52 SUNDAYS: What If I Don't Sing?

This year we're challenging our members and regular attenders to attend a church service every week in 2014. You can read more about the 52 SUNDAYS challenge here. This article is part of a series of articles about 52 SUNDAYS.

What if I don't sing?

Most of us stopped singing after 1st grade. We nailed it with "Old MacDonald" and the alphabet and then retired. Never to perform again...except at sporting events, Coca Cola commercials, and church.

You're not alone when you say you don't sing. Even the author of Blue Like Jazz recently admitted he doesn't attend church because he doesn't like to sing.

Peer pressure.

It's hard to go to church and not sing...at least not in our church. Why? Because not only do we sing a lot, we do it in such a way as to highlight the voice of the congregation. This means you can't hide. The lights aren't going to be dimmed down low and the guitars turned up high. We want to hear one another. That's the point. We're not only singing for God, we're singing for one another.

So although no one is going to force you to sing, I'm sympathetic. It's going to feel like "everybody's doing it." It's going to feel like peer pressure. And I'm aware that some will choose to arrive after the singing portion of the service or not to come at all.

Who asks you to sing?

Here's where I'm going with this. We can talk about "Why we sing?", but I don't think that's the issue. We know how singing works. It brings us together, stirs our affections, helps put words in our mouths. The bigger question is: Who gets to tell God "no"?

He instructs us to sing (Col. 3:16), writes songs for us to sing (Psalms), and in Hebrews 2 we even learn that Jesus Himself is our worship leader!

“I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

You might not like singing, but evidently God still does. He hasn't changed his mind. Singing isn't passé, effeminate, or unnecessary. The Scriptures say the quite the opposite. He is commanding your performance.

If you're a Christian, you sing.