Becoming Human

When I was growing up in my Nazarene Church we had a particular tradition. Whenever a month would have a fifth Sunday, that evening (back when people still went to Church twice on Sundays) would be heralded as a Singspiration. This meant that anyone, and everyone, was welcomed to take a stab at singing a solo, duet or some makeshift ensemble in the service. I can’t remember the names or songs sung by most of the members of our congregation, but I do remember three gentlemen who took their opportunity every Singspiration to praise God with a joyful sound. The only name I remember from the group is Jay.
Jay was somewhat of the leader, or front-man, of the group, all with a variety of cognitive and/or emotional disabilities. Jay and his friends were lovingly dubbed “Jay and the Americans” in reference to the singing group from the 70’s with the same name. Every Singspiration these three would pick a song from a cassette one of them owned (or maybe they all owned it jointly) of Keith Green songs. The three would get on stage stiffly holding their microphones with Jay in the middle flanked by his two friends. The tape would play (mind you this wasn’t a sing-along track, but the real album) and Jay would mumble quietly through each verse. Jay would try to keep up with Keith Green singing in the background, but he had a difficult time with the words. So, in his quiet monotone, Jay would struggle to nail one word out of five. However, once the chorus came around all three of them (in a louder monotone) would nail the chorus each and every time.
As a thirteen year-old kid I found this all very funny. Three grown men basically singing a monotone karaoke version of 1970’s Christian music was very funny for me and my friends. Truth be told, the whole night was very amusing. This was the night that other people in the congregation would also step up to sing. Some of these people really thought they were quite something. These people were in the choir. Although they never realized that the people raising their hands in praise in the pews in front of them were actually praising the fact that due to seasonal allergies they couldn’t hear the heinous sounds coming from the choir loft. These same people thought they were the real stars of Singspiration. So, these “stars” would sing and my friends and I would keep on laughing. We considered ourselves equal opportunity ridiculers.
Looking back, I am forever thankful that I grew up in that church. Our choir leader at the time was a man named Wayne. He was the one who put on the Singspirations and he was the one who approved and organized the people scheduled to sing. Never once did he think of keeping Jay and his friends from getting in front of the congregation…Let me explain a little about Wayne first. Singspiration was also the evening when the congregation was able to pick any song from the hymnal during worship time. So, of course, my friends and I would always request hymn #503. In traditional hymnals there were always patriotic songs and in our hymnal #503 was “O’ Canada” the Canadian national anthem. Without missing a beat, Wayne would have the congregation turn to page 503 and he would lead the congregation through a rousing turn through the first verse of “O Canada.”
This was the way Wayne was. He believed in sincerity and integrity. He told the audience to pick any song from the hymnal and when they did, he went with it. So, this man would never dream of keeping Jay and his friends off the stage because some immature teenagers might giggle. He just wouldn’t do that. It was about the voice of the singer, but rather the heart. Looking back, I’m sure Wayne was aware that Jay and his friends had as pure and lyrical a heart as any member of his choir.
In the mid-eighties few churches had disability ministries, even fewer than the ten or fifteen percent that do today. Yet, I think we had a ministry. We offered a chance for people to be human. Our church offered a chance for people to risk ridicule, to garner praise, to make a choice and to follow their heart. When churches offer those same opportunities to EVERYONE, not just a precious few, then they are fulfilling the gospel. They are providing one of the great gifts of the church…the chance to Be Human, the chance to be human in all of our frailty and sinfulness, the chance to be human in all of our hopefulness and faith, and the chance to be human and be part of a shared redemption and a shared salvation.