I was all set yesterday to post the long overdue 2nd part of my “Death and the Worship Leader” 3-part blog…

when a fascinating thing happened at the presidential inauguration.

There’s a huge lesson to be learned here for church music leaders.

What began as a singer, doing a performance for a group, to a backing track became an opportunity for a gathered group to join their voices as one and sing an anthem, with the ability to hear one another. Just voices, interwoven in unity.

I’m sure the musicians who recorded the track and the arranger felt disappointed that their hours of work went unheard.

But what was intended to be the beauty of a solo performance turned into a much more powerful, more poignant moment, as the people in the rotunda carried the anthem – not just a soloist and choir.

Vox populi – Latin phrase meaning “voice of the people” – used to
describe the opinion of the majority of people.

Usage:
• In general conversation, it can be used to describe a popular
sentiment or idea. 
• In music, it can refer to allowing the voice of the people to
be heard. 

There is a blessing/curse in relying on technology in worship services.

When leading solo in the UK, I infrequently will use a track to bring a rhythmic element to a song I’m leading on keys, or a synthetic element I cannot do solo whilst playing the main part, but I would always rather have live musicians playing unencumbered.

In big churches it has become almost standard for church music teams to use Multitracks for worship, with tempo clicks and an automated voice telling musicians which part of the song is coming next.

> Often it’s used to help struggling musicians stay on tempo or remember where they are in a song.

> Sometimes it’s used to fill in desired parts the church doesn’t have a musician for (bass, drums, electric guitar lead line, strings, horns, etc).

>Usually it’s so the Sunday morning ‘experience’ is ‘just like the recording.’ And as I have personally heard, “X church down the street uses it so they sound just like what’s on the radio and that is what people expect”

The pursuit of ‘excellence’ becomes a well-intentioned idol, and a heart for the Body expressing genuine worship is shackled into the ‘same song, done the same way’.

Multitracks and backing tracks can lock a group of musicians into a song arrangement with no chance to deviate . . . .

As a result the human element gets forsaken.  We can be so locked into replicating a recording that the voice of the people becomes secondary to the band pulling off an arrangement.

Church music leader – when was the last time you could follow the prompting of the Spirit to drop all instruments and just let the vox populi resound?

Whether you’re paid staff or a volunteer leader, easy indicators and simple skills can be taught to your musicians to allow for this.

And let your well-rehearsed, laboured over arrangement get jettisoned for something much more powerful, more poignant, and deeply spiritual.

I’ve had moments leading where, I’ve dropped a track I spent many hours over, so that the people could just sing. And it has always been worth it.

Beautiful instrumentation and a tight band can bring glory to God – but what’s most helpful to the gathered Body expressing worship is the priority.

The bottom line is this: Our gathered times of worship should be about letting the voice of the people in worship be heard – raising His anthem, declaring the praises of God to Him, to one another, and to a watching world.

Vox Populi – Soli Deo Gloria