On the physical level, the whole body is involved in singing, and in making music with various instruments. This means there is something else to remember as we pursue musical reformation in our congregation.
The apostle Paul addresses a common problem with body life, a mistake that is easy to make. That is the mistake of thinking that the function of set of gifts, one member or organ in the body, is determinative of what the rest of the body should be doing. But each set of gifts is on behalf of the rest of the body, and not to be understood as the destiny of the rest of the body. The eyes see for the rest of the body, which does not mean the rest of the body is destined to become an eyeball. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
We really want to mature in our ability to make music before the Lord. But we don’t want to do it at the expense of all the other things that God has equipped bodies to do. We don’t want to pursue excellence here in such a way as to produce an idiot savant, extraordinarily gifted in one way, and worthless in most others.
The work of the body involves hands, ears, eyes, mouth, and so on. Each part happily contributes its function, and indeed insists on contributing what God has given. But each part must also be cautioned against becoming imperialistic—demanding that the whole body place the same value on that particular gift that the gifted parts do.
Now of course, Paul was addressing the matter of spiritual gifts when he taught us this principle—exhortation, encouragement, teaching, helps, and so on. But how much more should we see it as applicable when it comes to other common gifts that God has given to men generally. The principle applies to music, to architecture, to literary taste, to business expertise, to educational expertise, and so on. We all need each other.
As a congregation, we want to grow and mature across the range of our humanity, and not to grow in any lopsided way. This means that we will grow more slowly in our musical maturation than we might like—and there will be a certain element of driving the musicians among us crazy in the meantime—but this is best in the long run. We are growing oak trees, not cabbages.