Several years ago John Ortberg wrote an article in Leadership Magazine about worship. In it he talked about two different extremes of what churches can do with worship:  Scarecrow Worship and Tin Man Worship...

He said that there are some churches that specialize in generating emotion. Worship leaders are good at getting people to laugh or cry. The songs are sentimental and prayers are highly emotive and bathed in background music. People judge these services by the emotions that they feel. This type of worship is Scarecrow worship: it would be better if it only had a brain.

Then there are some churches that are very conscious about focuses on cognitive correctness. These churches have beautiful liturgies, recite ancient creeds and distribute reams of exegetical material. But the heart is not seized by the wonder and passion that characterize those who fall on their knees before a living God. People judge these services by the new thing that they might have learned. This type of worship is Tin Man worship: it would be better if it only had a heart.

People today tend to evaluate worship by what they get out of it. They want to experience some deep emotion or some timely insight which they have never heard before. In doing this they assume worship is like a movie that needs to be critiqued afterward.

Today I believe that we have been having a healthy mix of worship traditions in our churches. So we have a good opportunity to balance intellect with passion. But we still must meet the challenge of active worship, of really engaging with God and His people during our time of worship together. Here are some things that can help.

First, prepare yourself. We should spend time preparing for worship at home before we even come to our church building. Take some time to pray, read some scripture and begin to focus on what God might have for us at worship on that Sunday. Preparing to worship is not just a quick prayer during the prelude. It should be a spiritual life which eagerly anticipates our coming together to seek the Lord.

Second, invest yourself in worship the entire time we are together. Too often we can easily go on autopilot when we go into a place where we know exactly what is going to happen. We shouldn’t simply wait for something to grab our attention, but instead, we should be fully present, participating in every moment together.

Third, engage in the worship as it flows from beginning to end. There are many opportunities to write down notes or read scripture passages that might come to mind as we sing a song, listen to a prayer or hear the message for the day. Of course we can also engage in worship by raising our hands during a song, saying amen during the prayer or the sermon, or praying when we hear something that convicts us.

All of these things will help us worship with hearts and minds wide open to respond to the presence of God in our worship.

~Pastor Gerry Koning