Over the past 20 years of my life, it
has been my privilege to have traveled
extensively and worshiped at hundreds
of churches. I’ve had the joy of singing in and/or conducting choirs of all
ages, shapes and sizes, from virtually every evangelical denomination, in a wide
variety of settings. Some of the smaller
groups have ranged in size from 6 to
12 people, while the larger ones have
ranged from 150 to 300 in number.
I’ve worked with singers in
open-air worship services
on the remote hillsides of
the Dominican Republic.
I’ve conducted mass choirs
in expansive coliseums from
coast-to-coast. From places
as elaborate and celebrated
as the Sun Dome in Phoenix,
Arizona, and Westminster
Cathedral in London, England,
to other places not quite so
renown like the backyard
of an HIV hospice home in
Washington D.C. and the
sanctuary of Whispering Hills
Church of the Nazarene
(where I currently am serving
my eighth year as part-time
worship pastor, in Brentwood, Tennessee), I have
seen the hand of God move
in profound ways through
the worship and ministry of
a choir. It is clear to me why
the Old Testament church
gave choirs such an important role in worship.
In the Now
Some of you are undoubtedly thinking, “With
all due respect to our Levite
brothers and sisters, it is the
year 2007 and we are not living in the
days of brass cymbals, harps, lyres and
lutes.” I could not agree more wholeheartedly. Old Testament practices are
long gone and are widely viewed as ritualistic. The New Covenant does certainly
abolish certain ancient traditions and
provide access for all to the throne room
of the Almighty. It is important, however, to acknowledge that when God gave
King David an inspired and concise vi-
2 4WORSHIPLEADER WORSHIPLEADER
sion for the building and establishment
of His temple, He was clearly expressing
His desire to hear the praises of the assembly. Something uniquely touches the
heart of the Creator when singers join
together in songs of praise to Him, regardless of the time or place.
In more recent years, the role of a
choir in worship has become somewhat
distorted by the continually evolving
world of Christian music. Due to the
rise in popularity of “modern worship
music” over the course of the past decade, the Church is finding itself in an
interesting predicament. The template
for worship leadership, if you will,
suggested by Christian pop culture of
the present day, is that of a sole worship
leader, accompanied by no more than a
handful of vocalists, as well as a small
number of instrumentalists. Please do
not misinterpret my intentions. I am all
for commitment to a sense of cultural
relevance. Moreover, I avidly participate
in the furtherance of Christian music as
a professional and consumer. I am merely stating that, when weighed against
the responsibility of a music minister
to equip, empower and exercise the numerous gifts within any given community of faith, the current popular face of
worship in America has, unfortunately,
left little room for choirs.
Lessons from the Field
I am a fan of professional football and try to attend at least one Tennessee
Titans game each season.
Every time I have joined
the tens of thousands gathered at LP Field, I have been
dumbfounded by the impact
that the thunderous, indivisible cheering and rave can
contribute toward victory in
any given contest. It is quite
obvious that practically every fan in the stadium has a
favorite player or two on the
field. In most cases, it is the
admiration and respect for
one or two players’ accomplishments that has motivated a fan to shell out $50 for
a seat. At halftime, the field
is cleared and the cheerleaders are given their two-min-ute moment to shine. It is
curious to me that very few
people realize that cheerleaders have been actively
involved in the game from
kickoff. The megaphones
and glittering pom-poms
intended to inspire the
crowd have often been
tucked away in a corner
beyond the end zone—
for all practical purposes, virtually
unseen. It causes one to wonder, “Why
are the cheerleaders even there?”
Perhaps the choir has become
a similarly inconspicuous group of
cheerleaders. Has the role of the choir
become the somewhat gratuitous and
seemingly disconnected five-minute
“tip of the hat” toward singers in your
church? Could it be that they simply
need to be rediscovered? Is it possible
