We live in a day when people have begun to confuse religious concerts and popular Christian artists with the worship of the church. Now am I saying that there is not worship that goes on in those venues? Absolutely not, however that is not always or necessarily their purpose. Usually, we come away from those events impressed with the vocalist or artist or impressed with particular songs.
Worship leading in the church is not for the purpose of impressing, but for the purpose of inspiring the worship of our God. If you look at your Bible choir was God's idea. So, I want to focus on the worship leading choir in this context. The worship leading choir does not merely "sing for Jesus", but is charged with leading the people of God in worship of God. The choir's role is not to impress, but to inspire. The choir's goal should not be to have people say, "Wow, you really sang well." The choir's goal should be to ignite the hearts of people to worship the Father in spirit and truth with a longing for His presence among us.
In a very real sense the choir is an usher. We need to usher people to the very throne of God so they can experience Him in all His fullness and glory. The choir shows the congregation the place of worship prepared for them to the glory of God. It is not the choir's job to worship FOR the congregation or TO the congregation but WITH the congregation, opening the door and encouraging the congregation to enter that door of worship. Some would say that if a worship leading choir is to only do that, then is there a place for the choir to sing an anthem? I would say yes, because that is simply another way the choir inspires or ushers the congregation into His presence and His truth. The worship leading choir inspires others to worship with them.
Pray for one another if you are a part of the worship leading choir and if you are not, then faithfully pray for the worship leading choir to be effective in ushering the congregation into His presence! mjm
