My name is Jon Acuff and I'm a secret singer. I'm not proud of that. It's not something I've ever told anyone, but it's true. I like to sing at church, but only if the people singing around me provide enough sound for me to hide behind.
If they're loud enough, if their collective voice creates a musical cover I can pull tightly over my head like a little kid hiding from a monster in bed, I'll sing. I'll sing loudly but always a few decibels lower than the people around me. When church is less crowded, like last Sunday because of the Atlanta gas crisis, I was able to hear how horrible my voice is. I told my wife later, "I sounded gross this morning. We need to sit deeper in the middle so we have a thicker amount of sound." She agreed, because we're both secret singers.
I know that's not the purpose of worship. It's supposed to be about God, not me. I completely get that, but I can't help it. When I show up at church and find myself surrounded by quiet people, I feel like leaning over and telling them, "Could you please sing loudly today? I'd like to worship slightly quieter than you."
Is that selfish? Probably, but I'm working on it. A few weeks ago I sang with my eyes closed, which for a secret singer is the equivalent of an arachnophobic wearing a coat made of excited tarantulas. And it actually felt pretty good. Everyone disappeared for a minute and I remembered that worship is about me and God, not me and what folks around me think of my singing. But then I forgot the words and started mumbling something like "Open the eyes of my Jesus grace hands" and I snapped right back into secret singer mode.
Baby steps, fellow secret singers, baby steps.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
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82 comments:
"an arachnophobic wearing a coat made of excited tarantulas" is such an awesome way to describe it. Very clever.
I'm Laura and i'm a secret singer too. Except i always call it playbacking. I'll sing along for the most part, softer, of course, until they get to the harder bits, and then all that comes out of my mouth is movement. I fear the moment when someone takes one of those pictures of a row of people deep in worship and i'll be on there, playbacking a p while all the rest are at o, eyes closed.
Wonder if you've seen this: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/3091505/Bloggers-given-new-Ten-Commandments-by-church-leaders.html
Closing my eyes is the only way I can get over my secret singer tendencies. But then sometimes, I'll be in eyes-closed, lungs-wide-open mode and I'll sense my teenagers giggling beside me (I'm out of tune, sang the wrong word whatever...)
It is good to know that I am not the only secret singer out there!
I'm kind of a secret singer in that I tend to sing harmony, but only if I think other people can't hear me. When it comes to the quieter songs, I'm doing the melody with everyone else (except those who are confident in their harmoninity. It's a word, I swear.)
i usually sing w/ my eyes closed....unless it's a new song and I have to read the words off the screen....
I run sound and can't hear the mix if I sing during worship. Which is great for me, because I'm worse than a secret singer - I'm a confessed lip-syncher. At best, I might whisper a bit, but that's it. My most worshipful experiences have come from behind the sound board, without singing.
I had no idea this was a real diagnosis. What relief!
My husband is a "real" singer. I think I sound good when he's standing beside me. Until he stops mid-lyric and I, in all my glory, am instantly awarded the "Oops!" Smile of Sympathy.
See...www.damianmarchand.com
What a relief to know I'm not the only one that suffers from this condition!
Arghh! "an arachnophobic wearing a coat made of excited tarantulas" how am I going to get that image out of my head?! (shudder)
I'm a move-the-mouth, whisper-from-the-throat singer which is so sad because I always know all the words and had I been gifted with a voice to deliver them, I might actually be able to contribute. But I can't carry a tune in a bushel basket. When I was little and used to skip around singing, my dad would say "can you sing "Far Far Away" Sweetie? Yes, it's that bad.
Singing is a big part of your surrender concept from your last post. Think about it. Male church singers are usually men meeting God. Usually. Because the closed mouth bunch are not quite ready for the public display of worship. I have found that the "seek ye first first the kingdom of God" verse is literally the "how to find purpose for idiots" verse. Right? Action for Him comes after so much stillness with Him. Only after I stop trying to be famous, and really want His glory, that He way too generously throws some of that love light on me. Then I get cocky and have to go back to the idiot's verse again.
I'm not a secret singer, but I agree that I usually wish the people around me would sing louder. That way I could singer louder without sounding like I have a hearing problem.
opgIf you are worried about how you sound, stand next to someone who sings worse than you, and then sing really loudly. Not only will the people around you be grateful, but they might start singing louder to cover the, uh, singing around them. ;)
I tend to become a secret singer when there are echos. You know, when the male worship leader sings and then the female singers on stage echo. And I'm stuck there wondering do I echo him because he's the leader? Or are the men supposed to sing together and all the women sing together?
Jon, bless you brother for putting a name to my condition. I too am a sectret singer. I too have tried the eyes closed technique and I too have sang wrong words with my eyes closed.
Maybe we should start a church of our own? Worship will be awesome except that nobody, except us, would be able to hear us singing. Man, what a thought...
I must confess that I am on the opposite side of the spectrum. I came from a family of Loud Singers. We would burst into four-part harmony from the pews....IF most of us weren't on stage already, belting it out. We were the family who had sing alongs at family reunions. We were the ones who showed up at your door singing Christmas carols. We were the family who went on vacation and visited an unknown church and when the worship started the whole congregation would turn slowly in unison to stare in awesome fear at our wall of sound.....
When I was a kid, this caused me some HUGE embarrassing moments. But now that I'm an adult, I've come to appreciate my family's unashamed approach to worship, and I'm right in there being loud and loving God. So if you come to our church, Secret Singer, have no fear. You can worship as loud as you want next to me!
I am currently looking for a new home church, and I have to tell you - the ones I have visited so far are FULL of secret singers.
I am a loud singer. Really loud. Singing is my thing. And I get stared at during worship.
And then when the "meet and greet" portion of the service starts, I get compliments on my worship. Which is weird.
If I ever visit your church, I'll sit near you and drown you out as long as you don't make me feel conspicuous for worshiping. Deal?
Okay - so I love to sing - not the best,not the worst. I am always glad when a very good singer sits behind me so I can hear them and stay somewhat near to the key I am supposed to be on. My more urgent problem is a lack of rhythm - Lord help me if the spirit moves and I try to clap my hands and sing at the same time - just never works. One will always suffer greatly..
I've actually started doing that lately--closing my eyes while singing at church. When I don't, I get caught up in whether or not I'm singing well (usually I'm not!) and ridiculous stuff like that. Closing my eyes shuts out the people & makes it about me & God again.
I was deeply wounded in college when my roomate got up and moved away from me in chapel. Why? It was hard to "worship" when she had to hear me sing. Wow! That really hurt. I can sing well if I don't think anyone is listening, I just break down when I have an audience. I sit in an open area near the front where the worship team sites after the set (my hubby is musical and has deserted me for praising the Lord via electric guitar. I'm basically alone so I can sing without fear of emptying the place.
Beth wrote: "We were the family who went on vacation and visited an unknown church and when the worship started the whole congregation would turn slowly in unison to stare in awesome fear at our wall of sound...."
I rarely laugh out loud but this did make me SDAC (smile deeply and chuckle). I was in that family too. In the sixth grade my extended family took a four week (five Sunday) camping vacation in the Northeast. All 13 of us would sing songs each night and on Sundays would file into the back of some strange church and sing away. We covered all four parts, I felt like I was part of a traveling choir.
Now I sing deep in the back corner of our sanctuary so I don't get weird looks about why I am so loud. I confess though, it isn't always all about God, sometimes I just love to sing.
As a secret singer myself, I do not want to hinder anyone's worship because of my off key voice. So I can worship much better with no one around me or with the assurance that no one can hear me.
I am the nemesis and also the greatest comfort of the "secret singer"- the human foghorn. I am the girl that co-leads worship most Sundays, but gets to sit in the congregation on the off-Sundays. I sing VERY loud. So I am either the plague on those weeks or completely surrounded by lip-synching people who stare up at me wondering if they are breathing off-pitch and I will squash them. I have had very close friends that I have never heard them sing- they won't even sing bedtime songs to their kids if I am there. I want you secret singers to know a couple of things:
1. If you're standing next to the next Christian Aretha Franklin or Sandi Patti (for you old schoolers)you shouldn't feel nervous. The louder we sing, the less we can hear you.
2. I have had many years of experience singing and have had extensive professional training. This does not mean I am going to go Simon Cowell on you and draw attention to your lack of ability.
3. Your sacrifice to the Lord in singing during worship can be much greater than ours. It is a sweet taste on God's lips and a sweet sound in His ears.
Years ago (I was about 20), I was in a church where the music was very bad, and there was a lady singing on the platform that was a truly terrible singer. God convicted me for my evil thoughts toward her and talked to me about how her singing was more of a sacrifice than mine. He told me that when I sing, people complement me and make sometimes falsely complementary assumptions about my spirituality. If I want a boost in my self-esteem or my ego, all I have to do is get up and share my gift with a group of people. He told me if I really wanted to give Him sacrificial praise to dance... So I stopped judging. I am a much worse dancer than you are a singer- any of you, and I have never heard you sing.
God is always listening to your heart. A person with good talent and the "incredibly explosive ego bomb" constantly going off inside them is alot harder to use than the person with nominal talent or less who knows it's not about them.
I always heard that however you heard, it sounds sweet in God's ear. I guess we need to be thankful God hears differently than we do sometimes.
I am living in Kenya and no one fears about singing poorly. It bothers me and at the same time is encouraging. Of course, maybe their sense of beautiful music is different than mine?
Chuck - I am the same way when it comes to the echo dilemma. For most of my Christian life I was in churches and other worship settings where the leader was male, and it was natural to think, "Well, I sing with him because he's male and I am male." And what that did for me was give me this notion that "men lead, women echo". I just thought that was the way those songs were sung.
But then a couple of years ago I moved away and now, for the first time, I'm at a church where the worship leader is female - a former Miss America, no less. So I am in that same dilemma - do I sing the lead with her because that's the "male" part (but she happens to be female), or do I sing what I've always thought was the "female" part in echo?
It has turned my world upside down, and made me into quite the secret singer during the echo songs, because I don't want to get any looks from people who think I'm singing the wrong part, because that's Miss America's part and who am I to steal from Miss America?! Well, that, and I don't actually know how the echo parts go because I never had to learn them.
I am a barely passable singer and the volume I sing is very dependent on the degree to which I'm comfortable with the song, if it's a song I know well which is comfortable for my limited vocal range i'll sing confidently, otherwise...
My father in law is not a secret singer. He IS however, one of the worst singers I've ever heard. He has zero sense of pitch, tone or rhythm and has one volume; very loud. he knows the words to most of the songs but sings them to his own tune with his own rhythm and at his only volume; very loud.
I learned a valuable lesson from him. God is not interested in the sound of our voice, he's interested in the content of our heart. My father in Law loves God and loves to sing his praises. I think that God (and only God) finds his singing beautiful.
I would say this, however. We must be careful not to get caught up in the idea that singing = worship. it can a way to express our worship but Worship is far deeper, far bigger and far more than simply singing some songs. It's about sacrifice, laying ourselves and our hearts before the King. Recognizing HIS lordship in our lives. expressing our love, devotion and dependence. It goes far beyond singing a few songs.
There's no shame in being a secret singer. Just don't extend a note too long. Some people should be but aren't. Like this guy here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lHHQu4CIos
Ouch!!!
I have a solution to this. I stand near the worship band, who play so loudly you'd have to sing VERY loud to be heard. Except when they do that repeating thing, like singing 'Jesus' seven times, and you miscount, and sing 'Jesus' an eigth time, and nobody else does. Thats embarrasing.
I'm a secret singer too. When we visit my in-laws, my husband tries to get me to sit by my mother-in-law in church. We wish that she was a secret singer.
In high school, my best friends were in an acapella youth choir, so I, of course, wanted to join. It was one that you had to try out for, but I somehow got around that. I became a secret singer master there, but I was always in fear that someone would discover my secret. I don't recommend taking your secret singing that far.
Lol, You and your wife should come to our church. Over half of the people can't sing themselves, no one would notice except the music director, and she's forgiving. That's if she can hear you over the screeching and fuzzing of the badly managed sound equipment, can I just say that music isn't our church's strong point?
Good post though, so keep up the good work :)
I am a secret-singer worship pastor with a headset mic. Try that one on for size. Sometimes I even turn my head to clear my throat, trying to avoid the mic, which goes wherever my mouth goes. Typing this I am realizing that I am a strange man.
I'm not the best singer and I'll admit, I'm a secret singer. But I have to say that some people NEED to be secret singers. I know, I know, I should be focusing on the Lord and giving him worship and all, but when someone behind you is belting it out and it makes you want to turn around and just look at them like....."really?" It's just plain old distracting. How about we all just do sign language?
I guess I'm what you'd call a real singer instead of a secret singer. The problem then can be being self-conscious for a different reason -- wondering if those around you think you sound good. Good grief :) When that happens, I try to confess it quickly and enter in to real worship. I'm so glad the Lord loves us in spite of our weaknesses!
i thought *secret singing* was going to be about only singing in the car (windows closed), shower, or while vacuuming.
i have to say my voice is so non-solo-ready, that in church i love the loud music of p&w bands, rather than sweet old gert on the piano, playing hymns.
cover is important for me to lose myself in corporate worship; otherwise it's just a singalong during the service.
i can get down with jesus when he's the only one hearing me worship. that "in your closet to pray" thing. then the focus isn't on me, or the amazing alto sitting behind me. but i know corporate worship feeds us in a different way.
Yes, I'm so with you on this!
I've been a closet singer for years, which is one reason I loved our Mega Church Sunday Night "Alternitive" Service. It was like being at a concert, complete with fog machine, light show, and ear plugs for the wee little children. I never sang as lound in my life as I did at those services. Now we go to a teeny tiny little church with a congragation of 20, of which only one can actually carry a tune.
Right on tea_man. Maybe your father-in-law and I can do a duet. I'm one of those loud singers that people wish was a secret singer. I close my eyes (except when I have to peek at the words) so I don't worry about what the people around me think.
I keep thinking my pew neighbors will start singing more loudly to drown me out, but it doesn't seem to work that way.
John, I'm a loud singer who would gladly be your sound buffer... The problem is that I often get lost in the fun of singing, and forget to look at or think about the words... same mistake as you, but perhaps more visible.
I'm also a secret singer. One experience that solidified this permanently into my psyche was when I was around 8. Singing very boldly from the backseat of my parents 1976 Monte Carlo the classic "Electric Avenue" my mother said, "Could you please face your window while singing? You are destroying the song!" Uhhh, thanks Mom.
Now, in church, and among others, I merely whisper the lyrics.
Ha! Ethan, are you sure we aren't distantly related? Our family vacations-plus-visit-a-church-out-of-the-phonebook adventures were often camping trips...
Whenever I feel self-conscious while singing in worship, I think of my great-grandfather. He was tone deaf. I mean, that and kind of actually deaf. But he would sit every Sunday at his pump organ and sing hymns at the top of his voice. Nobody ever stopped him and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Banker, but your horrible voice encourages me to hate Jesus and worship the devil." When he sang, the Spirit fell and people worshiped with him. He taught me that good worship and good singing are not necessarily the same thing.
Thanks for giving me the heebie jeebies with your mentioning of a coat made of excited tarantulas. What a lovely mental image I now cannot get out of my head.
Im definately no the secret singer. So ill probably be the guy you want to sit next to at mass =D haha
YESS! I am a secret singer too! Recently I was singing near a super-singer, though, and it killed me. She sang beautifully but with harmonies about 17 times beyond my ability to even hear what we were supposed to be singing. Combine that with songs I was not familiar with and the fact that she was singing into my ear, it was not ideal.
However, potentially better than singing next to Mr. Clap and Sway, because that can be physically dangerous. Have you posted about this before? I can't remember.
Secret singers UNITE!! I'm right there with ya. Sometimes I'll sit in the row that's slightly further behind the other row so the people in front of me who will inevitably turn around to greet me during the hand shake part don't hear me either.
Heidi Reed
hurray for secret singers! i am a a confessing out of the closet secret singer too. and i like it!
I haven't laughed that hard in a long time - "Open the eyes of my Jesus grace hands"! This is so me! I LOVE to sing, but my voice just won't cooperate like Natalie Grant. I so related to the several things on the post yesterday like closing your eyes to sing until you forget the words and have to open one very slightly to look at the words or not really being very musical so you start singing the second verse while the band is playing some funky interlude! Your Awesome Jon, thanks [ ]
GO secret singers!!! woot! woot! we are awesome aren't we???
i dont think u should be proud of being a secret singer you guys haha.
We had a wonderful Christian friend, now gone on to Glory, whom I'll call "Ray" because that was his name.
Ray, during congregational singing, made a joyful noise unto the Lord. Loudly. Atonically. Or perhaps monotonically. One could not doubt the sincerety of his worship, but woe to the people sitting near him if they wished to be "on tune" because one would inevitably be led astray, so to speak. He, by himself would provide cover for any secret singer.
ha! yes, i like to "blend in" with the congregation singing too (thats how I word it to make myself feel better. dont judge me.)
i guess in a weird way im paranoid about standing out in singing and have other people thinking "wow she thinks she has a great voice when she really doesnt. poor thing. she just wants attention." selfish too I suppose...
my favorite worship time recently was Passion 08 in ATL when the music was SO LOUD that we were sing-shouting and couldn't hear each other or ourselves...left the ATL hoarse, but it was great.
Not only is it difficult for secret singers to remember it's about worship. It's very difficult for people who can actually sing. I often have this problem. But I'm getting better. Baby steps indeed.
But I imagine that if you aren't a great singer and you know you're a great singer that you would get distracted by the sound of your own voice while worshipping, no?
BTW, Jon, there's hope. I believe that singing like most things is something you can get better at with practice. KEEP SINGING! (said in my Ursula from "The Little Mermaid" voice)
WOW! And we each think we are alone until we stumble across a blogger that gets honest. :) I was once told by someone who was very tone deaf that Augustine said: He who sings, prays twice.
that's pretty funny - secret singing. the opposite of secret singing is singing a harmony part as loud as you can so that everyone can hear how "well you harmonize" ...sheesh!
Being this is Music appreciation month, I would love for your consider writing some great transition prayers that worship leaders use to take us to go from one song to the next... Because you just cant start singing a new song without smooth transition prayer especially if its in a different key.
Ditto on the singing, I wear a earpiece microphone thingy before I speak, and I am always paranoid that the sound tech is going to turn me up right during the 42nd time through "I could sing of your love forever."
I'm happy to admit that I'm a secret singer too. Probably everyone around me is happy also. I could scare people. Seriously.
I am not a secret singer. But I sang in a worship team with a guy who's heart was all there and who's voice was all NOT there. He was SO BAD they didn't even power his mike. But no one told him. He was BAD. "Bagpipe in swoony heat" bad.
Bless his heart. He was , and is, utterly clueless.
He even sent anonymous notes to the music director about how everyone should be able to sing solos. She always knew from whence came the notes. Always. And henceforth he never had a solo!! I could not be next to him and sing. I just had to move, the poor guy was so bad. Did I mention how bad he was?
Bless his heart...I said that didn't I?
At least God Himself heard beyond what we heard. We weren't perfect enough to get past his voice. Some secrets are meant to be kept.
my voice is my weapon. I hold my youth hostage forcing them to sing under threat of the same.
And what about every secret singer's nemesis - the 'must plug one ear to sing harmony' singer? The worst part? It's usually the ear nearest the not-so-secret singer. I think 'plugging your ear so you can find the harmony part' is the side-hug of Christian worship services. Because it would be very un-Christlike to admit you were trying to block out someone who was 'shrieking for Jesus!'
I am a "real Singer" who is married to a secret singer! He hates it, especially when I sing next to him! Thanks for defining the feeling so well..he totally understood it!
dude - you have no idea!
My husband, bless his heart, loves to worship...but, um, to be honest, his giftings are definately elsewhere. Poor thing can't even clap on time... (I love to worship too but just not in public - cuz I can't sing either). To make matters worse, we're AG...ya know, Charasmatic. lol
There's a reason God wrote about "...making a joyful noise."
I encourage my husband by letting him know that our children & Jesus LOVE to hear him sing.
a' rich life,
"can't even clap on time" is half my church. I about died during a song a couple weeks ago because I kept trying to clap on time with the drummer .. just watch the drum sticks its easy. Anyways, I had just about given up since at least half the congregation was on some other beat all together. I mean literally they were in sync with the wrong beat.
This part wasn't so bad until I looked over and saw the drummer wife trying to keep the right beat also by watching her hubby. The look on her face ... priceless. I almost had to excuse myself so I didn't fall out laughing. Of course I'm Pentecostal so it might have been ok.
I admit it...I am one sometimes too. I am even in the choir and do the secret singing at times. A problem I have is that I am alto and often the songs are way out of my range...and I am not good enough to pick out the harmony by myself sometimes. One day I will sing boldly...one day...
Jon,
If that sweet little baby lamb who weighed eight pounds and six ounces had the courage to give it all he had on that stage during the Easter cantata, and proceeded to pass out in doing so, surely you could give it all you have and sing to the rafters. Sing until your lungs burst and until you pass out.
Do it for the lamb, man. Do it for the lamb.
Just don't pass out permanently.
Psalm 100:1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Mine certainly is a noise... :)
haha i'm quite the opposite. but if we ever worship together one day, i'll be sure to provide you lots of cover for your secret singing, jon!
My mother is a secret singer. My father is an opera singer. I am caught in the middle.
I think I would like to be a secret singer, but since I'm considered to be a lead worshipper, I'm expected to be a bit loud.
Oh, and re: six-part-harmony wall-of-sound deals that others have mentioned: I have vivid memories of family get-togethers on my dad's side, where the family not only for a morning doubled the congregation my grandparents' tiny thirty-member church, but also drowned out the organ in their worshipful exuberance (not "our" exuberance, because as a shy pre-teen, I just wanted to crawl under the pew and stay there). Those poor little old ladies in front of the family didn't stand a chance. But at least they didn't need their hearing aids.
Makes sense. That's why lots of churches raise the sound level of their worship band -- so that secret singers can feel more free to sing out.
I'm right there with you. What I dread though are the moments when the worship leader decides to do things accapella for a bit. Talk about a nightmare.
"I almost had to excuse myself so I didn't fall out laughing. Of course I'm Pentecostal so it might have been ok."
CLASSIC!!!
"If that sweet little baby lamb who weighed eight pounds and six ounces had the courage to give it all he had on that stage during the Easter cantata ..."
I think cantata is one of my favorite church words. I had a friend in high school who thought it was a hilarious word too and pronounced it cun-tah-tah, with all syllables equally emphasized! LOL.
"What I dread though are the moments when the worship leader decides to do things accapella for a bit."
My bad. I'm that worship leader. I love cutting the music out.
I do that. Ha Ha. And if it is and especially bad song that I can't sing to at all, I just movie my mouth to the words or hum it.LOL
so, i usually see those people that are closing there eyes while singing and think... "oh, you think you're holier than us? godlier" and then i'm like, "wow, that was judgmental of me." then i have wasted half the song worrying about other people, and my own experience... and i've forgotten to experience the wild abandon that worship, and especially in the form of music allows... so, i totally rock the worship songs... out loud... hand up (only one)... WHEN I'M IN MY CAR.... ahhhhhh.
John, Though I am not a secret singer, I am a baptist. There is a distinct possibility that We have problems showing emotion (especially in the singing department) He had Church today outside, and while singing I had the opportunity to sing with my eyes closed because I was wearing sunglasses. I recommend wearing sunglasses in church. If only I went to a Church that supported that.
My name is Lisa and I am a secret singer. There is one particular woman I look for every week so I can sit behind her. She sings so well and she sings loud. She also sings the harmony instead of the melody which is very good for me. :)
Not a secret singer. In fact, I'm one of those people who will stand up and sing loudly and passionately, even when no one else is standing up, because I thought everyone else was gonna stand up, then no one did, and then I'll play it off like I'm so into God that I don't care that I'm the only one standing up, I'm just that spiritual. And if I try really hard, I can forget I'm the only one standing up and just worship. I think God likes that.
So, yeah.
I have always been gifted with musical talent. I play lots of instruments, and I sing. I am a worship leader, too, in an acoustic, PA-free environment. And I'll tell ya, there is nothing better than when the group of worshippers I'm blessed to lead is actually singing, free of judgement, free of self-consciousness, just worhipping their Lord. He is THERE. It is a powerful experience.
I would never, EVER, want someone to not sing because they think they're not good enough. Seriously. It makes me so sad when people don't sing because they are self-conscious about their voice, or even when people DO sing, for the wrong reasons (to sound great, to be told they have a great voice, etc)
It completely misses the point of worship.
See, when someone gets up in front of a church to lead worship, they MUST NOT see it as any kind of performance. It isn't about self-expression. It isn't about hitting all the right notes (though we do practice in order to give God our best).
Worship leading is about taking the musical gifts God has given you and using them to bring the collective group of His people to "that place," you know, where they can commune with the Lord and truly worship Him. That is what it is about.
That is all that should be going through anyone's head during worship, whether they are tone-deaf or a fantastic singer. Not what they sound like, not what others think of them (good or bad!), JUST the worship of our Lord.
Mmm-k... haha, I'm done now. :)
I sing harmony a lot (without plugging one ear, mind you), mainly because sometimes they sing too high for me to reach the notes. :)
God bless Jason! Seriously.... when I first heard Jason sing next to me in church...I thought, "wow, he rocks!" because there's a ton of peeps in this church who CAN carry a tune and refuse to sing as loud as Jason does. Sometimes, I sing softly, just so I can hear his praise! Jason rocks because I know he doesn't care what others think when he's singing - May others find inspiration when they here his heart's praise!
I know I'm late to this one, but I just found you.
You have very well articulated what I call my "75% Rule."
Simply stated, whatever the singing level, whether it be loud or quit, I will being singing at 75% of it.
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