
as they realise they have given all
to the beat, the endless beat.
A different beat begins.
Different drums.
THE DRUMS OF WAR begin.
Increasing in volume,
increasing in glory,
increasing in power
they reverberate.
The air shakes
and the ground moves.
The dust is not allowed to settle
and is blown away by the force,
the sheer power of the beat.
THE DRUMS OF WAR conquer,
they overpower the evil,
they release the captives.
The slaves are free.
The war has begun.
The war has ended.
His Kingdom reigns forever.
Drummer,
strike your drum,
set the captives free.
Declare the name of Jesus
in every beat, rhythm and song.
The drums of war, let them be heard.
© 2008. Matthew Ian Hains.
Explanation:
This poem came to me rather quickly as the rock music blared in my headphones and I was so aware of the power of God and His awesomeness. So I wrote whatever came to mind. THE DRUMS OF WAR represent God, His message, His gospel, His power. The dance in the beginning is the world and its rhythm and symbolises how sin enslaves and traps people into thinking they’re having fun and a good time but it’s all meaningless and empty and then, when realise they gave the world everything, it’s too late. The air shakes is the message of the Gospel being preached to the people, it sets people free from the chaos. The best part is that the war actually was already over when the world was created…think about it. God has won, the victory is ours. But people are still fighting, struggling to find their place, their hope, their freedom in this world. Only the name of Jesus sets free. The end of the poem is an exhortation to the Christian drummer to beat their drums in faith and hope, in love and power in the name of Jesus.
I had the opportunity to lead a Psalm Drummer team to play at an Inter-Faith event in London last weekend. I found myself surrounded by Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Rastas and more as various religions gathered together to promote healthy living in today’s society. Now, as a Psalm Drummer, I was not promoting anything other than Jesus Christ as being the only way to heaven but not flouting my belief before others. That was not the point of being there.
So there I was, fifteen djembe drums, 4 other volunteers and our instruments. Ready to lead whoever came to drum with us. It was to be a workshop throughout the day. There was another drumming group there, Afro-Carribean style group called Drums of Freedom. They were very good and had a great afro-cuban-carribean style going with their congas, djembes and steel drums.
Our first session was slow but picked up a bit as some more kids and teens came in and picked up drums and jammed with us. They were actually very good and stayed twice as long as I thought they would. As we drummed, I prayed for them and wondered what their life was like and their backgrounds. I wondered why they had come along. Was it for the free food showcasing countries and traditional food from around the world? Was it because they were searching for answers perhaps in religion?
The second session later on in the afternoon was really very good. We had a lot of people come and join us and all our drums were being used. The Rastas from the other drum group joined us with their drums and jammed along with us. I facilitated the circle for a while but then eventually let the music take over and everyone just went with it. It sounded amazing! The grooves changed from time to time naturally and everyone really got into it.
Now, as much as I thought it rather strange to be in a context such as the one we had found ourselves in, I realised that, as a Christian drummer, that is EXACTLY where we need to be! I looked and saw the Rastas drumming with us. We were of different beliefs and backgrounds but united in the music, the rhythms. To them, they may have been playing just patterns, but to me we were there in the capacity of ambassadors of the King! Our rhythms, our patterns and playing were dedicated to God. We had prayed before we played and I asked God to anoint our playing and our hands. Being a witness to others doesn’t always mean having to preach, you can play your drums too! In fact, we got a whole group playing the Lord’s prayer… and they didn’t even know it. But even in that, I prayed that they would be blessed as we played over them.
Among those in the world, that is where we need to be as Christian drummers, playing our beats and rhythms for our King. Declaring His heartbeat for the lost, His love and grace available to all.
Hey guys and gals,
The Christian Drummer web site is now officially 2 years old!
The beat that unites us, the heartbeat of God
What I have loved about running the Christian Drummer site is that fact that I have been connecting with drummers all over the world that share the same thing besides being drummers. We share our faith in God, in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It has been absolutely amazing how there has been this connection that allows us to develop a relationship outside of drumming but have drumming be the common bond and our Christianity be the glue for that bond.
Drummers in Romania, Brazil, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Netherlands, America, Canada, South Africa, United Kingdom and Australia – all connected, all united by God. It is still so encouraging to hear from drummers all over the world – to hear how they’re doing, what they’re doing and how they see their roles as drummers in the church and outside of it. It encourages me when someone writes and tells me how an article on The Christian Drummer web site has encouraged them.
The same way rhythm ties all sound and music together, our faith in God and our relationship with Him ties our relationships with others together. This sense of unity is something amazing to behold and great to be a part of.
So, as we go into the third year of this site being online, may I thank everyone who comments on an article and also encourage you that all are welcome to submit articles or ideas for the site at any time!
Here’s to another year…!
Hi everyone,
I am getting a lot requests from drummers looking for tabs for praise and worship songs. There are loads of resources available for guitarists but none for us drummers! That cool new song that gets you tapping, how do you play it?
I am thinking of starting a resource for drummers to be able to download tabs to their favourite or popular songs that are being played in tab format so that they can learn the song quickly and be able to follow a chart or tabs.
I’d like some feedback from you all if you think that’s a worthwhile resource to pursue building and how we should start going about it.
Go ahead and send me your ideas!!!!
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