Whenever someone asks me when I started singing, I always respond in the same way.
"I've been singing for as long as I can remember," I respond. After that usually follows stories of how I spent my childhood doing two main things: singing and reading. Whenever I was sent to bed at night, I would always go with a book. And if I was still awake after my parents had turned off the lights, I would sing myself to sleep. In fact, I'm surprised at myself that I've taken this long to blog about me and singing/music.
I remember listening to Shania Twain, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston on the radio and trying to imitate them, even when I was as young as five or six years old. I quickly discovered that it took me a shorter time to learn songs than most people; I only had to listen to them twice and that was it. Somehow at that young age, I also knew, without having been told, that I had a nice voice. However, my biggest obstacle was that I was extremely shy. And so all these 'mini performances' would be done in secret, or when I thought no one was listening (hence singing in the middle of night when everyone's asleep). The first time I publicly sang for anyone was when I was in class 8. Even though the audience at the time was just a small group of 14-15 year old friends, I'll never forget it because it was the first time I had ever willingly sang for anyone.
But that's not why I'm writing this post today.
Just to set a proper background, let me explain how I got into praise and worship. My mother constantly looked for opportunities to push me out of my comfort zone and use my talents (remember the shy aspect?). She even signed me up for our church choir, but I never went for practice. My excuse?
"Mom, they're all so much older than me. What will we talk about?"
I was sixteen. Everyone else in the choir was married with children, probably in their late 20's/early 30's, but you know at sixteen that seems ancient! Mom's justification was that we would be singing, so there's nothing to worry about. Still, I wasn't convinced. So it wasn't until I joined high school that I actually started leading one or two praise and worship songs, learning and understanding the purpose behind it and growing both spiritually and musically.
I must also mention that my father has been a huge musical influence in my life. He's collected music since they used to be in LP's... you know, those huge round plate-shaped things that were played on a record player? Those ones. :) His music collection is expansive and his knowledge quite impressive considering he went to nobody's music school (that's how my mom would put it :) ). He's constantly complaining that worship leaders do not know how to lead songs. Other than being able to sing, he says that its important to pick a key that's comfortable for everyone -both men and women. Also, he believes that the one leading should always sing in melody and not harmony. And you know what? I completely agree with him. I've had issues with worship teams that sing like they're putting on a performance. Key is too high, everyone's harmonizing, leaving the congregation lost. And being a worship leader myself, I'm conscious of not just singing for the sake of singing but serving God and people by creating an avenue to worship Him.
From my observations over the years (and trust me, I've been to many churches), it seems to me that many worship teams are not aware of their purpose in the church. I was discussing this issue with my mom and we noted that this problem seems more prominent in Nairobi than it is in Mombasa. (I grew up in Mombasa and now live in Nairobi) It seems that more emphasis is put on everything being perfect -the voices, the harmony, the instruments, sound. Leaving the aspect of leading the congregation into worship forgotten. It saddens me to think that this is what it has come to, particularly because I am in the music ministry.
I don't remember how, but somehow I came across a post that addressed all the issues I had been asking God and myself about. And because I feel myself beginning to ramble, I'll leave it at this.
Leading praise and worship should ALWAYS all be about leading people into worshiping God through music. The moment that is lost, I'm not sure if it still remains relevant. Now, I don't say this to judge or condemn, but merely to enlighten. Remember, I'm part of a worship team as well. I know all the struggles you go through, all the sacrifices you make and how hard you work at it. Yet, we still have to remember that we are constantly learning. Just as you are learning how to serve God, I am too.
You can find the post I mentioned when you follow this link:
http://forsclavigera.blogspot.com/2012/02/open-letter-to-praise-bands.html
