Church Choirs

It is always great to hear wonderful choirs singing beautiful choral music. I love to hear the Vienna Boys Choir sing Ave Maria, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir belting out "A Mighty Fortress is our God" or the Robert Shaw Choral Group singing a black spiritual such as "Swing Low Sweet Chariot." Church choirs can add a dimension of worship to any service. I particular love to be led in worship by rockin' gospel or praise choirs that "get with the music." I even love Gregorian Chant and monastic choirs singing their praises and chants to God at the Midnight Hour.

But.....It is not the responsibility of the choir to praise and worship God. To the extent we allow the choirs in our churches to do this and we sit silently and watch them, we are engaged in a spectator sport. We become spiritual voyeurs. God does not want watchers. He wants doers. He does not need more hearers of the word but doers of the word.

Praise and Worship is not a spectator sport. We are called to get into the game. To leap from our benches and run down to the field and to join the game as a full player.

Just as our Pastors lead us in the Word of God so do our Music Ministers lead us in the sung Word of God. Spoken Word of God; Sung Word of God. Both are important.

As Christians we have a history, even a birthrite, of praise and worship. We are Spiritually descended from fathers that leaned upon their staff and worshipped God. We are of the royal spiritual blood line of David who danced before God and who established 24 hour praise in the Temple of God. We are of the lineage of Jesus who taught the woman at the well that someday worship would not be either on the mountain or in the Temple but instead would be in the hearts of men and women.

Worship and Praise is our heritage. It is about what we are all about. If people do not praise Jesus, then the stones shall praise Him. Well this stone in the Temple of God desires to praise His Lord and Master, and I know that other "stones" want to do so as well. So I guess we are not the "Rolling Stones" but the "Praisin' Stones". And I can tell you that some day the House is gonna Rock. Nature will join in. Angels will join in. And the stones will sing and vibrate like you ain't gonna believe.

This is Harley Dad speakin' out on Praise and Worship.