Did you ever think that a church is like a choir? A good choir should blend perfectly in every way, moving toward one objective, without a single voice standing out (for the most part). Occasionally there will be a solo, but it contributes to the purpose of the group. Or, you have the “unscheduled” solo that can disrupt and overpower the rest of the group. You know the one: he’s the tenor that screeches away on his own line because he’s the greatest, or the soprano who decides to go to a descant that doesn’t fit at all, as if one can ascend to heaven by pitch.

A choir usually has a conductor to lead the group in the same direction, keeping them together as a whole. But the conductor is irrelevant if nobody watches him, so each one goes in their own direction (Everyone to his own way), resulting in musical mush.

A choir member also has to practice, both as a group and on their own. You can’t expect to show up for one practice a week with the group and expect to be perfect. It requires participation, commitment, and dedicated daily practice.

To sing meaningfully, you have to know what you’re singing. It also helps if you take it internally. To me, the best sounding choirs are the ones who mean and feel what you sing. Can you really sing Bach’s St Matthew Passion without understanding the pain and suffering but ultimate joy in Christ’s death and resurrection? Can you truly sing Handel’s Messiah without knowing the joy around Christ’s birth? They’re both more than just text set to music and performed. They’re more than words learned by rote.

Like a choir, a church and its members have to be participatory, dedicated, and above all know what it’s purpose is and how to go about it. It’s more than one practice a week, it’s a daily living. Without these, a church is mush, going nowhere.

So, knowing this, what are you going to do today?