It is always a pleasure to meet with a congregation where the singing is enthusiastic. A sense of interest and zeal is conveyed through being filled with the Spirit of God. (See Eph.5:18-19) It is not measured by the quality of harmony, pitch or volume. It is perceived through the congregation's involvement. Their love for the Lord and desire to serve are evident in this act of edification.

     It may not always be that we can teach the church publicly, or deliver a sermon, but we can always sing. This helps to build up the church. It communicates to all in attendance that being there, among our brethren in the presence of the Lord, is a good thing.

     Perhaps some of us are shy, and feel that our voice isn't good enough to be mingled with the rest. Maybe there are those of us with the token mentality. As we would take a crumb of bread or just the squeak of a sip for the Lord's table (demonstrating that the elements aren't valued for the quantity of intake), so we mumble a song underneath our breath, supposing that volume doesn't matter. Being heard by one another does matter. "..speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.." "..teaching and admonishing one another.." (Eph.5:19 / Col.3:16) These passages denote our need to hear one another and to enjoy this mutual participation. This is not to confuse loudness with zeal. However, the quiet approach seems to be the greater malady.

     Through my brother-in-law, I was introduced to a style of singing called "Sacred Harp". This is practiced by folks of religious persuasion who meet with a similar conviction about singing as the churches of Christ. They use no mechanical instruments and utilize shape notes to facilitate the finding of pitch. I do not mention this to endorse this group or the tradition of using shape notes. Rather, they do have an example which might be well to follow. When they sing, they are forthright and unvarnished. You can hear the elderly, working men and housewives, and young people, singing with gusto. Certain hobbyists (many of whom have little if any conviction about God) prize the raw power of these singers, and scorn the moderate attempts to smooth and polish the sound.It is ironic, that the plain sounds of humanity mingled in devotion to God, attract those who are enamored of the human content, not appreciating that it is devotion to God which makes the thing go. By the Spirit of God we enter into adoption, being received by God as His children. We cry Abba, Father. This quality of being sons and daughters of the living God should drive our singing.

     The failure to fulfill this tenant has two extremes. There is the tired vacant sound, as if we don't care. We can sound like we are asleep and that our dreams are more important than the living hope of salvation. Conversely, we can manage to delude ourselves through a manic type of zeal, a vibrancy borne soley of the human spirit, and not the Spirit of God. I believe these are habits we slip into rather than blatantly disregarding the service of the saints.

     These tendencies can be easily corrected. All we need to do is remember just what it is that Christ purchased with His blood... a people who have been saved from the wrath to come, a grateful people. With all of the attendant thoughts and emotions surrounding this central event of being reconciled to God, let us make a joyful noise to the Lord.

Evangelist of the Church
Eldon, MO Church of Christ