I’m leading worship to a blended church gathering for the first time tomorrow. Those in the building can’t sing, and those gathering with us via Zoom can, but we can’t hear each other. Here’s what I’m going to say at the start of the service

Singing is the overflow of the soul. Praise the Lord, o my soul. So though the mouth may be silent, the soul is not. It is better to have a silent mouth with a heart full of praise than to have a singing mouth and no praise in the heart

Scripture says that we can do a lot more to express the praise of our hearts than just sing. We can bow, kneel, clap, dance. The act of standing is itself an act of praise. We can mediate. And in doing so, we lay down our right to sing in love for those around us

The COVID crisis has exposed a shallowness in evangelical worship - it was always there. We need the reading of scripture, the sharing of sacrament, the need for the full body and spirit in worship, the communal nature of laying aside our desires for the good of others

Leading worship to a room full of people who can’t sing with me feels like cooking a feast and making the guests watch while I eat. But my church will gather, God’s people will worship, many will sing, and Christ will be honoured