The Role Of The Choir In Worship

The choir does not participate in worship for its own sake, but rather for the sake of the whole of the worshiping people. It leads the worshiping people in their song and contributes additional music as the liturgy or pattern of worship requires. Ideally then, a choir should be a group of facilitators, not performers, a role defined in this article.

The choir has more to do with a pastor's ministry than is often acknowledged. Historically speaking, the choir has always been the minister's right hand. Yet few pastors currently reap the fruit of such a partnership. Billy Graham on occasion has termed the music department the war department of the church. It is a designation not without justification. Almost everyone in the pastoral ministry has at one time or another been at odds with music or musicians. It is said that the pastor's job is to preach, the choir's to sing special music—each in its own place in a mutually beneficent but separate endeavor. We smile at such a naive perception of the role of the pastor. But in the case of the choir we grant the fact that special music is what it is all about. Quite frankly, the ministry of the choir goes far beyond the singing of special numbers. It reaches down into the very heart of church life. It finds its center in being one with the pastoral leadership of the worship of the church. To put it succinctly, the choir's job is to support the pastor's parish ministry. Biblical Background Historical precedents of such partnerships are well documented (as are occasional cases of adversarial relationships). Some of the most compelling of these are found in the Bible itself. The Old Testament documents an organized, well-conceived plan for providing worship leadership. The musicians were part of that plan, being given the specific task of ministering to the Lord in music. They were of the priestly tribe of Levi. Each son of Levi (Gershom, Kohath, and Merari) was represented throughout succeeding generations by those specifically appointed to be musicians and music leaders. By the time of the building of the second temple (c. 515 b.c.), there had emerged a threefold sacerdotal order—high priest, priest, and Levite. It is striking to note that the Levite musicians, no less than the priests, were set aside and consecrated as part of the tribe of Levi to do the work of the Lord in the temple and were supported materially in their ministry by the other eleven tribes. They were "called-out" ones who shared a common spiritual responsibility. Indeed, the musicians were minor clerics. It is this clerical role which must be reemphasized in our time, not by titles, papers, or ordination, but by the power of regeneration through the blood of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (1 Peter). Having received new life, we are all, simply put, ministers. The choir stands in the gap between people and pastor. It has a ministerial function in the leadership of worship but is congregational in its makeup. It follows in the great Levitical tradition, having a role to play which cannot be duplicated by any other ministry—it is unique. Responsibilities of the Choir The choir's potential will not be realized unless both pastor and musicians are aware of the purpose of such a body. To use the choir well first means to understand its function. The following list is not exhaustive, but it will give a new direction from which can develop those particularized rubrics to fit the individual needs of each pastor, congregation, and choir. Specifics here are less important than the trend which is established. Pastoral responsibilities of the choir are:

1. To maintain a Christ-like attitude in all things. This is the choir's first priority. It is the thing which more than anything else determines success in ministry. One must have a right attitude toward God, congregation, pastor, music, and musicians.

2. To be responsible for lifting up the pastor in prayer, word, and deed. 3. To enter into worship wholeheartedly and with enthusiasm. A dead choir will elicit a dead reaction from the congregation. 4. To listen and respond to the worship leader of the moment, to be attentive to everyone and everything. During prayer the choir members should earnestly pray; during worship they should visibly worship. 5. To lead in the congregational singing of hymns, choruses, and spiritual songs. Such leadership should be with faces, eyes, and hands as well as voices. Any other service music, such as calls to worship, benedictions, responses, etc., will be well prepared and rendered. 6. To be helpful in giving prayers, testimonies, tongues, interpretation of tongues, words of edification, and scriptural admonitions, especially when a general invitation has been given without any ready congregational response. The choir should act in the role of icebreaker and leader. 7. To listen attentively and visibly respond to the ministry of others: soloists, musical groups, evangelists, and pastor. 8. To open up personally to the preached word modeling the sought-after congregational response. Nothing will aid a pastor's sermon communication with the congregation more than the example of a choir hanging on his every word, obviously being edified and lifted up. The congregation will tend to imitate the listeners they see in front of them. A choir of disinterested, unenthusiastic, unresponsive, sleepy individuals, who feel that because they have finished singing their "special music" they have no further responsibility, is grossly missing the point of its ministry. In such a case it would be better to do away with the choir. 9. To be available to do altar work, giving prayer support and general encouragement to those who respond to the invitation after the sermon. It is distracting to have the choir in a hurry to leave. It must use its influence to help open the congregation to the gentle and unhurried moving of God's Spirit. 10. To sing any additional music deemed appropriate for the service.

The choir is a facilitator of worship. It seeks to show the congregation (under pastoral guidance) the way to extend beyond the temporal and reach, if only briefly, a taste of the worship of heaven. It exhibits a worship in spirit and in truth which encourages the congregation to do the same.

One can readily see then that the main function of the choir is to be the "show and tell" of worship. It takes the initiative, it inspires, it helps, and it leads. Individuals in the choir must be carefully and systematically taught their role. Such teaching is most effective when paced with the developing experience of the choir as a whole. One must avoid the pitfall of believing that giving information will automatically make the right things happen. The priorities and attitudes we wish to foster must be made to be routine and are best learned as the music director shepherds the choir, carefully and consistently, into maturing patterns of behavior. Pastoral Responsibility The pastor needs to nurture his relationship with the choir. They are co-workers, yet with his calling as chief pastor, it falls to him to gently establish the expectations he has for the choir's ministry. He can do this, of course, through the music director. But what cannot be delegated is his personal rapport with the choir, most notably in the area of a shared ministry. The choir, as congregational/ministerial helper, needs to shoulder with the pastor responsibility for the spiritual growth of the congregation. Having a common spiritual goal which goes beyond mere music-making will cause the choir to blossom and flourish. To the end of a mutual sharing of and identification with such a common spiritual goal, it is important that regular times of intercessory prayer, with the pastor, especially prior to the service, be part of the Sunday routine. It is also beneficial to engage in conversational dialogue concerning items of mutual interest and concern. Living life in a caring relationship will heighten the corporate sense of togetherness that nourishes true community. Nothing will so inspire the choir to do its best as the "esprit de corps" generated by a pastor who demonstrably loves his choristers, listens to them, and expects them to shake the rafters of heaven in their mutual quest for the spiritual advancement of the congregation. Conclusion The choir is responsible for more than making music. It has potential for being a dynamo of spiritual energy in the worship life of the church. Under pastoral guidance it can be a visible microcosm of God's dealings with the whole church, a channel of his grace and glory, and a corporate respondent in the call to holy living and fuller commitment. Let there be no misunderstanding. Hosts of musical things must be addressed by a prophetic music ministry. But they all stem from a churchly orientation, quite apart from that of the stage and concert hall. A shift in priority from musical performance to corporate worship leader will give a perspective to church music-making that frees it from an uncompromising aestheticism and from a nihilistic pragmatism. That is not to say musical ministry ought to silence criticism, but rather that church music creativity ought to arise out of the ashes of musical pride and conceit. A disciplined washer of feet makes the best church musician. And when coupled with a like attitude on the part of the pastor, the combination is hard to beat. Pastor and choir together are co-workers, a model of how the body of Christ operates. When the choir is used to its fullest potential in support of the pastoral ministry, only the Kingdom gains.