Framing Multilingual Singing

Q
I recently introduced a song in Spanish to my English-speaking congregation. After the service, people were curious about why we sang in Spanish. I struggled to articulate why. What are some reasons for singing in different languages?

A
This is a wonderful question and one that many churches ask.

The best place to begin answering the question is with scripture. The Bible presents more than a dozen themes, metaphors, and images that root multilingual singing in the character of God, the person and work of Jesus, and the gregarious activity of the Holy Spirit that shape our imagination for God and the church.

Below you will find a table that lays out each of those biblical motifs, provides a scripture reference, and then how you might use that motif as a way to frame the singing of that song. By including a frame or introduction before songs that aren’t in your native language, you are educating, equipping, and inspiring your community to sing in “a thousand tongues.”

Our multilingual singing has the potential to deeply shape our imagination for God and the church. It expresses hospitality, mutuality, and solidarity. Singing in the language of others builds the church and grows us into the likeness of Jesus. By using simple frames for our multilingual singing, we can help our communities understand the value of this practice and, with the Spirit’s help, facilitate a more sincere and Pentecost-like worship with others.
 

Thirteen Biblical Motifs 

Explanations of the Thirteen Biblical Motifs

1. Reenacting Pentecost

The book of Acts records a surprising scene of gospel transmission. On the day of Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to preach in multiple languages. The people who gathered for the Pentecost festival came from many nations and tongues, and each one heard the good news in their own language. They didn’t all suddenly understand Aramaic, the common tongue of the disciples. “Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?’” (Acts 2:7–8, NRSV, emphasis added).  

In her book The Mission of Worship, Sandra María Van Opstal comments on this Pentecost moment: “At Pentecost God honors [the people’s] linguistic diversity. . . . He allows them to have an experience of hospitality where they could say to themselves, ‘They speak my language here!’” (The Mission of Worship, 2012, p. 25). 

When we sing in multiple tongues, we reenact Pentecost. We remember and participate in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel to every nation and tongue. Moreover, we extend a gesture of hospitality to those who speak other languages. Singing in their languages says, “You are seen by the Spirit!”

Frame: “As we sing in another language, we reenact Pentecost. We remember that we are people empowered by the Spirit to proclaim the good news to every nation and tongue.”
 

2. Envisioning Heavenly Worship 

Revelation 7 pulls back the curtain between heaven and earth to reveal a grand, multilingual worship service: “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9, emphasis added). 

Commenting on this text, Josh Davis and Nikki Lerner write, “Notice that there is not a Hispanic worship time at 9:00 a.m. around the throne while a Somali worship service happens somewhere else in heaven. All nations and tribes are together. In the same place and at the same time” (Worship Together in Your Church as in Heaven, 2015, p. 16).

When we participate in multilingual worship, we see ourselves in this heavenly throng. Other languages are represented, and our language is represented. We are together before the throne of God. As we envision heavenly worship in public worship today, we have, in the words of theologian Richard B. Hays, “a sneak preview of God’s ultimate redemption of the world” (The Moral Vision of the New Testament, 1996, p. 24).

Frame: “The Spirit invites us to envision heavenly worship today as we sing in multiple languages.” 
 

3. Embodying Christ’s Humility 

There is no model of humility greater than Jesus. In Philippians 2, the apostle Paul challenges believers to have the “same mind” as that of Jesus, thinking of themselves as Jesus did. Jesus emptied himself of privilege. He took the form of a slave. He selflessly obeyed to the point of death. Paul writes, “In humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3–5, NRSV).

Fumbling through the pronunciation of words of a non-native tongue is humbling. It can be embarrassing. You may be annoyed that you’re not able to sing freely. But this is the weekly experience of the non-native speaker in your congregation. I witnessed recently one worshiper brought to frustrated tears over her inability to fully express her praise in her adopted tongue. When we humble ourselves to sing in the language of another, we identify with the sufferings of others. This softens our hearts and encourages “tender affection and sympathy” (Philippians 2:1, NRSV).

It also practices the Christ-like posture of laying down privilege. As Hays writes, “The power of the metaphor [i.e., Christ’s humiliation] is precisely a function of its daring improbability, inviting the readers to see their own lives and vocations as corresponding to the gracious action of the Lord whom they acclaim in their worship” (The Moral Vision of the New Testament, 1996, p. 30). Jesus’ act of humility is a bold invitation to practice that same humility in relationship to others. If our worship doesn’t embody the humility of Jesus, how can we expect to display this humility in the rest of our lives?

Frame: “Jesus laid down his privilege to put others before himself. When we sing in a language not our own, it can be humbling. But this is an opportunity to embody Christ’s humility. We are practicing putting the needs of others before our own.”
 

4. Exalting Christ as Lord

The corollary to embodying Christ’s humility is exalting Christ as Lord. The great hymn in Philippians 2 doesn’t end in humiliation. The next stanza reads, 

Therefore God exalted him even more highly
    and gave him the name
    that is above every other name,
so that at the name given to Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
    that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.
—Philippians 2: 9–11, NRSV

This does not mean that our acts of humility will result in our exaltation. Paul doesn’t apply the metaphor that far. Our humility in singing the language of others is part of the vision that “every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (emphasis added). 

Jesus gave us the missionary mandate to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Multilingual singing participates in spreading the good news to every nation and tongue that Jesus is Lord. Simultaneously, it releases multiple tongues to exalt Jesus as Lord: “O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer’s praise!” 

Frame: “When we sing in other languages, we anticipate that day when every tongue throughout the world will exalt Jesus as Lord.” 
 

5. Practicing Reconciliation 

The magnitude of Christ’s death and resurrection stretches well beyond the limits of our personal salvation or the blessing of our local community. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:19–20 (NRSV) that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (emphasis added). Moreover, Paul continues, the “message of reconciliation” has been entrusted to us as “ambassadors of Christ.” 

God invites us not only to voice this reconciliation, but to practice it. As ambassadors of Christ our message is authenticated by our practice. Hays explains, “According to Paul, God is at work through the Spirit to create communities that prefigure and embody the reconciliation and healing of the world” (The Moral Vision of the New Testament, 1996, p. 32).

Singing the language of another is one way to practice that reconciliation. Recently I met with a colleague of mine to learn the Spanish pronunciation of a song. I struggled to get the words to form on my lips and tongue. But when I got it, he smiled with pride. I could sense our bonds of collegiality growing and our mutual respect deepening. The effort to sing in his mother tongue was a meaningful way to practice our reconciliation as brothers in Christ.

Frame: “As we learn to share and sing in one another’s language we practice reconciliation. We see Christ bridging a relationship, and we are equipped to share the message of reconciliation to the world.”
 

6. Revealing a New Community 

One of the effects of Christ’s reconciliation is a new, united community of believers. In Galatians 3:28 (NRSV) we read, “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” 

Language was one of many dividing walls between Jews and Greeks. Many Jews in the Ancient Near East spoke Aramaic as the common tongue and Hebrew for religious services. The Greeks, on the other hand, spoke Greek (as well as a variety of native tongues). 

Their oneness in Jesus, however, did not mean a homogenization of language. Rather, “Into an ethnic-oriented world that isolated Jew from Greek, barbarian from Roman, came a new kind of gathering place” (Harvie M. Conn, foreword to One New People by Manuel Ortiz, 1996, p. 9). Gatherings of believers reflected a sharing of cultures and languages and revealed a new community of the Holy Spirit. 

Frame: “Jesus, by his Spirit, is making us one. Though we speak different languages—English, Spanish, Korean, Farsi, Xhosa—the Spirit reveals a new humanity as we endeavor to worship together.”
 

7. Welcoming One Another 

Hospitality is a central theme in scripture. “Jesus lists welcome for strangers as one of the marks distinguishing the sheep from the goats in his parable of the final judgment” (David I. Smith, Learning from the Stranger: Christian Faith and Cultural Diversity, 2009, p. 117). The book of Hebrews warns, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2). The apostle Paul, moreover, exhorts the church in Rome to “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7, NRSV).

For many, public worship is the front door of hospitality. When we sing in the language of others, we effectively say, “We welcome you!” We communicate, “We value who God has made you ethnically, and we want to invite you to be at home. We speak your language, or at least we try” (Van Opstal, The Mission of Worship, 2012, p. 27).

We ought to strive to communicate authentically and learn through relationships with native speakers. At the same time, “getting it right” can be challenging. I once spent five minutes trying accurately to pronounce the name of an Ethiopian student. I was so embarrassed. But she patiently worked with me until finally I got it. Her smile communicated that she felt welcomed. 

Frame: “As we sing this song in [language], we want to extend a welcome to members of our community who are [language] speaking. We love you, and you are welcome here!”
 

8. Sharing Gifts 

Singing in other languages is a meaningful way of sharing gifts among members of the church. Paul explains that within the church “there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:4–7, NRSV). 

We sing in other languages not only for the sake of others, but for ourselves. Van Opstal calls this “mutuality.” Receiving the gifts of others communicates “We need you” (The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse World, 2015, p. 72–73).

Other languages may offer more aesthetic beauty, precision, nuance, or expansion on a lyric. Languages offer alternative means of communication, such as patterns of silence, stress, or dynamic turn-taking (cf. Smith, Learning from the Stranger, 2009, p. 92–93). Such alternatives provide melodies, rhythms, and musical styles that might be overlooked when relying only on songs with singable English translations. Furthermore, singing another’s language opens the door to language learning and cross-cultural engagement.

Sharing gifts in multilingual singing is a convincing argument for singing another’s language even when such speakers are not present. Van Opstal asks, “Why should we do multiethnic worship when everyone in their church is from the same background? Even if you don’t have _________ [insert group], you still need to learn from their encounters with God. It’s not just for them; it’s for you.” (The Next Worship, 2015, p. 72–73).

Frame: “As we sing this song in [language], we receive a gift from our Christian friends in [place]. They have much to teach us about following Jesus. Singing this song communicates, ‘We need you.’”
 

9. Standing with Others 

Another convincing argument for singing in languages of those who may not be present is the opportunity to stand with others. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26, NRSV). Likewise, he implores the Romans, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15, NRSV).

Van Opstal calls this the practice of solidarity. “Solidarity means we identify with another’s community in the practices of lament and joy; we join in empathetic grieving and rejoicing” (The Next Worship, 2015, p. 66).

One week we may sing a simple song in Mandarin to pray for the persecuted church in China. Another week we may sing in Lingala to celebrate the arrival of a refugee family from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Later we may sing in Ukrainian to lament the sufferings of war. This multilingual singing says, “We stand with you.” It enacts our love for our neighbor. It shapes our imagination for an interconnected body of Jesus Christ.

Frame: “The apostle Paul says that when one member of the body suffers, we all suffer. Today we sing in [language] to stand with our family in Christ in [place] who . . .”” 
 

10. Picturing One Body, Many Parts 

Dr. John Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, teaches that much of the power of the Bible is in forming our theological imagination—how we picture or make sense of the world. One picture of the church the Bible invites us to see is “one body, many parts”: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:12–14, NRSV).

Imagine that the German language is a hand, while Mandarin is a thigh. Picture Zulu as a shoulder and Arabic as the waist. In the whole of the body, English may only be a big toe. But unless English speakers see themselves as part of a larger body, they will likely have an oversized estimate of their value. 

Consider the history of Christianity. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. The New Testament was written in Greek and Aramaic. The gospel spread early among Arabic speakers and the languages of North Africa. In the medieval church, Latin was the lingua franca. Martin Luther spoke German; John Calvin spoke French. The Reformed tradition took early root in the languages of Dutch and Hungarian. Historically, English is just one part of a much greater, multilingual whole.

Frame: “Singing in another language invites us to picture the church as one body with many parts. Our own language is just one part of a greater, multilingual body of Christ.” 
 

11. Growing Up into Christ

One language group is just one part of the body. But the body of Christ is something which we are all growing up into.Paul shifts from the body metaphor to a growing metaphor in Ephesians 4. Different cultures and people receive spiritual gifts “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12–13, NRSV).

Reflecting on this passage, historian Andrew Walls writes, “The very height of Christ’s full stature is reached only by the coming together of the different cultural entities into the body of Christ. Only ‘together,’ not on our own, can we reach his full stature” (The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History: Studies in the Transmission and Appropriation of Faith, 2015, p. 77). 

As we welcome one another, share gifts, and stand with others, the act of multilingual singing becomes part of our growing up into Christ. Each culture and language, Walls explains, is “an expression of Christ under certain specific conditions.” Indonesian, Japanese, Hindi, Italian, and Zulu are all unique linguistic expressions of Jesus. Singing in one language alone may limit our growth. But by singing multilingually we “complete and correct the other,” and we grow into the full maturity of Christ (Walls, The Cross-Cultural Process, 2015, p. 78).

Frame: “Jesus is expressed uniquely through each language of the world. As we sing in different languages, we learn a fuller expression of Jesus and we grow up into greater maturity in Christ.” 
 

12. Building Community 

Paul can’t help but pile on metaphors for the church that help us frame our multilingual singing. In Ephesians 2:22, Paul uses a building metaphor to portray Christian community: “In union with him [Christ] you too are being built together with all the others to a place where God lives through his Spirit” (GNT, emphasis added). It is easy to forget that earlier in this chapter Paul addresses both Jews and Greeks (Ephesians 2:11–21). Culturally and linguistically diverse are being built together. The bricks and mortar of the church comprise people of every nation, tribe, and tongue. 

Public worship is a significant opportunity to participate in this building project. But it’s crucial, Hays writes, “that the work of community-building be a shared, participatory enterprise. The worship assembly is not to be monopolized by any one member” (The Moral Vision of the New Testament, 1996, p. 35). We need one another in our linguistic diversity to build the community of Christ in the power of the Spirit. 

Frame: “The church is built brick by brick by people representing diverse cultures and languages around the world. As we sing in other languages, Jesus is building a community in which God lives by the Spirit.” 
 

13. Reflecting God’s Character 

Last, a multilingual world reflects God’s character. In Genesis 1, God creates the world with astonishing diversity. But why? Educator Duane Elmer concludes, “It is my conviction that only in this immense and grand variety could we begin to capture the character, grace and glory of God. Put another way, God cannot adequately be revealed in a creation of similarities” (Cross-Cultural Conflict: Building Relationships for Effective Ministry, 1993, p. 24). 

Our linguistic diversity in public worship reflects God’s character. Writing about diversity in worship, Van Opstal concludes, “The variety and range of God’s creativity is seen and expressed in the vast artistic range of human approaches to worship. Our music, our instruments, our words, our songs and our liturgies display incredibly different facets of God’s character” (The Mission of Worship, 2012, p. 16). Likewise, Davis and Lerner ask, “If we are only a community of similarities, what do we reveal about God? And what do we fail to reveal about God?” (Worship Together in Your Church as in Heaven, 2015, p. 21). Singing in multiple languages helps us “encounter a God who is bigger than any one tradition or culture can express” (The Mission of Worship, 2012, p. 18).

Frame: “Our triune God loves diversity and is more creative than any one language can express. As we sing in multiple languages, let’s together reflect God’s character.”