When you worship Jesus, how emotional do you get?
Do you cry? Do you raise your hands? Do you dance? Do you kneel? Do you sing?
This is an important conversation to be having because let’s face it – some of us are more naturally emotional than others. For some of you, it doesn’t take much for you to cry. But some of you struggle – bigtime – in corporate worship because you’ve hardly every cried in your life. You’re more dignified, reserved. It’s not that you don’t love Jesus. You’re just not expressive.
But is this an issue where we say, “To each his own?” Or is there a biblical, God-directed way for all the people of God to worship?
Is our worship too emotional?
I believe there are problems on both sides. It’s possible to be overly emotional, even strange in your worship. It’s where you draw more attention to your worship than you do the God you’re worshipping. Oftentimes the overly emotional worshiper can chase one experience after another but not have much Bible in their life. Worship becomes the chasing of a feeling more than a surrendering to the Savior in daily life.
For the more stoic among us, worship can be more of a mental agreement with truth than a heart response. You might agree with the theology but not be overwhelmed with love for Jesus.
In all of this, there needs to be a balance. We need to make sure we’re not erring on either side. Because worship is about truth – we dishonor God if we don’t know Him. But worship is also emotional – if we don’t feel strong emotions in response to God’s revealed truth, it isn’t truly worship.
Bob Kauflin speaks some wise words in his book “True Worshipers“:
“Some Christians have been taught to repress their emotions as they sing. They’ve been told to fear feeling anything too strongly. and that maturity means holding back. But what we want to avoid is emotionalism not emotions. Emotionalism pursues feelings as an end in themselves. It’s wanting to feel something with no regard for how that feeling is produced or its ultimate purpose. In contrast, the emotions that singing is meant to express are a response to who God is and what he’s done. Vibrant singing enables us to combine truth about God seamlessly with passion for God. Doctrine and devotion. Mind and heart. Suppressing or ignoring your feelings when you sing contradicts what singing is designed to do. Passionless singing is an oxymoron.”
This is what I love about the modern worship movement. I know there are too many articles calling us to boycott the industry. But what I love about it is how it’s helped us engage with God in a deep, emotional way.
I remember the first time I was introduced to Vineyard Music in the 90s. Never had I heard something so real, intimate, and passionate. It was a way of relating to God that I’d never experienced before.
Sure, that can lead to emotionalism and get off base. But when I have a Bible-informed, Spirit-directed emotional worship experience, I know I’m responding properly to God. It’s what Jonathan Edwards calls “The Religious Affections.”
I love how he breaks this down:
“There are multitudes that often hear the word of God, and therin hear of those things that are infinitely great and important, and that most nearly concern them, and all that is heard seems to be wholly ineffectual upon them, and to make no alteration in their disposition or behavior; and the reason is, they are not affected with what they hear.”
There’s a problem if I hear the Word of God and am not affected.
There’s a problem if I sing a worship song and am not affected.
There’s a problem if, as a believer, I don’t engage in corporate worship.
I should be affected by the truth every time and if I’m not “feeling it” or having a bad day, cry out to God to “incline my heart to your testimonies and not to selfish gain” (Psalm 119:36).
“God make me continually affected by your glory that I might worship you in Spirit and truth and bring honor to your name with every breath I breathe.”
What about you? Do you struggle with the emotional nature of singing and corporate worship? What about your church? Let’s discuss in the comments.
[ois skin=”Beyond Sunday 2″]
As usual very good word. Thank you for your heart for the church and their worship teams. I glean so much from your blogs.
That’s awesome, Cindy. Thanks so much for your kind words and for reading!
Great post, David. I speak as one whose own faith background and traditions were very stoic but who is learning to embrace the emotions of worship, too.
As you noted, the real problem isn’t emotion but emotionalism — the worship of feelings. Now, I love the modern worship movement, and can also recall some of the first times that a given worship song or artist blew me completely away with apparent authenticity and …. gosh, just humanity, I guess. But I also know that music is a powerful force in terms of how it affects emotion. Instrumental music (shout out here to WDAV Classical 89.9 radio in my area of the USA!) can move us into joy or reflection, celebration or melancholy, and do so every bit as powerfully as vocal/verbal music can. And we as worship musicians and leaders know this. Often, we _bank_ on this fact as we plan our service orders and liturgy in order to lead our congregations through specific phases of worship (wonder, adoration, gratitude, dependence, etc.).
How then do we best employ our craft to impact/steer the corporate worship atmosphere without falling into emotional manipulation? How do we help our people embrace the emotional side of worship without their built-in “I’m getting played” detectors rightly going off? And in your opinion, is the modern worship movement concerned enough about the distinction?
Thanks for your blog and podcast. Love your heart, and love what it produces in these media outlets.
These are great questions, Michael. I personally like to have moments of quiet, silence, and times where we don’t sing but just encourage people to lift their voice. Personally, learning how to pray and declare things in my own words during worship keeps me from just riding the emotion of the moment.
Wow what great advice. Good blog too by the way. I am someone who is very emotional … and I pray and try to guard myself against emotionalism …. at the time same at times I feel as though I am suppressing my worship. I now attend a conservative baptist church and I don’t want my emotions to be a distraction for anyone in my congregation. But, I love Jesus. He’s done so much for me … He rescued a wretch, saved me from my sins, and now I am forgiven and a daughter of the Most High … there is so much to be grateful for! Sometimes in response to truths of Christ being preached or sung, I’m just a blubbering mess … at home, at work, at church, in my car … the love of Christ overwhelms me at times. There are also dry seasons … and usually then I’m concerned about where I am in my walk with the Lord.
This is a wonderful writing to prompt careful and cautions thought.
It reminds us of a very real potential. The potential is that of imbalance.
As St. Paul reminded the unruly Corinthians,
“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding;
I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.” (I Cor. 14:15)
As a minister, and because of this verse, among others, I spend much of my time in a monastery as well as a lively church with choirs and instrumentalists.
I maintain educational pursuits while working also with the needy and poor.
Prayer and song must have a grey matter-intellect and a red matter-emotional, connection. Each are necessary to keep the other in check.
There is no one-stop-shop for this. All styles of music have life and death potential, depending on the heart of the singer and hearer.
Hidden or suppressed emotion and intimacy has stagnated and killed off many churches as our men stuffed and refused their expressions. But…
Interestingly, now days, the church remains emasculated to an extent (60%women–40% men) Could it be the pretty little choruses and syrupy prayers that dominate over A Mighty Fortress need for balance?
So then–“Too emotional for Whom?
Very good words, David. Our response to God in worship should be one of surrendering it all – head and heart, attitude and actions – to His will. When we study worship and worshipers in the Bible, we find there isn’t anything remotely passive about it. And we worship the very same God through the drawing and guidance of the very same Spirit. May we learn to surrender to His lead! Thanks for the reminder!
Here’s a related post of mine from last year: What should my surrender in worship look like? http://pamelahaddix.com/2015/08/31/what-should-my-surrender-in-worship-look-like/