She'd passed the church
Yet never stopped
But always felt she should
Believing God?
A piece of cake
Church folk?
Not so good.
But off she went
With best intent
To start a life anew
Heard the Word, and felt
To join, was the right thing to do
Born again at half-past 10
She gave the Rev her hand
"I pray you'll find a place to serve
Perhaps, the choir stand?"
I love to sing, but I don't know
I've heard much goes on there
I've heard a hateful spirit waits
To stir up strife, and mess, and hate
That leads people to separate
When worship fills the air
The prerequisite IS to sing,
If one should do it WELL
It should be a welcomed thing
But, to hear some others tell
One would do best to just shut up
Go join the ushers' board
Do ANYTHING but sing about
The goodness of the Lord!
The choir, Sir,
I've often heard's
A messy delegation
I've heard one's best bet is
To just stick with the congregation
I've heard this is where many start
But find more love elsewhere
I've heard many have been wounded
And their wounds without repair
Characters have been maligned
Reputations shot
Critical, mean-spirited
A most destructive lot!
You'll be accused of being "grand"
Full of great conceit
You'll be accused of charming all the men
You'd like to meet
I heard you'll be accused of
Being "too professional"
It may be said your heartfelt praise
Is just a load of bull!
I've heard some singers came to church
And after a few squalls
Had targets placed upon their backs
And couldn't sing at all!
The reasons they were given
Were ridiculous at best
Said with stern face, but surely now,
It HAD to be in jest:
"We have too many people."
"You may not know the song."
"Your clothes are the wrong color."
"Your tone just isn't strong."
"We're trying something different."
"The songs are just too fast!"
"Your dues aren't quite current."
"We know about your past."
"The choir's not for singers,
Just folk who like to sing."
"Pleasant to the ear
Is not our mission in this thing."
"Mediocrity is fine--
We can't put forth our best.
If we raise our standard
That's what people will expect."
You haven't been here long enough."
We haven't got much room."
"We don't have enough microphones..."
Now, am I to assume
You want ME to become a part
Of this conniving bunch
Who have a history of driving people out to lunch?
Of SO infecting people with venom-laden stings
That they leave church altogether
And find someplace SAFE to sing?
I'm new at this
I'm just a sheep
I need safety and care
Should I become a part of it
Will I be free from fear?
Will there be more negativity WITHIN
Than there's WITHOUT?
Will I become a victim of
What I have heard about?
Should I just save my singing
For my room of porcelain
Where no one's lurking, scheming,
Thinking how to do me in?
Can't I just raise my voice AT HOME
Away from sneer or frown
And when I enter sacred doors
Find a seat and sit down?
If all the hurts out in the world
Are multiplied in HERE
Should I undo what I've just done
Un-shake your hand?
Be CLEAR.
No matter where you go
You will find an element
That betrays the real mission
Of the one that Our God sent
Don't ever let what others do
Affect you so much so
That you refuse to shine the light
He's given as you go.
No matter what, NEVER silence
What He has placed in you
It's there for a good reason
In spite of what some others do
Keep singing, keep declaring
The glory of His name
Not for fortune, riches, selfish gain, or fame
But because He loves you
And wants others to know as well
And they're HIS songs, and HIS story
He wants you to tell
Alright then,
I will go and serve and try to do my best
I wear my feelings on my sleeve
But I'll try to do no less
Than glorify the God I love
No matter where I am
And pray that the miraculous
Moves through the choir stand.
That envy, strife and hate move out
And Love comes rolling in
That nothing but the love of God
Is heard when songs begin
That nothing but Love is seen
In sounds and claps of hands
That is my prayer
Alright then,
Which way to the choir stand?
vrwc2011
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