The Value of Voices
Most of the time these days, we get our music by direct injection. Since the iPod was unleashed upon us on October 23, 2001, we have become accustomed to hearing our personal playlists, matched to our mood, implanted into our skulls via earbud or AirPod. The sound is direct, unmediated. Sounds that once required the movement of massive amounts of air from wood, metal, skin, and voice, are now squeezed from one membrane to another through a canal barely an inch long. No one else hears. Our experience of music becomes entirely individual.
In contrast to this stands the choir. Bodies are trained, assembled, and arranged. Attention is focused and directed. Air is drawn deeply into a hundred lungs, compressed, controlled, and expelled to fill a room where a thousand ears can receive the sound together. The vibrations of voice fill the hall to every corner. The whole place moves. The music of the choir is a physical, visceral, intensely interactive social force.
What does this have to do with worship? In this age of atomization, where the spiritual is viewed as something entirely individual, the choir can offer a dramatically different testimony. A choir can be an effective picture of the body of Christ. Each member has a part, and no member can be singled out as being more necessary or important than another. In the body of Christ, we are all singing the same song, even though our individual parts may have a different melody. Each part interacts with the others, and the beauty of the song is realized when every member is faithfully singing what is theirs to sing. The sopranos don’t try to sing the bass part, and the tenors don’t think that they have no need of the altos. The stronger members help the weaker ones to hear, learn, and perform in their sections. And all of this put together gives a testimony of harmony in the service of a greater unity.
So the very nature of the vocal choir is a testimony, a symbol, a picture of the body of Christ. But how should the choir display this testimony in corporate worship? What role does the choir play in the service?
The first task of the choir is proclamation. The choir has a role in proclaiming the word of God to the congregation. We often hear the phrase, “preaching to the choir,” but we ought to think more about “preaching from the choir.” It is no mistake that many of the Psalms are addressed “to the choir director.” These Psalms were written to be sung to the congregation. One of the reasons the choir exists is to sing the word of God to the people of God. The choir is not simply entertainment or filler in the service. They are there to magnify the Lord and deliver His message in beauty to the gathered saints.
Further, the choir exists to strengthen the congregation in its own singing. Colossians 3:16 reminds us that we are to teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Because singing is a “one another” activity, it helps when we can see and hear each other. Having the choir face the congregation helps the church to experience this reality. The sound of the choir’s voices also gives confidence to the body in singing the songs of the church. The congregation feels the support of gathered voices and sings stronger. So the worship choir gives encouragement to the people in joining their own voices in song.
Finally, the choir is a means of discipleship for the church. The fellowship that takes place when people simply get together to rehearse, sing God’s words, learn to use their voices together with others, and join in life with each other is a valuable ministry in itself. This builds unity and joy in the church, and the whole church benefits when a choir is carrying out its mission.
By taking the experience of music out of our earbuds, the choir helps the church to break down the idols of individualism and build the people of God into a glorious community. What a glorious and joyful task!
