PB and I sit in the second row from the front most Sundays. Our church is out-growing its small meeting space, so we go early to get our seats. And have coffee. And mingle with people.

The worship team always brings its best. We’ve come to expect top-notch musicianship, outstanding vocals, and deeply meaningful worship. They are incredible.

But it’s not the voices singing from the front of the church that move me.

It’s the voices behind me.

Some weeks I come to worship full of joy—
eager and ready to praise.

Some weeks I drag myself in—
bedraggled and beaten down by the world.

Then we start to sing.

The pros in front nail it, but it’s the untrained, slightly off-key notes wafting up from the back rows that stir my soul. Some other people have had a hard week, too. Some are dealing with bad news. Some are grieving loss. Some are questioning their faith. Some are carrying disappointments.

But they sing.

So I sing, too.

God bless
all the voices behind me.

Through Jesus, therefore,
let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—
the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
Hebrews 13:15