It’s a fascinating thing to consider the development of musical and audio technology over the last few generations. Once upon a time, if you wanted to hear a song sung, you would either have to find someone else to sing it to you or, perhaps more often for the ordinary person, sing it together with someone. Then, with the advent of radio and phonograph, songs became more commonly passive — instead of singing to one another or together, families would gather around the living room radio to listen. Then came what someone once called the “Age of the Walkman”, then the iPod, then the iPhone — music became a solitary pastime with headphones, more often than not.
For our considerations now, most of this development is neither here nor there, except to make one simple observation: group singing (particularly a cappella) is now usually thought to be a strange thing. A group of non-professional, dare we even say non-skilled, people singing together is often seen as fascinatingly antiquated at best and freakishly unbearable at worst.
Yet, singing together — with one another, and partially to and for one another — is one of the hallmarks of Christians. There are Ephesians 5:19, “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” and Colossians 3:16, “with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God”. In Acts 16:25 we read of Paul and Silas singing together in prison. There are the ancient writings telling of early Christians singing together.
Why is participatory singing important? Firstly, it involves unity of focus and attitude. Secondly, it praises God in a way He has asked and commanded. Thirdly, it helps us deeply teach and remember the truth.
These three brief points can help us as Christians remember why singing together is valuable and useful, even if most of the world thinks it’s weird and old-fashioned!
— Stefan Richardson