05/23/20 THE SHOW MUST GO ON ! ? — Last night there was a pastor on the news complaining bitterly about the pandemic restrictions. He loudly lamented that if everyone obeyed social distancing in his auditorium, he would only have room for his Praise Team! It’s abundantly clear that lots of things have changed, that more things will have to change, and, perhaps, many things will NEVER return to way they were!

My wife loves to sing in the church choir, and I fully appreciate the positive contributions the music ministries add to our worship experiences. BUT choirs and praise teams are NOT essential for God’s people to worship Him! There are several fine alternatives: Lots of hymns and worship songs are so familiar that the congregation would sing them acapella from memory. A single musician playing the organ, piano, guitar, etc. could lead the singing. Or, heaven forbid, in a pinch people could sing along to a recording from a CD, flash drive, etc.

It concerns me that lots of church leaders still seem unwilling to change even a little bit—for them, “The show MUST go on,” just as it always has! The truth is: our worship services are NOT supposed to be SHOWS!