Worship is an Encounter with God

Today I came across an article that appeared in the Christian Chronicle (a magazine about churches of Christ) some time ago. Although, I do not agree with everything that this author says in the article, I do think he makes some great points about what worship is really all about. Read carefully what the author says:

"True worship must be more than simply an intellectual or ceremonial exercise. Much of what passes for worship is little more than the practice of ritual obligations. Without thinking, worship can be reduced to little more than "five acts" that must be satisfied in order to appease a God who is checking off his list of rules to make sure we followed the prescription correctly. With this approach to worship, the main concern becomes, "Did we do it right?" rather than "Were our hearts in tune with the Father?"Many of us grew up with a legalistic theology that emphasized the need to "be right." I heard a lot about "doing things correctly," but until my college years I heard nothing about a relationship with Christ. Religion was a list of rules to be kept, a lifestyle to be adopted. It was primarily based on a rational approach to God; emotions were disparaged and viewed suspiciously. Even if we felt emotions welling up inside, most of us understood we needed to sit on our hands and choke down those feelings. Obviously, we need a strong theology based on truth. We must engage our minds to the fullest. Worship based primarily on emotion is both dangerous and shallow. But theologically correct worship lacking emotion is cold, lifeless, and powerless. Such worship employs the head, but cuts the heart out of it. A genuine encounter with God in worship requires both our mind and our emotions. Admittedly, we do not always feel like worship. It is at those times that worship is more a decision of our will than the desire of our heart. However, worship that is regularly void of passion is unlike the worship I read about in Scripture.There is a part of us that needs to be filled up, to be comforted, to be overwhelmed with wonder, and to be lifted up in the exhilaration of praise. It might be possible for a husband and wife to approach their relationship from a purely rational perspective, to analyze it and diagram it intellectually. However, if that is as deep as the relationship ever goes, which of us would want it? A relationship based primarily on feelings is immature and shallow. Certainly, a healthy relationship is grounded in knowledge and truth and good judgment. But it also needs some passion —- an extravagant love, a heart-felt emotion that yearns to be near that person and to enjoy the intimacy of their companionship (Ps 42:1-2; 63:1-5; Phil. 1:21-26).The worship found in many congregations is lifeless and without the kind of passion that touches our heart and soul. The clinical style of worship that reduces the assembly to "three songs and a prayer" did not come from Scripture. Biblical examples of worship run counter to the way worship is done in many of our congregations. Examples of worship in Scripture are often filled with excitement, vivacious enthusiasm and animated activity."

I'm afraid that too often our worship is merely designed to go through the same ritual week after week to fulfill our "requirement." Worship, as taught in the New Testament, is to be an encounter with God, where we fall down before Him in praise. Worship involves mind, heart and soul. It should involve all of our minds and all of our hearts (John 4:24). May God speed the day when we start organizing our worship services to be a stirring mental and emotional experience where we feel we have come into the presence of God (see 1 Cor. 14:25).