The Biggest Story Holy Bible
The Biggest Story Holy Bible
Each of Us Has a Singing Ministry
A Ministry of Telling
Engaging in the work of congregational singing is one way every believer builds up the body of Christ. Not everyone preaches. We don’t all pray or publicly read Scripture. But each of us who is in Christ can have an effective ministry edifying the whole church through song.
In Psalm 96:2, David invites the earth to “tell” of God’s salvation. This means that congregational singing is a “ministry of telling.” As we sing, we proclaim the truths of our faith to one another. God may be our primary audience, but he’s not our only audience. The direction of our singing is vertical and horizontal; it’s both Godward and manward.1 As we extol God for his mercy, we are at the same time telling one another of the wondrous things that God has done.
God’s people have always functioned this way. Exodus records how God rescued his people from slavery so they might be free to worship him. The first thing Moses and the people did on the other side of deliverance was to stop and sing. They reminded one another through song what God had done to redeem them.
What If I Don't Like My Church's Music?
Matthew Boswell
Pastor and hymn writer Matthew Boswell encourages readers to put aside individual preferences during church worship and offer unified praise that gives glory to God.
The same principle holds true in the New Testament. In Colossians 3, Paul instructs the believers in the church at Colossae how to live in love and harmony with one another. They fulfill that command by singing the truths of the gospel, the “word of Christ,” to every other member: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16).
We find the same teaching in Ephesians 5:18–21:
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
The God-directed ministry of praise and the others-directed ministry of edification are intimately linked throughout the New Testament.2 This means that the goal of congregational singing is to glorify God by encouraging one another in song. It encompasses both aims.
Paul’s teaching challenges our consumerism and confronts our ill-informed notion that the church’s music is supposed to cater to our preferences or create in us a certain emotional response. God’s design is for us to participate in producing the church’s music, not just enjoy it. We gather to be part of a congregational choir, not attend a concert. When we understand this, our participation is less about whether we like the music and more about whether we will serve our brothers and sisters. In fact, when you read Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5, you begin to see that singing looks and sounds a lot like the work of discipling: helping others follow Jesus. Since congregational singing is a “one another” ministry in the church, we should tailor our expectations for Sunday morning toward that end. We show up to hear and be heard by our brothers and sisters in the pews.
Since we’re singing to one another, the main thing we should want to hear on Sunday morning is the voice of the congregation. Perhaps you long for that and wish your church was more committed to that vision. But even if the musical leadership in your church isn’t trying to elevate the congregation as the main thing that’s heard on Sunday morning, don’t let that stop you from singing loudly to encourage those around you while also listening eagerly to hear them sing as well.
We should tell others about God’s salvation through song every time the church gathers.
The spiritual good we do in and for one another as we sing together is incalculable. I can affirm that from personal experience. As a pastor, I have the privilege of regularly preaching God’s word. My job is a “ministry of telling.” But each Sunday I am not only a participant in this ministry of telling but also a recipient of it. When people ask me in the days leading up to Sunday if I am ready to preach, I always reply, “I’m not ready until we sing,” and I mean it. There is something about singing with our church family that stirs my soul. The saints around me are teaching me and encouraging me with God’s word in those moments.
One of my favorite things to do in our worship service is to sing with full voice, bouncing on my toes with lifted eyebrows (just like my dad still does). I look around at the faces of my brothers and sisters who sing beside me and I’m reminded how many of these people that I know and love are singing through suffering and sorrows. This past Sunday, I sang with multiple loved ones who are battling terminal cancer, one friend offering his praise with borrowed breath while hooked up to an oxygen machine, a young father facing an unknown career future, a couple heartbroken over the decisions of a child, an elderly widow who desperately misses her husband, and the list goes on. I join my voice with theirs with an aim to minister to them—to sing with them as we stand on the truths we declare together.
My heart soars in those moments—nourished by the truths sung to me by fellow saints. As I walk up the stairs to preach the good news of Jesus, my soul is often carried there by the singing of others in the room.
Telling from Day to Day
As we consider our responsibility to serve others by singing the truth to them, we should take note of one last phrase in Psalm 96:2. We must “Sing to the Lord, . . . tell of his salvation from day to day.” In other words, we need to engage in this “ministry of telling” not only when we feel like it, when it’s convenient, or when we’re moved by the music.
We need to do it day by day. We should tell others about God’s salvation through song every time the church gathers. Your fellow church members need to hear you sing the gospel to them day by day and week by week. We need to be reminded of the salvation God has given us in Christ every day. This gospel is the news that edifies us, the truth that builds us up, and our hope for the future. Charles Spurgeon, a well-known pastor in London in the nineteenth century, once said, “The gospel is the clearest revelation of [God], salvation outshines creation and providence; therefore let our praises overflow in that direction. Let us proclaim the glad tidings, and do so continually, never ceasing the blissful testimony.”3 What a precious gift to have the gospel on our lips. What a holy privilege to sing the good news of great joy to fellow members from Lord’s Day to Lord’s Day, helping them grow even more as worshiping disciples of Jesus.
If we approach church music as consumers, then we’ll be continually asking questions such as “What do I like?” or “What do I get from this?” But when we walk into corporate worship, we should check our scorecards and shopping lists at the door. Congregational singing isn’t about consumption. It’s a time for us to contribute to the faith of other believers in the room by singing the gospel to them Sunday by Sunday.
Notes:
- Derek Kidner, Psalms 73–150, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (IVP Academic, 2008), 379./li>
- David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Eerdmans, 1992), 221.
- C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, vol. 4 (Passmore & Alabaster, 1888), 181.
This article is adapted from What If I Don’t Like My Church’s Music? by Matthew Boswell.
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