God's Choir

As I was driving to a meeting today listening to the local classical radio station, I heard a little blurb about a classical sing-a-long concert.  The announcer mentioned a recent study that revealed the benefits of corporate singing.  Naturally this piqued my interest.  Being a worship leader and a choir geek, corporate singing is just a minor passion of mine.

Apparently, the study found that as people sing together, their brains release the chemical oxytocin.  Oxytocin is a hormone that promotes a feeling of intimacy and trust with those around you.  It is most commonly released released during sex,  as well as by a woman's body during birth to help her bond with her baby.  It is an extremely powerful hormone and the effects can be seen in relationships and emotional well-being.

When I hear this and think about all of the Biblical encouragement to sing together as a church, it just blows me away.  God knew what singing together accomplished in the chemistry of our brains long before we ever figured this out.  And it just makes me appreciate the role of corporate music in the body of Christ all the more.  It isn't just the preshow to the preaching.  Singing is actually a unifying element that God gave us to strengthen our bonds with each other and Him.

It also makes me sad for those who don't sing with the congregation for whatever reason.  I have always felt that they were missing out on something, but now I know they are.  I don't say this as a condemnation of those who prefer not to raise their voices, but merely as an encouragement to try something new.  I can't say that I understand how uncomfortable some people are with singing, but I would hope that they might understand some of the benefits of singing together and maybe stretch themselves a bit.  Come and join the choir!

For a more thorough discussion of this topic, check out church music blog.

A New Song

I recently had the privilege of performing an original song for our church worship service. It has taken me several annoyingly fruitless attempts to get a recording online, but here it is, finally! The song is titled "Where Are You, O God?" and is loosely based on Psalm 22. This is a very raw recording straight off the live mix, so the balance is not what I would like, but I think it gives a pretty fair shake to the song. Performing the song are: Vocals: Lucas Weston, Piano: Markus Loose (wish that part came through a little stronger), Guitar: Tim Fenderson (who I also need to give credit for helping work out a couple problem spots on the chart in rehearsal), Bass: Bryon Josselyn, Drums: Chris Harman (if you can make them out in the way background without a microphone).