Westside Church Seattle

Why We Sing

October 26th, 2007

Posted by: Jeremiah Siers

As a worship pastor, I’m often asked the question, “Why does the church gather everybody together to sing? Where did that idea come from?” It’s a fair question, especially around Seattle where most people are un-churched and completely unfamiliar with what happens within the four walls of a church. To be honest it is a little strange, besides concerts and birthday parties, it’s not all that often that you see big groups of people singing together, especially when it involves people who don’t sing all that well (no offense).

So, why do we sing in church? First of all, it is a part of the tradition and history of those who worship God. From king David to Theologian Martin Luther to rock n’ roll great Bob Dylan, men and women from all generations have sought to harness the power of music to express their faith, hope and love to God. We are simply following in their footsteps, adding our voice to the song.

 

It has been said that music is the language of the soul. In a lot of ways that statement is true. A national anthem expresses the Spirit of a nation through song, a billboard topping single can serve to define the mood of an entire generation, and a simple song like “Take me out to the Ballgame” can transform the sport of baseball into a national pastime. Music has an undeniable ability to transcend, which brings a strong sense of meaning to the act of worship.

Around 20 years ago there was a worship music movement in Christian churches across the globe. In more recent years, there has been some backlash to that. Many people are asking the question, do we overemphasize music to the detriment of other forms of worship in our services? What about liturgy, scripture reading, prayer? I think that’s a good question. All those forms of worship have there place, but music is a form of worship that can include all of those things. We sing the doxology, the creeds, scripture verses right out of the text and put to lyrics, we confess our sins, pray for our needs, and proclaim the glory of God all to a soundtrack of music that is inspiring us to engage God in worship. Ultimately, music does not equal worship. All of our music, our words, our actions are simply expressions. Worship comes from the heart.