the early 1970's we were members of a young, dynamic Church which was one of our greatest Church experiences. My wife and I were both in the choir and we had a fresh out of music college choir director. He was very determined to build the choir. He came up with all kinds of ideas on how to get people to join up. He wanted a full choir loft and he was set on achieving his objective. One of his tactics involved using the verses from Israel's song book, (The Psalms)
, that call out for God's people to make a joyful noise to the Lord. This injunction appears in seven different Psalms and it is often connected in the sentence with singing. However, this does not mean that every person who responds to arm twisting is someone who can sing.One o
lder gentleman responded to the pressure and joined the choir. He said up front that he was not a singer and had never done any singing but our young director said, no problem, because we were only looking for people who were willing to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. This gentleman was a fairly large man and he had a voice that was low, very low, and it carried far, very far. It was like hearing Elmer Fudd on steroids. If you look up the Hebrew word translated noise in the Psalms, the first definition has to do with a shout of alarm or a w
ar cry. This dear brother had that definition nailed. He was completely tone deaf and completely oblivious to being completely tone deaf. His voice carried like a fog horn and it completely dominated the musical presentation from our choir. I never saw folks actually put their hands over their ears but the looks on their faces said, "What in the world is going on here?" It became a huge distraction.
lder gentleman responded to the pressure and joined the choir. He said up front that he was not a singer and had never done any singing but our young director said, no problem, because we were only looking for people who were willing to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. This gentleman was a fairly large man and he had a voice that was low, very low, and it carried far, very far. It was like hearing Elmer Fudd on steroids. If you look up the Hebrew word translated noise in the Psalms, the first definition has to do with a shout of alarm or a w
ar cry. This dear brother had that definition nailed. He was completely tone deaf and completely oblivious to being completely tone deaf. His voice carried like a fog horn and it completely dominated the musical presentation from our choir. I never saw folks actually put their hands over their ears but the looks on their faces said, "What in the world is going on here?" It became a huge distraction.Hey, I'm not a great singer and I've missed my fair number of notes over the years. I've also stood next to people who were tone deaf but they did their tone deaf deal ve
ry quietly and they sang because they desired to participate and make a contribution. Had their voices been what was mostly heard, the message would have been less easy to hear and appreciate. After a few weeks the young music director had no choice but to have a talk with the dear brother who was willing but not gifted to sing a lick. I thought about how often we pressure our children, our co-workers, and others to get involved in and do things they are not able to do because they have not been trained or they are not gifted or inclined to do it. (Hey, I've been there, done that before!) Fortunately for the choir director this brother was able to laugh it off and leave the choir with no hard feelings.
ry quietly and they sang because they desired to participate and make a contribution. Had their voices been what was mostly heard, the message would have been less easy to hear and appreciate. After a few weeks the young music director had no choice but to have a talk with the dear brother who was willing but not gifted to sing a lick. I thought about how often we pressure our children, our co-workers, and others to get involved in and do things they are not able to do because they have not been trained or they are not gifted or inclined to do it. (Hey, I've been there, done that before!) Fortunately for the choir director this brother was able to laugh it off and leave the choir with no hard feelings.Our music guy had great ambitions to fill up the choir but he learned a valuable lesson. Everyone, the entire congregation, can sing along and participate in the worship of God but not every person can be a worship leader who sings so that others can hear, respond, and follow their lead. This tells me we sho
uld be careful not only about what we ask for but how we define the requirements we are hoping to achieve. Good advice on one of those dreaded Monday mornings. Hey, it's only the second day of the week, why do we call it dreaded? ......More later.
uld be careful not only about what we ask for but how we define the requirements we are hoping to achieve. Good advice on one of those dreaded Monday mornings. Hey, it's only the second day of the week, why do we call it dreaded? ......More later.
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