When we go to church, we listen to music together, but we do not just listen; we participate and sing along. In doing so, we are lifting our spirits and building bonds with those around us. But there is one final component to church music that ties everything together and completely sets it apart.

Unbeknownst to many, the church has a gift waiting for an isolated, lonely, headphone-wearing world. At first glance, this gift will seem far less than extraordinary, but when one understands the inner workings occurring, its true potency is revealed. I am speaking of the power of song, and in particular, songs that are sung at church.

To understand the power of church songs and why it is so important that we go to church and sing, we need to compare what happens at a church service with how modern people consume music. 

Imagine a young man walking down the street with headphones in his ears. He has his playlist set and is about to listen to thirty minutes of his favorite music. In this context, like most modern people, he will listen to prerecorded music and experience it alone. Reflect on that for a moment. This is a fundamentally different interaction with music than most humans would have had throughout history. 

Until very recently, music was always listened to live and in person. There was no Spotify, no Apple Music, no algorithms feeding you something new based on preference. Every time a song was played, it took on a unique, once-in-a-lifetime performance. You would never hear the exact same song twice, as every live performance had subtle differences due to the nature of live music. Every piece of music had a human element. 

In addition to music being performed live, unless you were a king or someone of wealth, you always listened to music in a group setting. Only those who had an abundance of resources had the privilege of having music played just for them. What an odd place we now find ourselves in. Everywhere you look, there are headphones in ears as people drown out the external world and experience a private, prerecorded performance. Consider this, though: Although the device in your pocket may give you access to pretty much the sum total of all recorded music, it is unable to give you a non-digital copy of something previously recorded. It cannot provide the musical experience that humans have always had. 

For the first time, music is primarily a prerecorded experience that we listen to alone, through headphones, in the car, or from a Bluetooth speaker in our room. But how is that different than the music we experience at church? 

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