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(This post was written prior to 2016, in a blog entitled “Jubal’s Jottings.”)
I recently re-read an article by John Ortberg for a class titled “Can You Engage Both Heart and Mind?…in corporate worship.” Some of you know that this topic is a hot button for me. (And I know I have several hot buttons!) Though the article is several years old, the principles of balance in worship still remain an issue…and probably will be a continuous issue. Worship services tend to be slanted toward one side more than the other…either leaning toward a heart orientation – feeling based – or toward a mind orientation – a cognitive base.
Ortberg probed the worship planning process, which is often the wall that cannot be climbed when planning worship. In the end, he named two questions that he hoped that worship leaders would ask when planning and leading worship…and I thought they were helpful guides that would be worth stating.
When worshipers leave our sanctuaries…
Question #1 – What do we want people to understand from worship?
Question #2 – What do we want people to feel from the worship experience?
Jubal, I know it’s a difficult mix to obtain, but I do wish that more worship leaders would thoughtfully answer those questions before, during, and after our services of worship.