One of my Open University tutors used to say regularly, ‘Never underestimate the power of serendipity.’ I guess this is such a story. And it is a kind of weird one about me and my love for some Christian songs…in Dutch!

It began pre-pandemic when I came across this, to me, unusual male voice choir on YouTube. They were wearing red striped shirts and funny black hangings around their necks. The singing was good but the amateur recording wasn’t great, so I did a search and came across more such choirs of various sizes and quality. It appears that the uniform is quite widespread among fishing community choirs in the Netherlands.

The choir – more of an ensemble – that I thought were best is one called Soli Deo Gloria Urk, Urk being a picturesque costal town around an hour’s drive NE of Amsterdam. They have recorded albums and videos that I’m still discovering – and, of course, Google Translate is important for me to be able to understand most of the words, but it’s amazing what you can pick up quickly.

It was only later that I discovered that most of the songs I really liked were written by a group called Sela, who specifically took on a task to help renew the worship songs of the church in the Netherlands. (www.sela.nl ). Sela appear to have changed some personnel over the years, but then and now they have produced some very high quality songs and videos, at least some in conjunction with Nederland Zingt (check out their YouTube channel too!).

I can’t count the number of times that Sela songs have proved to be ear worms for me. Every time I think there can’t be another one, I encounter one. ‘Encounter’ is a good word for it, because I have found that these are not simply good songs to listen to, but they have brought me time and time again into the presence of the living God. They have fed, comforted, and inspired. As I write this I’m listening to the one that can be found at the YouTube link below. I was not surprised to see so many people with tears in their eyes, including one of the singers.

But Sela are not out to make as much money as they can from what they produce. Yes, there are things to buy from the website and concerts to go to, but there are so many free resources, like lyrics and simple sheet music. Much to my delight, the one I’m listening to has sheet music with an English translation/adaptation that I hope I can persuade people to use – check it out. ‘I will be there’ or ‘Ik zal er zijn’ based on the name of God revealed to Moses, ‘I am,’ and ‘I will be who I will be’ (= ‘I will be there for you’).

There’s another reason I have been delighted to explore songs in a language that is not my own ‘heart language,’ and that is because I love the picture of the church in the book of Revelation 5:9-10 (NIV) where a song is sung to Jesus:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”

The church is a global phenomenon made up of many people and languages, and it’s good to step out of our comfort zone to embrace something of the wider Christian community.

Dive in and explore; listen and be grasped by the hope of the Gospel; be prepared to be touched deep within your being by songs you never imagined you would listen to.