Yesterday we joined a couple thousand people late for the dolphin show at one of the outdoor auditoriums at Sea World in Orlando, Florida.
A man came out to hype up the crowd before the dolphins' appearance. He would play bits of songs from the 70s and 80s through the loud speakers and then encourage us to continue the lyrics whenever he cut the volume at key moments.
I don't remember the last time I heard so many voices united so joyfully. From Sweet Caroline" to "Love Shack" to "We will Rock You", it felt like everyone knew every line.
Three thoughts struck me:
1. Singing together is a powerful unifying force.
2. It was wonderful to see there are still some things that unite us as Americans, even if it is only belting out "Sweet Caroline ... bum, bum, bum ... Good times never seemed so good!"
3. By turning worship into a concert, the modern church has lost the dynamic of this vocal unification of the gathered people of God.
And we aren't even aware of the loss because we decided the performance on stage was the most important part of singing praise.
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