Pastor, the karaoke prompter

On Thursday night several of us from the seminary went out to karaoke. About half-way through the night I began to think about how a church could be like karaoke. Many people look at a worship service and consider the people in the pews to be the audience, the pastor as the actor, and the choir as providing musical against which the entertainment is set. However, it is more correct to think of the people in the pews as those on stage, and the audience as being God.

If you adopt this model it is not a stretch to see how the work of the pastor and the choir are comparable to the role of the prompter in karaoke singing. We provide the words, tempo, form and structure which guide the performer. The words you use have been written by other pillars of the faith. Almost every notable figure in Christian history has undertaken the writing of a hymn or two. Much of the text for our liturgy is borrowed from scripture itself.

Some of us sing quite well, others, not so much. It isn't important how well you perform the song, it is important that you participate. We'll provide the words, you just let it rip.