We sat near some encouragingly awful singers at church yesterday—vociferous and atonal, contentedly disregarding everybody but the One they were serenading.
22 Words
Experiments in getting to the point.19 Comments »
JMH wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Amen. I love hearing bad singers worship.
Melisssa Eimers wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Make a joyful NOISE!
shawnda wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 1:02 pm
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! 
Abraham Piper wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 1:06 pm
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.
Robin wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 1:33 pm
What does it say about me that I won’t sing loudly because it’s little more than AWFUL?
Paul Huxley wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 1:37 pm
A loud cheerful noise is a start but no excuse not to practise and improve.
Paul Huxley wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 1:42 pm
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?
Kellie wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 2:05 pm
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!
Jenny Rigney wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Sorry, Abraham. Joe and I didn’t know we were singing that loud.
Ashley wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 8:48 pm
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.
Elizabeth Patton wrote @ March 24, 2008 at 9:07 pm
You must have been sitting next to my husband…
I didn’t know you went to our church : )
Jayson wrote @ March 25, 2008 at 8:48 am
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”!
Pamela wrote @ March 25, 2008 at 9:03 am
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!
M. Taylor wrote @ March 25, 2008 at 9:07 am
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.
Really Robin wrote @ March 25, 2008 at 9:16 am
It’s all a joyful noise unto the Lord. That’s my story & I’m sticking to it!
Abraham Piper wrote @ March 25, 2008 at 9:22 am
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.
zoanna wrote @ March 25, 2008 at 12:26 pm
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.
JSA wrote @ March 26, 2008 at 11:13 am
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.
InFocus » Blog Archive » Terrible Singing wrote @ April 1, 2008 at 6:01 pm
[...] Singing”Wonderful evidence of self-forgetfulness and Christ-remembrance.” See here. Posted on 2 Apr, 2008Permalink | CommentsIslam Has Surpassed Roman Catholicism as the World’s [...]
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