This week, I read an article on churchleaders.com titled “9 Reasons a Church Choir Is Important.” Maybe it’s because I’m a product of the David Letterman era, but I’ve always loved lists - so I was drawn into the article. I will not go over all nine reasons, but one of the reasons in the article really did resonate with me: “A good choir sings and illustrates joy.” I know that when I am watching a choir or worship team lead, my eyes are drawn to whoever might be emoting the most joy. Just a couple of weeks ago, my wife Jenn and I attended worship at a “megachurch” when we were up in Pennsylvania, and I simply could not take my eyes off of the keyboardist who was bouncing, singing, and smiling the entire time – even though there was not a microphone anywhere near. That keyboardist was a shining light as they worshipped, and it truly was a beautiful thing to watch.
Each time that I pray the Lord’s Prayer, one particular line of the prayer really stands out for me: “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We may not know exactly what everything is going to be like when we all get to heaven, but, in Revelation, John gives us at least a small glimpse into what it may be like. Revelation 5:11-12 reads like this:
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
Don’t you just love the image of joining with the heavenly chorus singing perfect praise to God? Take note of what the angels are singing: they are singing about the Lamb of God, and that He would receive seven distinct things (power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory and blessing). In apocalyptic literature like Revelation, the number 7 represents completion or totality. Do you know what this means? When we join with that heavenly chorus, we will be singing complete, total, perfect praise to God!
If we pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” then I surmise that we all ought to be practicing and singing so that we are truly ready when our Creator calls us home. Consider it like this: when we sing in worship, we’re just practicing for heaven! And if we are truly practicing for heaven, then we need to sing in such a way that our joy is contagious. Towards the front of every United Methodist Hymnal, you will find John Wesley’s “Directions for Singing.” I particularly love his fourth direction: “Sing lustily and with courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the songs of Satan.” All of that takes me back to the reason for a church choir: “A good choir sings and illustrates joy.” I might paraphrase that to say “A good choir is practicing for heaven.”
If you’re interested in any of our music ministries here at Orange, I want to strongly encourage you to step out on faith and give it a shot. What you will find when you are a part of something like the worship team, choir, or handbells, is that you will immediately become a part of a family. We have some remarkably gifted leaders in Josh with Pathways and Derek with Traditions, and they will help you find the perfect spot in the family. After all, we all could use a little practice for heaven.
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