As much as I enjoy my job, one of the challenges for people in my position as a paid music minister is the perception that you are responsible for the singing. I'm not talking about the congregation standing up on a Sunday with shut mouths as they let you bring their praise before God, as if by proxy - I'm talking about fellow church workers!
There is a great danger in specializing our ministries to the point where normal Christian activities are 'outsourced' to the qualified person. If (as is usual in my church situation), someone else leads the service and leaves me to lead the songs, their is a great temptation to sit back and wait for me to finish my 'bit' before they continue with their 'bit'. Maybe it's a good time to look over your notes or remind yourself what notices you have to give!
The Bible commands Christians to sing to the Lord, and to come before him with great joy. 1 Chronicles 16v9 says, "Sing to him; sing praise to him; tell of all his wondrous works!" Psalm 5v11 says, "But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy." No one is excluded from the command to sing, no matter what their position, or musical ability, or even their singing voice.
This command to sing joyfully can be freely fulfilled knowing that God doesn't care about the quality of our voices, but rather looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16v7). After all, he created the human voice, and he declared his creation good (Genesis 1v30-31). Do you not think that God delights in the heart that desires to glorify him by singing his praise, without concern for what others might think of how we sound? (Here's a thought - doesn't a crowd of thousands of mildly tipsy sports fans sound amazing when they just belt it together? I'm sure they're not thinking about they quality of their voices!)
In days gone by, anyone who got up in front of the church was expected to be able to sing. Often the singing was led by the minister singing, with the organist accompanying. I suspect that because it was the norm, people just went for it and found that they actually could sing. It's a shame today that singing together is so not the norm that we are scared to try in case we can't.
Let me encourage church ministers, service leaders and others to commit this to prayer and in God's strength and enabling to be a model for those we lead. Often we are concerned for those who we see not singing in church; we worry that their hearts are far from the Lord and rightly so. But maybe they just need to see someone else doing it, someone who isn't trained, who isn't a musician, but is just a Christian opening their hearts to God with the voice God has graciously blessed them with. Anyone who stands in front of the church should, in everything they do, model a right response to God. A true love for Jesus is caught as well as taught!
Perhaps I should consider it gospel ministry to equip and enable my fellow gospel workers to sing...
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