The choir is the
group on which the responsibility of music rendition is saddled: The, more,
reason why any religious organisation should see to a proper arrangement of the
important ministry of music.
The church is an
organised society that utilises the choir most, except for other (though
churchy) programmes that include: naming, wedding, burial, birthday, and
probably house warming for which church members might request choir’s
performances.
“Moreover
David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons
of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed
instruments, and cymbals.
And the number of the skilled men performing their
service was: Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah;
the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according
to the order of the king. Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri,
Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their
father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the
LORD. Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel,
Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah,
Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. All these were the sons of Heman the king's
seer in the words of God, to exalt his horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons
and three daughters.
Source: Google.
“All
these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of
the LORD, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the
house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the authority of the king.
So the number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of
the LORD, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight. And they
cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, the teacher with the
student.” 1 Chron 25:1-8, NKJV.
There are specific duties for the choir –
beginning from the time of the prophets (Moses and the others) among the
Israelites. The duties include:
1.Using songs to praise God.
2.Leading the people in songs to appreciate the
deliverance of God, among them.
3.Leading songs for worship – during services.
4.Leading songs during a ceremony: coronation of
kings, dedication of the temple, celebration of won battles, and so on.
5.They also use music to strengthen the people.
The music ministry is such powerful and
important for any church: it is comprised of people that could fall into errors
Some of the errors or ditches that a member
of choir is likely to fall into include but not limited to:
a.Being fame driven.
b.Being egoistic.
c.Becoming proud.
d.Possibility of carnality in dispositions – all
in the bid to impress the congregation or specific individuals.
e.Inability to properly manage urges for the
opposite sexes.
f.There is also the issue of becoming money,
gifts, or gratification centred.
How to help your choir in order to help
your church; you need to observe the
following:
1.Do not assume that members of the choir in your
church have attained the pick in their spirituality.
2.Then, personally, be involved in evaluating
their performances (both spiritually and technically).
3.Conduct periodic training, specifically, for
members of the choir.
4.Be specific on what you want them to do, as well
as, the scope of their ministrations.
5.Let the instrumentalists know what you want and
what you do not want. This is specifically to sort the issue of an
instrumentalist short-changing your services for other organisation’s services.
Almost, all the instrumentalists are guilty of this. Hence, when you are having
an instrumentalist – you should be firm on what you want if you do not want to
be looking for the instrumentalist at a very important hour of your church
service (when the instrumentalist may have taken the backdoor to attend to
services in other places, for money).
6.Let the spiritual growth of your choir members
be paramount to you, but do not sap their creativities.
