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“Unblemished Turtledove or Blemished Lamb?”
Categories: M. W. Bassford, Worship
For about 20 years now, I’ve been having discussions with brethren all over the country about who should lead singing. Some argue that the congregation’s best song leaders should lead on Sunday morning to the exclusion of everyone else. They say that’s giving to God our best.
By contrast, others argue that it’s ungodly to judge the value of a song leader according to fleshly, external standards. The technical virtuoso may be self-centered and godless in his heart, while the guy who can’t hardly carry a tune in a bucket may be giving the Lord heartfelt glory. In consequence, we should let everybody lead who wants to lead and leave the judging to God.
I think both sides have a point, but I also think that the difference between them is not so great as it appears. To illustrate what I mean, let’s consider a couple of different sacrifices from the Law of Moses.
Leviticus 5:7 is an illustration of God’s kindness toward the poor. In it, God recognizes that some of His people may not be able to afford a lamb to offer as a sacrifice for sin. As a result, He allows them to offer according to what they could afford, by substituting turtledoves or pigeons for livestock. In God’s eyes, the turtledove offered by one who was giving his best was just as pleasing as the bull.
In Malachi 1, particularly in Malachi 1:14, we see a very different scenario playing out. This time, comparatively wealthy Jews who owned flocks were offering their lame, sick, and blind animals as sacrifices. They had the resources to do better, but instead of striving to give God their best, they offered what they thought they could get away with. God was not pleased with them!
Today, I think there are unblemished-turtledove song leaders and blemished-lamb song leaders. The former is a man who is simply limited in his gifts. He’s gone to song-leading schools to perfect his craft, he practices every time before he leads singing, but he regularly makes mistakes.
However, I think God is pleased with a sacrifice like that despite those mistakes. When we fall short of skilled perfection because of the way He created us, He doesn’t expect any better than that. I have a lot of sympathy for a song leader who is struggling but obviously offering his best.
On the other hand, though, we have blemished-lamb song leaders. These men make mistakes during the assembly too, but their mistakes are the fruit of lack of effort. They’ve never bothered to learn how to blow pitch, beat time, or master any of the other skills that are so important to the song leader. Before the assembly, they can be seen hurriedly putting together a song list on the front pew. In raw talent, they may well blow the unblemished-turtledove song leader away, but men like this never will realize their potential because they can’t be bothered to try.
Now, I’m not saying that every Christian man should feel responsible for becoming a song leader. However, if you want to be a song leader, then you need to put in the work. Nobody is entitled to lead the Lord’s people in worship on Sunday morning simply by virtue of church membership!
When men who have not developed their skills and do not work hard seek that position anyway, that is not a God-honoring spirit. Yes, it’s important not to presume what someone’s heart is like, but the one who is not diligent in preparing to serve makes his heart obvious by the absence of fruit.
When somebody wants to open up the song-leading roster, then, I want to know who the additions will be. Are these men who have worked hard, hit their ceiling, and want to serve despite their limitations? Or, on the other hand, are these men who are limited because they never have bothered to learn how to serve? Once we figure that out, I don’t think we’ll have any trouble discerning who should enter the rotation.
