The Church and the Choir.
Read carefully!
I grew up in the church choir and it was such a privilege to start serving in the house of the Lord at such tender age. If there’s any group in church that works tirelessly in preparation for weekly meetings, and especially for special meetings, it’s the Choir. Endless rehearsals, including vigils, for the purpose of perfecting the delivery of songs – voice trainings, song arrangement, scoring ad libs, harmony, and so forth. What about having to create time on your own to learn your part before coming for the general rehearsals? It’s hectic and demanding!
In all these, a major concern is that the activities are so much they crowd out spiritual things. If it was about preparing for Beyoncé’s concert, then it has to be all about rehearsals and stage management tips. But this is church where the Holy Ghost seeks to bless men’s hearts with the gospel through songs. While rehearsals are necessary and great, should prayer and study of the word (which we claim to sing), be relegated to the background? Singing in church is spiritual and this means we must have more time for spiritual activities.
Now, there are choirs that pray well and study God’s word. They always stand out in their ministrations. No showmanship. When they sing, it’s like a session of the word in songs. Your heart is stirred, your passion to minister to the Lord is awakened. They’re not the kinds you watch all through to give a standing ovation or bang your palms together to celebrate. No! By the time they are done, you have no hands to clap; they’re all in the air, lifted up to the One who deserves all. You didn’t come to praise, but they got you up on your feet! It’s the Spirit of God having free course through their ministry. When choirs have strong consecrations and devotions, people don’t see skills when they are on stage (though the skill is there), they see Jesus! There’s art and there’s ministry. Ministry must overwhelm art; not the other way round.
Without strong consecration to God’s word and prayers as a choir, it’s all showbiz, entertainment, fleshly performance. You can hit all the right chords, notes, wow your audience, get them screaming like it’s rapture, but it lacks the power to transform. It’s also the reason why many ‘scandals’ seem to abound in the midst of the choir. If it’s all about rehearsals, you will walk in the flesh towards one another. Some choirs are so carnal they literally rebel against a leader that’s passionate about spiritual things – prayer, word, manifestation of the Spirit.
Funny enough, the average choir member thinks (s)he’s a strong Christian. Recently, I met a young man on evangelism and he listened to all I had to say then he said, ‘Bro, I appreciate you o…I’m also a strong Christian o…in fact I’m attending a vigil tonight.’ He’s an instrumentalist. Then I asked him a vital question on being saved and he was clueless. He followed me to our venue and as we flipped through the pages of scriptures together, he brought out a pen and paper and was noting them with much curiosity. In his words, ‘I’ve never seen the verses before.’ The second time we met, he confessed he doesn’t read his bible. Guess what I remembered? ‘Bro…I’m also a strong christian o…’ What gave him the impression that he was such a strong Christian? Intense Choir Activities! John wrote to the church and said, ‘I have written to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you…’ (1 John 2:14). You are strong because the word dwells in you! Paul writes to the Ephesian church and instructed them to be strong in the Lord. It was about commitment to the word, prayers, and ministry (Ephesians 6:10-18). This is what many choir members run from, yet think they are ‘strong Christians’. Hello? It’s not by singing, ‘You are my strength, strength like no other…’
A friend of mine once took charge of a choir that had degenerated into everything it shouldn’t be. I mean it was so bad they would fix meetings just to hang out at clubs and tag it ‘choir vigil’, just so their parents would release them to go out at night. By the time he took over the choir, many of them ran from the group, some became inconsistent. They started complaining about just 1 hour prayer! The few that stayed, learnt, grew, and made progress in the faith. The interesting thing is, while the group was so carnal, these were the people singing powerfully every sunday and people were being ‘wowed’. Great voices. Great instrumentalists. Jesus is Lord. Heaven came down and glory filled their souls…
Another friend of mine literally had members of the choir going to report him for making the meeting more spiritual. They just wanted to come and rehearse, gist, have fun, and go back home. Not like there wasn’t time to rehearse, but they just didn’t want all the prayer time. They joined the group because they could sing, not because they were men full of the word and spirit. Once I met a guy, who sings in church and he said, ‘I know I’m not committed to God o…I dey do my own thing, but when I get on stage God moves because it’s all grace o (read as: the gift of singing), and there’s something about music.’ I wanted to say, ‘Sometimes the devil also moves o’. Such arrogance! God can’t resist good music, even if the singer is the devil himself. God is not music hungry. Before music was, He is.
Interestingly, it’s the church that has empowered this group so much that they think the church can’t do without their skill. There’s this idea that they are the ones who bring down God’s presence. We have not left some Old Testament narratives. Who was singing in Jesus’ ministry to make the anointing rest on Jesus for healing the sick? I once told a keyboardist that if he attends my church, he’d quit that mindset of helping us create the atmosphere for the move of the Spirit. We don’t need keyboard to heal the sick and flow in the Spirit! You’re not bringing down any presence of God when you sing!
Why do we sing?
Colossians 3:16; “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, TEACHING AND ADMONISHING one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” We sing to teach and admonish one another in songs as we minister to the Lord! This is the reason why a choir member must be full of the word and spirit!
Also, I’ve heard people say, ‘If the devil wants to attack the church, he starts with the choir’. Not true. From the beginning, the devil has always focused his attack on the word of God! This means the devil starts with the teaching ministry! Read the parable of the sower; the onslaught was against the word. 2 Corinthians 4 reveals that the devil is fighting the gospel. The book of Galatians reveal that the fight is against the word. The reason for this is simple: When the teaching is corrupted, the singing cannot be sound. So, the choir is not the most important group in a church service. Their ministry is subject to the ministry of the word. When there’s no music, and there’s the word, God will move mightily! Hence, we are to sing the word.
Psalm 107:20; “He sent His word and healed their diseases…” Mark 16:20; “And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” Acts 14:3; “Therefore, they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.” The move of the Spirit accompanies the word!
Music works more on the emotions and melody lingers more in the mind than ordinary speech. And this is why what we sing matters a lot. We must sing the word from a heart full of the same! We must awake as a church. Church music is a different ball game entirely! If we don’t emphasize discipleship above skill, we’d keep raising arrogant musicians who have no regard for God’s word, prayers, and ministry. Have you noticed how some walk out few minutes to the sermon and then come back when the Pastor is rounding off to add some spice? In their minds, they don’t need the Pastor’s sermon, but the Pastor needs them to close the sermon effectively. Such an attitude is a dishonor to Jesus. If you fall into this category, it’s time to repent. If you’re a Pastor and you condone such flimsy attitudes because you believe you need their help, it’s time to relearn New Testament ministry. Music is great in the church only when it’s ministered by spirit filled men.
I hope this met you well!