Fans of Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir can listen to their latest album for free this Sunday, two days before it releases.
The six-time Grammy Award-winning choir will offer a free, live stream of the world premiere concert of its new CD, Pray, on Sunday, Feb. 8 beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern. The new CD releases Feb. 10.
Visit www.brooklyntabernacle.org/media/live to view the stream live this Sunday.
Below is a Q&A with Carol Cymbala, director of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.
Church choir worship is becoming less prevalent in many churches today. What is the key to sustaining and maintaining a vibrant choir ministry?
I’ve been directing the Brooklyn Tabernacle choir for many years, and week after week, I look up at about three hundred people singing with all of their hearts to the Lord, and every time I am moved and the congregation is touched. I see them lift their hearts and their hands and their voices to God in worship and praise, and I see how their hearts are stirred by music.
I really believe that it’s very important that in the church today, if we are going to have a choir, that the people in the choir need to be committed members, who have a heart for God and a heart for ministry.
I also believe that the choir directors need to focus on seeing lives changed through the power of the Gospel in song. There’s just something really beautiful and powerful about seeing so many people lifting their voices to the Lord in praise in one accord.
I pray that there would be more choirs that would be raised up in the day that we are living in so that we can sing a song of praise and victory to our God because He is worthy of all our praise.
Why is corporate worship so important to a church service and how do you motive the congregation to participate?
Corporate worship not only lifts up God and glorifies Christ Jesus, but it invites the Holy Spirit to come into our lives. Jesus said the Spirit would glorify Him. When we truly worship, we open ourselves to the power of the spirit, which helps us open our hearts to hear from God.
The praise teams should never perform praise and worship. If we simply perform, our congregations become spectators instead of worshipers, and it is vital that we worship from our hearts in spirit and in truth. Worship is contagious, and when we worship as a choir and praise team, the congregation, in turn, begins to lift their hearts and worship God.
I also believe our song selections should be simple enough that young and old, the diverse body of Christ, can lift their hearts in praise and worship together as one.
What keeps you motivated as a choir director to find new songs?
I love the old hymns. I love so many songs that were written the past, but I’m so grateful to the Lord that he can give people new and fresh music that can minister to those that do not know Him, and those that know him can be blessed and renewed.
Thankfully, God has used many of these songs to be an incredible blessing here in our congregation and around the world.
What excites you most about the new CD?
One thing that is so special to me about the Pray project is that it focuses on the gospel. The Bible says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
There is an eclectic mix of songs on this album—from contemporary Christian to praise and worship to gospel—but the one thing we’re really excited about is that on this project, there are songs reminiscent of the traditional Brooklyn Tabernacle choir sound.
As I look at the condition of the world today, I see so many people who are hurting and looking for answers, and we know that Jesus Christ is the answer. Our prayer is that this new CD will point people to Him.
