Let me start by saying that music is one of my greatest passions in life. I lead worship at our church, write songs for our youth ministry, and generally, have a long and extravagant love affair with music. I can mark a million moments and memories with a soundtrack that accompanied them.
Having said that, I think the Church needs to stop singing so much.
Every Sunday our services normally revolve around large blocks of music, our worship leaders become minor celebrities, and nearly every modern church now seems bent on producing the next Chris Tomlin, marketing their band and latest recording project on their websites and in their lobbies.
But is any of this really changing people’s hearts? Is it changing anything else?
Picture this:
I’m leaving the house in the morning, and I loudly, expressively say to my wife, “Honey, I love you more than anything in the world.”
She undoubtedly would appreciate that… But let’s say as I walk out the door, she says to me, “Hey, would you take out the trash?”, and I agree to.
Now let’s say that we get home in the evening and she notices the can is still full and says, “Hey, why didn’t you take out the trash”?, and in response, I whip out a piece of paper and say, “Well, I’ve spent the day writing this beautiful poem about my love for you and how much I desire to take out the trash for you. Let me read it to you.”
Meanwhile, the garbage is piling up.
What-if this happened day after day; she asks me to remove the trash, and I respond by stating or singing my adoration for, my dedication to my wife, and my heart’s purpose to do what she asks…while around her there is a landfill growing.
Pretty soon, the poems and songs would wear thin.
Christians love to sing. We gather every Sunday in beautiful amphitheaters with state-of-the-art sound systems, to hear music led by talented, dedicated, God-honoring musicians. It’s a powerful and moving time.
Inside those walls, we boldly declare our desire to serve God, to do His will, to heal the hurting, feed the hungry and retrieve the lost. We can sing in harmony and clap in time (for the most part)… We are pretty great at it.
But just outside those amphitheaters, the hurting, hungry and lost are often there wondering what all the noise is about.
We spend an average of 20 minutes each week in church singing songs. If you were to attend church every Sunday, that would add-up to over 17 hours each year. I wonder, if instead of spending those hours gathered together expressing our intentions, we simply stepped outside the doors and moved to action.
Am I saying we should eliminate music from church? No.
Am I saying that music isn’t one of the greatest ways people connect with God? Not a chance.
Am I saying that we don’t need songs to put words to those things that are on our hearts or in God’s word? No way.
But there’s a phrase that musicians have always said, which is, Let the music do the talkin’.
Maybe now, it’s time for Christians to renew our minds, recalibrate our purpose and let our lives do the singing.
Church, keep making music. Keep singing. Keep writing. Keep raising songs of prayer and praise. Keep making a joyful noise.
But don’t forget to take out the trash.
