Make no mistake about it: the most important musical group in the church is the congregation. Worship is for all of God’s people; the New Testament doctrine of the priesthood of all believers calls for the saints to lift up their voices (whether musically gifted or not) in a unified chorus of praise and adoration to God.

However, that is not to say that gifted and trained musicians do not have an important contribution to make to the worship life of God’s people. Old Testament worship gave a crucial role to the Levitical musicians, who were set apart vocationally to provide this ministry to Israel.

Moody had his Sankey, Graham had his Shea and Barrows; the point being that the proclamation of God’s truth takes place in musical form as well as in the spoken word, and the Word of God must be central in every portion of our services.

from “The Choir as Worship Leader: Revitalizing the Ministry from the Loft”