God Forgave My Sing

My friend and colleague David Bone, Executive Director of The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts (FUMMWA), sent an e-mail message pointing out a typo in my website "Index of Women Hymn Writers in The United Methodist Hymnal".He noted that I had written under the entry for Carol Owens: #389, "God Forgave My Sing," when it should have been "God Forgave My Sin." David said, "Sometimes, God does need to forgive our 'sing.'"

After smiling and thanking David for the correction, I began to think about his comment and realized how true it really is. Those of us with the responsibility for singing, leading singing, accompanying singing, and planning singing in congregational worship may very well have reason to seek God's forgiveness, and then to rejoice that God forgives both our singing and our sin when there is reason. Here are twenty-five of the singing, leading, accompanying, and planning sins for which we may need to seek forgiveness:

1. Singing for my own pleasure and satisfaction.
2. Singing to demonstrate my own talent.
3. Not adequately preparing to lead musically.
4. Manipulating the congregation.
5. Using music in worship to make a political or social statement.
6. Singing texts that are insensitive to race, national origin, gender, age, physical or intellectual abilities, or other similar conditions.
7. Not doing the best of which I am capable.
8. Worshiping the beauty and perfection of musical performance in worship.
9. Using my musical responsibility to shore up support in time of congregational controversy.
10. Planning music to provoke a controversy or disagreement.
11. Programming music to play off the emotions of the congregation ("not a dry eye in the house").
12. Exploiting the children or youth.
13. Ignoring, breaking, or remaining ignorant of music copyright laws.
14. Singing only songs in (or not in) our hymnal.
15. Singing only the same 40 songs that we've always sung in worship.
16. Singing only new and unfamiliar songs.
17. Slavishly following the demands of musical style.
18. Not caring for those who give of their time and talent in music ministry.
19. Singing music that is always centered on "me," "I," and "we" and never acknowledging through our song the totality of God's family.
20. Singing in worship for the entertainment of the listeners.
21. Singing to facilitate my own worship while ignoring my responsibility to lead others in worship through my song.
22. Singing texts that are distortions or incorrect representations of Scripture, sound theology, or good doctrine.
23. Refusing to include traditional hymns, praise choruses, ethnic music, gospel song, chant and Taizé, cutting-edge emergent music, or some other category of congregational song in worship simply because I don't like that music.
24. Programming an imbalance: music that is always happy-clappy joyful, always quiet and meditative, too much or not enough opportunity for lament.
25. Programming feel-good hymns, choir anthems, solos, children's choirs, and congregational favorites during the church's budget or pledge drive.

God, forgive my sin; and forgive my "sing" when it becomes my sin. Amen.

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. Used by permission.