Thoughts & Actions

Here is an interesting blog article that Bob Kauflin, worship leader at Sovereign Grace Ministries, had written on December 5, 2007 at WorshipMatters.com. There are two points Kauflin makes that I would disagree, and both of them are in his introductory examples of ”Ways We Can Address One Another When We Sing.”

1. When Kauflin says that one way congregations can sing to one another when they sing is by alternating the congregation between men and women, this only works well if your congregation is sizeable enough. This is not a good practice in a church planting situation where, for example, the women number five and the only male voice other than the pastor/planter is the pianist.
2. Use of “soloists” who do not appear as “performers” is very difficult. Thus far, I haven’t seen any church that can do this well. Not the part of where the soloist may not be a mere “performer,” but where the congregation avoids being “audiences.” Whether a vocalist is singing solo or singing congregationally is not the issue; the issue is the congregation singing congregationally vs. watching/listening to a soloist. Kauflin does not bring this issue up in this article. I hope he may in the near future.

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This past Sunday I had the privilege of speaking at Solid Rock Church, the Sovereign Grace church in Riverdale, Maryland, not far from where I live. I spoke on Eph 5:15-21
and called the message, “Spirit-filled Singing.” I shared six characteristics of singing that are a result of being filled with the Spirit.

My first point was “Spirit-filled singing is to each other,” and based on Eph. 5:19 where Paul says we’re “addressing one another.” You’d think in a passage about singing praise to God that Paul would begin with God. He doesn’t. The first focus of our singing Paul mentions is not God, but one another. Col. 3:16 fills this idea out and says that we’re “teaching and admonishing one another.” This shows us that one of the primary aims of corporate worship is meant to be building each other up, not simply having our own personal encounter with God.

Ways We Can Address One Another When We Sing

How do we “address one another” when we sing? I can think of a number of ways. As we all sing at the same time, we’re hearing those around us proclaim biblical truth and our response to it. We’re being taught and admonished by our brothers and sisters to trust the God of Scripture and the only Savior.

• Songs like “You are Holy” have the men alternating lines with the women.
• Other songs are in a call and response format, where the leader sings a line and the congregation responds.
• Listening to a soloist is another way we can address one another as we sing. Solos don’t have to be “performances.” When the vocalist’s motives and gestures are Christ-exalting and natural, our hearts can be inspired and instructed as we listen to some else’s Spirit-filled singing.

Practices that Hinder Horizontal Awareness in Worship

Over the years, most of us have developed a few practices that can hinder any benefit we might receive from addressing one another as we sing.

1. Singing songs that lack biblical substance or doctrinal depth. If the songs we’re singing are primarily subjective, and focused on how we feel, what we’re doing, or some other subjective element, we’re not going to have much to say to each other.
2. Thinking that “worship” means closing my eyes, raising my hands, and blocking out everyone else around me. I’ve had many profound moments like that, as I’ve focused in an undistracted way on the words I’m singing and the Savior I’m singing to. But being Spirit-filled should actually make us more aware of others, not less. Many of the songs we sing aren’t even directed towards God. Crown Him with Many Crowns, Before the Throne of God Above, and Amazing Grace, are a few that come to mind. So when I lead I probably have my eyes open more than half the time. I’m looking around, addressing others, celebrating the fact that we can glory in Jesus Christ together. I do that even when I’m not leading, sometimes turning to someone beside me to rejoice in God’s grace. I want to benefit from the fact that I’m with the people of God.
3. Singing alone. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with praising God on my own. But in the age of iPods, earphones, and Internet downloads, it’s easy to lose our appreciation for singing with the church. The Spirit intends us to join our hearts to each other as well as to Christ when we sing.After I preached the message this past Sunday, I wanted to apply the message in a memorable way. So I had everyone stand up and told them we were going to sing Amazing Grace a cappella. Only I didn’t want anyone closing their eyes. I wanted people to look around the room as they sang, rejoicing at God’s mercy in each other’s lives. It was a little awkward at first, but eventually we were singing with all our hearts, unashamedly “addressing one another” in song, reminding ourselves of how amazing God’s grace truly is, to save wretches like us.

So next time you lead or worship God with your church, don’t stop at asking the Lord to “open the eyes of your heart.” Ask him to open your eyes in your head, too.