A Call To Worship, Part 4: Keep together!

Sing in time. Whatever time is sung, be sure to keep with it. Do not run before, nor stay behind it; but attend closely to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can. And take care you sing not too slow. this drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from among us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.

Honestly, I don’t see this specifically as a problem in churches today, at least not in ours. I think it might have been a bigger problem in previous years, but let’s still take a look at it.

It’s pretty easy I think for most to stay with the tempo of a song, less easy for some to clap on rhythm with it. I think this ties in well to the last point, which was to join in singing without drawing attention to yourself. If you are intentionally getting in front of or behind the music, it’s going to affect those around you and draw attention away from worship.

Imagine if the worship band did this. The guitarist plays at one tempo, the drummer plays another, the keyboardist plays something else, and the bass player leaves everyone else behind. Will that be a distraction to you as a member of the congregation? I know it would drive me nuts as a worship leader, because it’s happened before. It never happens intentionally, but it does happen and it can draw us out of worship and into worrying more about how the music sounds.

That is what it boils down to, having the freedom to worship without distraction and as a group. When we all move together into the throne room of God, we all experience His presence. We may not all experience the same thing, but we all grow from the time spent there. That is what worship through music is about, it is using that brief amount of time every week that we have with other believers and together giving praise to our God, regardless of circumstances. Together we can lift up those who are brought down by the week behind, celebrate with those who have experienced great things, and bask in the joy that is a life with Christ.

This weekend, let’s all keep together and join in worship of our Lord. Go and find a place to join with other believers and learn more about Jesus through music and through teaching.