Blessings

I am so blessed to be a part of a church heritage that still practices A capella music (music without instruments). As a child, I attended a church that believed that A capella was the way that God intended for us to worship him but as I've grown into my own faith and discovered each delicious word of the Bible, I've realized that all music, regardless of whether or not it is vocal or instrumental, can be God-honoring. Growing up, I was always envious of my friends who had Amy Grant and Micheal W. Smith tapes and couldn't reconcile how it was better for me to listen to secular music or no music at all than instrumental Christian music. As a young teenager, and now an adult, I developed a deep appreciation for Christian music and now treasure the myriad of Christian music so easily available today. Although I still attend a church that practices A capella worship, I deeply treasure all forms of Christian music.

Several years ago, while attending the leadership portion of a worship conference for A capella churches, I had the opportunity to hear a very well-known woman speak on the value of postmodern worship. Apparently unaware of the heritage of our collective congregations, she went on and on about different methods of instrumental music and gave pointers on ways to engage the musicians. About halfway through her speech, one of the worship ministers in the audience mercifully stopped her and explained that she was speaking to a group of worship leaders who work in A capella churches. She froze, looking shocked and confused but recovered quickly and finished her session. At the end of her session she opened the floor for questions and then finally stopped and asked the question that I am sure she had been dying to ask all along, "Tell me, why do you choose to sing A capella when music is so beautifully enhanced by instrumentation?" Our host, a well-known worship leader in our fellowship, stood and said, "I could take the time to explain the heritage and the principles of our fellowship but neither would do justice to the experience. If you will permit me, I'd like to lead this group of worship leaders in a song that will help you understand." He turned to the group and said, "Let's share with her the blessing of 'The Lord Bless You and Keep You'."

The room was filled with worship leaders, praise team members, and professional singers and as we stood and broke into the age-old hymn, I was overcome with emotion and the tears began to stream down my face. I moved to the side to try and see the woman at the front of the room and I noticed that the moment had not escaped her either. She stood perfectly still as tears flowed freely down her face until we reached the seven-fold amen and she was so overcome with emotion she collapsed into a chair, face in her hands. We sang with every fiber of our being, proud of our heritage and proud to share in the blessing of God's gifts and as we finished the speaker just sat in silence before standing and whispering, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

I am not trying to make an argument for instrumental music verses A capella music but an argument for the beauty of a gift used for God's glory. How are you using your gifts?

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:4-8

Your thoughts?