If the solo singer— sometimes a celebrated star of considerable vocal prowess— really nails it, perhaps slipping in some well-executed“ check me out” vocal gymnastics, especially on the anthem’ s last line, the crowd’ s response is heightened. I’ ll never forget Whitney Houston’ s 1991 rendition before Super Bowl XXV. It’ s considered by many to be the best ever. If you’ ve never seen it, or even if you have, watch it here. actually heard as much in discussion with church leaders:“ We don’ t really need the congregation to sing. They’ re still worshipping.”
“ We found that it’ s impossible to get the congregation to sing. Especially the men. So we lean towards musical performance.”
“ Having the congregation sing isn’ t a high priority for us. Instead, we create an environment where people experience the presence of God.”
I respect those church leaders’ forthright candor’. But I do wonder if they’ ve considered the potential pitfalls.
and the sound mix. Even a cursory search online will reveal how readily people post video of a pre-event rendition of“ The Star-Spangled Banner,” triggering streams of lavish praise or vicious criticism. Sometimes a mixture of both. The same happens in churches.
2. IS YOUR TEAM REALLY GOOD ENOUGH? The irony is that most churches don’ t have a Whitney Houston. Or anyone anywhere near that good singing, playing or mixing. A few might. Go for it! But for the rest of us— myself definitely included— a state of worshipful awe before God as we all sing of God’ s amazing grace feels achievable. The same state as people listen to me sing? Not so much. And perhaps that’ s okay. But I have also noticed that, if the singer is just average— or even a bit stinky— the cheering at the end of the anthem is less. Sometimes way less. Understandable, I guess. I dare not share some of the sonic train wrecks that exist online here. There are many.“ The Star-Spangled Banner” is a tough number to nail, even for professionals.
1. CREATING AN AUDIENCE OF CRITICS When the crowd— or the congregation— is listening and watching rather than singing, they quickly become critics of the performance. Their ability to connect can depend, more or less, on the quality of the soloists, the musicians
Most churches have ordinary musicians serving ordinary congregations. There is no reason they should be expected to reproduce the kind of vocal performance that makes a stadium audience stop and listen. Perhaps we’ ve been asking the wrong question. Instead of
There’ s an obvious difference here between the global approach to anthem singing and the US approach. One is,“ Let’ s stand and sing our national anthem together.” The other is,“ Please stand for the singing of our national anthem.”
Both can be powerful, valuable and meaningful. In my view, each approach has positives. But all this makes me think about our songs of worship and how we present them when the church gathers. There are some important points we can notice here. Relevant for those of us who are involved in music as an expression of worship.
You see, my concern is that a shift is happening with the“ anthems” of the church. Many churches seem to be moving away from warmly inviting the voice of the congregation and, instead, trying to enthrall and energize a listening audience. I’ ve sometimes from YouTube
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