I confess, I
was one of those people, maybe a decade ago now, who willingly participated in
the “worship wars”, those skirmishes that arose within the church when a trend began
to move toward more contemporary worship music.
I loved the old hymns for so many reasons:
· great doctrine expressed in the words
of so many (think, “A Mighty Fortress”, or “And Can It Be”)
· familiar words and tunes
· the ease of singing in four part
harmony
I fought
against the change to catchy, sometimes less singable, less meaningful choruses
(referred to by some as 7/11 songs – 7 words sung 11 times); modern instruments;
jazzier, upbeat tunes; the absence of a choir accompanied by an organ; and just
a few singers up on the platform. I don’t
know when my mind was changed, but I know that it has been changed, so that I
can truthfully say that I LOVE contemporary worship music!
I love the
old hymns of the faith, we still sing them at our church today. Only now they might have a less familiar
tune, or a more upbeat old one. You
know, some of them actually sound better! In addition to the old but new, hymns
we love, the worship leader at our current church manages to find contemporary
songs that express the doctrines of our faith so beautifully and worshipfully
that I actually find myself NOT singing them, but allowing them to lift my mind
and heart to worship the LORD Himself, and I love that they do that! That’s what all worship music should do!
Last night
Jim and I attended a Christmas concert at our clubhouse, performed by our
community chorus. They sang a variety of
holiday songs and it was wonderful to see which of our neighbors and friends
participated. Before the concert began, I
spoke to one of our neighbors who said that the chorus is what attracted her to
this community. She loved to sing, and
sing she did! Watching her face as she
sang said all she was feeling about the joy of being in the chorus. Her enjoyment and pleasure just lit up her
face.
Coming away
from that concert I began to think again about contemporary worship music and the
one thing I miss since we went from choir led worship to worship team led
worship. I miss a CHORUS of
singers.
Not everyone
has the ability to sing on a worship team.
For that, they need a different kind of vocalist, one with a stronger
voice, the ability to sing solos, a level of comfort singing into a microphone.
Choirs, on
the other hand, enable less gifted singers, who are good at supporting a group,
but not solo material, to sing together.
Choirs comprise a variety of vocal ranges, so many more people can
participate in singing, and not just a few (I really miss singing alto parts!). Choirs are a worship outlet for those who
want to sing, and sing together in harmony with others, but would be scared to
death, or just not suited, to singing with a very small worship team. Choirs allow for more believers who are
gifted with the ability to sing to participate in leading worship.
So, now that
we’ve done without them for so long, maybe it’s time to bring them back, not
every week, but once in a while. Not
accompanied by an organ, but accompanied by contemporary instruments, so that
those who love that means of worship can participate in it now and then, and
those of us who love listening to choral music can worship the Lord together
with them.
The object
is that we use our many gifts to worship the Lord together.
