Why are men not singing in Church?
Various articles have attempted to answer that question recently. But before we can try to offer a rationale for such a spectacular question, we need to observe that some are entirely comfortable allowing this trend to continue. After all, music plays a minimal role in their worship expressions. Others find the issue of congregational singing irrelevant due to the trained praise bands that lead worship each Sunday. “Let the professionals lead.”Certain environments encourage people to hear and feel the music rather than sing it. And some groups have placed such high priority on the preached word that the very idea of a singing congregation seems secondary, if not tertiary in the priority list. But on to better things.
Fortunately, there are a vast amount of churches and leaders that still treasure congregational singing and long for a time when men return to the old-fashioned task of singing God’s melodies. The cruel reality is that we are far from the mark. In my many visits to evangelical churches over the years, the few men who opened their mouths timidly read the words like a child attempting to spell out his phonics assignment.
Timid singers make for timid Christians.
Let’s Begin with Singing Anything in Church, Shall We?
I am not arguing for a particular style of music. That would be to ask for too much. I think we need an incremental strategy. I am arguing for men to sing whether through projected song lyrics, Fanny Crosby classics, or Scottish Psalter. I am imploring for men to take up their holy charge and lead by example. Set the tone and watch the little lions roar.
There is a more insidious reason why men do not sing. One author boldly observed:
“Look around your average Evangelical church and you’ll likely see a 3 to 1 ratio of women to men. And of the men who actually do attend, you can see on about half of their faces that they’re only there because their wives want them to be there. The other half are there because they genuinely want to be there.”
We have succumbed to a kind of cowardly environment where instead of men leading the women with their voices and character and fervor, the women are attempting to make up for the lack of interest in their own husbands. How often have I encountered the scenario where women hunger to learn and grow in their Christian walk, but husbands are content with the slobberiness of impious entertainment.
Evangelical men are wanted. But they are lacking. They lack leadership and the ones who make it to church after their wives’ brave attempt to persuade them the night before, sit still in a silence resembling a preserved ritualized mummy.
Yes, there is certainly much to blame for the weakness of the evangelical man. And there is much to commend in female saints who tirelessly bring their children to church on Sunday morning while their husbands engage in their rock-n-roll fantasies. May God curse their dreams.
Let’s Roar, Shall We?
So where do we go from here? Do we content ourselves with the defeat of the masculine vocal cords? Or do we pave a better way?
In my estimation, we need a greater vision for church music. We need to recover its centrality. We need a bigger dose of Psalm preaching. A pastor who preaches through the Psalms will constantly be bombarded by this theme in Psalm 81: “Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!” How do we apply that? We call upon a greater emphasis on the things emphasized by the Psalmist.
Pastors should make it their commitment to learning to think musically. They may not have the gifts of a musician, but they should at the very least find enough interest in music to add their voices to the question of music in the Church. There is plenty of room for talented, trained, and tested musicians, but none of these musicians are equipped to lead God’s people into battle as the minister of God.
When a minister relinquishes music to the other leaders in the Church, he has lost a portion of the fight. It is his role as man and minister to exhort his congregation by example. Men need pastors who lead. They are watching. Certainly not in all cases, but in most cases when those who have been engaged in church life for some time do not sing it is because they are following a leader that cares little for singing himself. A minister should be as eager to sing as he should be to preach. And if a minister does not have particular singing skills, he should surround himself with men who push the agenda further into the life of the body.
Finally, if you are part of a church where singing is not a common practice, and you find yourself in a men’s study or prayer group in the future, begin to change the trend by printing out copies of music for everybody. Start with something simple. Print 20 copies of “Amazing Grace” and sing it like you believe it. Let the initial awkwardness be a sign of better things to come. A church that sings together stays together. And men that sing together change the world.
