Mar 24, 2008
Terrible singing: Wonderful evidence of self-forgetfulness and Christ-remembrance
We sat near some encouragingly awful singers at church yesterday—vociferous and atonal, contentedly disregarding everybody but the One they were serenading.
Amen. I love hearing bad singers worship.
Make a joyful NOISE!
Do they read your blog?? : ) When I sing, I’m always encouraged by something Jason told me awhile ago…that one of his favorite people to stand by and worship by is his brother….b/c he sings so freely and yet quite…..badly : ) But the beauty of Christ is all the more magnified! It’s a good thing he sees it that way b/c he has to stand next to me during worship! :)
I don’t know if they read this blog, because they were behind us and I didn’t get a look at them.
Could’ve been anybody.
Uh-oh.
What does it say about me that I won’t sing loudly because it’s little more than AWFUL?
A loud cheerful noise is a start but no excuse not to practise and improve.
And aren’t we to sing songs to one another? (Col, Eph). What does it say about your Christian brother if you intentionally sing badly at him?
Okay I’m a terrible singer but love to worship in song so I”m encouraged that others can still be edified by it in some way!
Sorry, Abraham. Joe and I didn’t know we were singing that loud.
Amen to that! And I’m so sorry about your daughter. My heart goes out to you and your wife. I don’t know what could get you through something so tragic besides Jesus.
You must have been sitting next to my husband…
I didn’t know you went to our church : )
Anyone willing to extend the same grace to the worship team or their worship leaders?
I’ve had a cold that is now 2 weeks running! Talk about “atonal”!
At least they weren’t in the front row of the choir as was the case in our small church in Montreal this Easter Sunday morning…What a blessing it was to watch these dear ones singing “Worthy is the Lamb” with such passion and conviction as atonal as it was!
While there is a beauty in this self-forgetfulness, I have to respectfully disagree about it always being such a great thing. There is another side to this. If my horrible singing becomes such a distraction that others around me are thinking more about my singing than worshipping themselves, then 30 people are harmed while one blissfully carries on. That is not a good thing.
There’s something to be said for self awareness and knowing how your actions affect others. Whether you are a good singer or not, having a sense of where your volume level is in relation to others is simply kind and considerate and doesn’t let your desires supersede everyone within a 20 foot radius.
It’s all a joyful noise unto the Lord. That’s my story & I’m sticking to it!
True, Taylor. As always there is a need for balance.
The singers—somewhere in their mind—should consider whether their singing is respectful to others.
And listeners should continually try to have the grace to genuinely appreciate even the worst sounding ardor for Jesus.
Love your blog. Just found it. How hard is it to limit (or stretch) your posts to just 22 words? I’m intrigued.
As for this post, I love the “vociferous and atonal” line. I remember the late Rich Mullins saying why he loved going to church: “Because I get to hear old men sing hymns out of tune.” The singing of hymns has got to be our appreciation, not the sound. But in my humanity, I am easily distracted by off-key singing. I have to pray extra hard for grace to keep worshiping whenever I hear it.
I don’t mind hearing people who are tonally challenged. And I agree with Taylor because, whether you’re a poor singer or a good singer, if you sing at such a volume that people around you notice your bad or good singing. They’ll be distracted. I try to sit in a front pew so as to sing as loudly as I like and not distract others. It’s always awkward when someone in front of you tries to catch a sneak glance at the singer behind them.
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