Who Are the Best Singers?
The thoughts below are over sixteen years old. I recently found them in some older material I was going through. I think that they are just as worthy of our consideration now as they were when they were originally penned.
I am indebted to brother Dan Jenkins for what I think are some very insightful observations. Please read them carefully and prayerfully.
I am aware of the fact that some who may regularly read these posts are accustomed to having choirs, choruses, praise teams, etc. where they worship. For that reason, they may not understand the concern expressed by brother Jenkins. The reason for his concern (and mine) is that we find any authority in the New Testament for such practices to be lacking.
It is my prayer that all who read these thoughts from brother Dan will do so with an open mind. Neither he nor I “have a bone to pick.” We are only interested in making sure that what we (and others) are doing is pleasing God. After all, if there is such a thing as an “audience” when we worship, it is not us. The “audience” is our Creator, Savior, Sustainer, and Lord.
– Jim Faughn
WHO ARE THE BEST SINGERS? (by Dan Jenkins)
I keep hearing of some that think that we can really improve our singing in worship if we use microphones to amplify the voices of the best singers in the congregation. While at first, this might sound like a good idea, everyone should be aware that in place after place this practice has led to this group becoming little more than a church choir.
We are often blind when we start down roads that seem innocent. However, I have been thinking about just who are the “best singers” in the church. I know how we are using the term, but is it possible that God’s view of the “best singers” might be far different from ours? Could the following people be the best singers?
Sitting in an assembly is a lonely widow. The years have not been kind to her voice and it often cracks as she sings. She has served the Lord faithfully for many years. For more than forty years she has taught small children in Bible classes and seen many of them become leaders in the church. Her late husband had been a faithful elder who served even better because of her being a godly helpmeet. She had lifted his burdened spirit so many times. Listen to her sing, “To Christ be loyal and be true.” The melody which comes from her heart must make her one of the best singers in the church.
In another part of the same auditorium, a teenager sits. He did not grow up in the church and failed music in school. He comes from a broken home, but oh how deep his faith is! He has given up former ungodly friends and stands against the peer pressure that surrounds him. You may not like the “sour notes,” but the melody from his soul is so encouraging. “Oh my God, I trust in thee. Let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me…”
Who else is there? There is a wife of an alcoholic husband who is doing all he can to destroy her faith and that of her children. Listen to her. “Be not dismayed what ere betide. God will take care of you.” Those who sing off-key and monotone may be our best singers!
Maybe we should have another look at what we are doing.
“What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also” (1 Corinthians 14:15).
To Receive Every Article from A Legacy of Faith through Email for Free, Click Here
