Solo Worship

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18: 19, 20)

 I have been thinking about Christian songs over the decades.

Having been involved in choirs for a long time playing different roles, from instrumentalist to different voices to forming and leading choirs, I want to let us into some observations.

Have you realized that songs by choirs last longer than songs by solo artistes? Do you also realize that they touch and get deeper in the spirit (call it subjective) than those by solo artistes?

Now that is the general observation of many people.

Of course there are exceptions.

I want us to go to reasons for this, knowing that there are people who will throw me many stones for this observation and interpretation.

By choir what I mean is that there are people who are united in singing together. They therefore are uniting their voices together to make beautiful music. To them, the collective is always preferred to individual mastery.

It therefore means that they do not have a star singer behind whom the others unite. Even in songs with a soloist, it is the soloist that must fit in with the group. Nobody is more important than the other as they make one complete unit, together.

The first reason is that the need for the team creates a spirit of submission and interdependence in each member. It also creates the attitude of being useful but also ‘disposable’. What I mean by this is that one realizes that though no one can play your part, the choir will still function whether you are there or not.

Then of course the fact that to sing well, the whole choir must blend into one unit in all ways. Those with loud and sharp voices train to make them soft and smooth. Those with shrill voices round them and those with soft voices must hike them some. As such nobody in the choir practices alone. One can train alone but must practice with the choir. It is only under the most special circumstances that someone comes to sing (or record) with the choir after practicing elsewhere. And even then they must have some practice session before the actual performance.

But I think the strongest reason is that in a choir it is very difficult to develop pride outside the choir. You can be proud of the choir as a unit but not your part in it since you can’t single out your contribution.

Another strong point for choirs is that a choir takes in everybody willing to sing as opposed to groups (called worship teams nowadays) who will look for what you are bringing to the unit.

Many groups will hold auditions to get the best members according to their strengths. There is so much frustration on many who were refused the opportunity to sing for the Lord when they sought to join a group they admired because according to the group they did not have what it takes.

But a choir will simply take a willing heart and build it to produce praise to God.

It means that one joins a choir in humility and surrender whereas they join a singing group as a pro since they are good in something. One offered and the other qualified.

That is why a singer will insist on being paid for singing. You see he is worth something, something that must be appreciated. But a worshipper will be grasping at the opportunity that opens for them to serve God as they praise Him. Again there are exceptions.

Now take that to the spiritual realm.

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill. (Isaiah 30:17)

The choir amplifies the power of agreement.

But it does more.

Have you ever realized that a choir has its distinct style whoever in the team composes the song?

Let me get us to the Bible.

We know that David is the composer of very many psalms.

Yet have you realized that many other psalmists were involved and that it is almost impossible to distinguish between the king and Asaph and Jeduthun and Korah without looking at the title? And you would not even know whose son of whom composed which song.

David built a worship institution in Israel? And it was a unit composed of very many families, not just people. And their songs were similar in most ways because they were growing together, from the singers to instrumentalists.

Is it any wonder that their songs continue ministering to us millennia later?

That is the power of a choir.

And as someone who has also been involved in small group discipleship I can confirm from another front that growing together amplifies the focus and impact of each member.

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. (Proverbs 27:17)

No wonder there is very little heresy in choral songs even when Bibles were few.

Yet a songster easily releases songs of dubious scriptural and theological content, especially when they become famous as they then fly off accountability and rebuke.

We need to return to collective growth in our singing, from congregational to groups. We need to return to church choral music and move from the star driven singing.

But we must listen to God to know what it is He requires of each of us. Then together we will grow in impact as together we serve our King.