Musical Experience and Prophetism in Ghanaian Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity: A Study of the Mount Calvary Cross Ministry

Abstract

Music and religion are closely linked as seen in the use of music in many religious practices. Since the introduction of Christianity to sub-Saharan Africa, it has undergone several renewals with the current wave being Pentecostal/charismatic Christianity (P/c), which has been described as the fastest growing form of Protestant Christianity. Considered as experience-oriented, P/c presents the platform for exploring the experiential dimension of worship through music in the Ghanaian context. The purpose of the study was to examine the role of music in P/c ritual and to investigate the link between music and prophetism through the collective and individual lived experiences of members of the Mount Calvary Cross Ministry, a Ghanaian P/c church located in Accra. The ethnographic approach was employed. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2019 and 2021. The observation, interviews, and documents yielded over 30 prophecies/revelations related to music, and 13 shared religious/musical experiences. The data was analysed thematically and interpreted in relation to the theory of embodiment and Pentecostal/charismatic spirituality. The findings are that, music aids prophetism but it is not always a requirement in the performance of prophetic functions. The lived experiences of music and prophetism affirm the religious potency of music to trigger religious experiences when music-making is approached from the spiritual dimension through total engagement of both the material and immaterial aspects of the music-maker’s personhood. Health and wellbeing are benefits of P/c music-making as adherents encounter hierophany via prophetism. Thus, the grooming of church music-makers should encompass the technical and spiritual dimensions in order to achieve the therapeutic effects of music in worship.