Part of what worship leaders do is to keep a compelling vision of why the gathering, and more specifically, why our time together singing, is beneficial and significant in the life of the believer.
It's been said by many leadership gurus that every vision bucket has a leak. The bucket (the containers that hold our vision) can be too small, or two scarce, or maybe the vision itself is "thin" and runs through every possible crack or puncture in the bucket. No matter what you engineer or design as far as rhythms and expectations, you will always as a leader have to return to high level vision for those that you lead.
Over the course of the last ten weeks, we've taught through the Song of Songs at our church. In preparation for the series, I zoomed out and asked what we needed from our Call-to-Worship moments in the gatherings right now. The vision leak I sensed was a robust understanding of why singing is incorporated into our gatherings.
Below you'll read the summaries we used to begin our gatherings over the series. They might differ a bit from what was actually delivered on stage, but the heart of the idea is there.
- We sing because it helps us remember.
God uses music to attach the things we need to hold in our minds and hearts to us. It serves as a glue that binds our most important beliefs and convictions to our hearts. The repetition that is often mocked in modern music looks similar to the repetition of the psalms, and certainly like the prayers of the Jews in the OT who would repeat the same tents for their own memory and edification. - We sing because it helps us desire God.
Worship through song reminds us of the glory and power our hearts long to be connected to. We grow in our desire for Christ as a person when we are clear about how unmatched he is, how far over all worldly things he is, and how he meets our needs exceedingly. It is near impossible to enjoy our walk with Christ when he are detached from everything that is attractive and compelling about the nature, character, and works of God. - We sing because it helps us obey.
When our hearts are replenished and we come back to the Gospel truths that saved us, we are pointed in the right direction to follow Christ everyday. We are far more likely to obey Christ when we treasure Christ. - We sing because it helps us know the Spirit's voice.
The Spirit interacts with us in unique ways in the gathering, and as we participate in singing together, if chosen wisely, we become increasingly familiar with the tone and content we would expect to find in the Spirit's voice. Rather than chase emotionalism and an experience, we chase God himself. We long to hear from him in our singing and times of prayer because He is what we need most. - We sing because it helps us connect our bodies to our hearts/minds.
We are meant to be integrated beings, with body and heart/soul not being disconnected in our lives and certainly not our worship. Offering God praise through the posture of our body and hands as we sing about adoration, helps connect us more deeply. It is a small way that we worship more genuinely, and reminds us that singing, is always meant to be tied to our physical response or raising hands, helping the poor, and making choices to love others everyday. - We sing because it helps us awaken our hearts to receive from the gathering.
Walking in to the worship center is not enough to prepare our hearts for gathered worship (though physically being there is HUGE). We all walk in with different anxieties and frustrations, from the small squabbles in the backseat on the drive in to the big news from the doctor we didn't expect, it's our default to begin the gathering distracted. Singing together recalibrates our focus and opens up our heart to disengage the speed of life to hear the Lord speak to us. - We sing because it helps us level out our highs and lows.
We are quick to worship our circumstances, both up and down. Worship brings us to a steadied and constant state, remembering that the most important things do not change. Biologically, singing removes anxieties, lowers stress in the body, and provides a ton of other physical benefits. Spiritually, it re-centers our hearts on the things we do have control over. - We sing because it prepares us for and reminds us of Heaven.
We don't know a ton about the details of heaven, but it's clear that singing is on the agenda. And not just singing, but unfettered, untainted, unbelievable adoration is poured our through many ways, including SONG. There will be no theological concerns or key concerns or melody concerns or grumpy critics with their arms crossed protesting the song they have issues with. Singing today is a taste of the adoration that will jump out of us tomorrow in glory. - We sing because it displays the unity God desires.
Different lives, stories, backgrounds, races, ages, and economic status...joined together by common melody and lyrics. A picture of the level playing field we serve our God from, and a beautiful moment of unified activity, minimizing if even for a few minutes our differences. It is a declaration that the most important thing about us is the God we were made by and not the differences in his creation. Singing together also sends us on a common mission. - We sing because it is commanded.
Ultimately, we want to obey our King that commands us in multiple places to sing. He knows the benefits far better than we do...and he commands every local church to include and prioritize the singing of truth as a central ingredient in our gathered worship.
BONUS: We sing because it is a training for families and communities
When we sing together, we practice the discipline and gift of worshiping through song that can be included in our worship at home, and in the gatherings we participate in throughout the week. Missional Communities and DNA groups always have the opportunity to sing together. Families can worship together over a few songs as part of their connection spiritually to each other.
My hope would be that these concepts could be contextualized and used by other worship leaders in these key moments in our gatherings, where we have the great privilege of reminding our fickle and ever-changing people of the Savior and His good news that is constant and unchanging.