By nature I’m not a very demonstrative person. I seem to be failry methodical and level headed in many things. Worship through music is one area that provides an outlet for for my more emotional side to show. It’s something that touches my heart. Others don’t connect that way. Their heart is touched teaching Sunday school or studying the Word. We are a body of many diverse parts. You are so right, response is not our responsibility. We are just one small tool in the box. There are always going to be those folks He needs to use a hammer on and that week we feel like a wrench.

Some weeks when it seems like the visible response is lacking (and even weeks when a response is clear) I try to use the times of announcements or song intros and say some silent prayers for individuals I spot in the crowd. Not that they would have an outward response. Rather that the truth which we sing or the message they will hear will penetrate any barrier that would keep them from hearing God’s voice.

Ed: I love that sentence. I agree with you. I also love this…
“I think our definition of worship, and the weight we give it, ought to be thoroughly re-examined.” Have you written about that?

I think it’s unreasonable to expect everyone to react the same way. People are just so different. I’ve been onstage in churches for years (you can get a better sense of this by poking around on my site, if you’re so inclined), and I’ve pretty much seen it all. There were weeks when I thought, “Wow! We’re practically single-handedly gonna trigger the Second Coming!”, and then heard nothing more about it. There were also weeks when people just ‘stood there’, and then afterward some stone-faced guy would come up and thank me for the heartfelt worship.

Even at a big concert, where you’d expect everyone to be on their feet, physically demonstrative, etc., you still have a lot of people ‘just sitting there’. I’m one of those people. In church, at concerts, sports events–I ‘just sit there’. Sometimes my wife will say, “Are you having a good time?” I am – it just doesn’t show in my body language.

I don’t think you can categorically say that someone is, or isn’t ‘entering in’ (whatever the heck THAT means) by how they look on the outside. In fact, I think it’s unfair! As a musician, I understand the feeling–I draw energy off the people who are physically demonstrative. For eleven-plus years I was onstage every week at a big church, and many times I’d spot someone who seemed to really engaged, and I’d sort of just play for them. There might not be any way around that, but I think it’s dangerous to draw big, sweeping conclusions about the state of your congregations involvement in worship, or it’s effect on them, just by how they look.

Okay, that was a little long-winded (three cents, maybe?). I said it better, I think, in my post ‘The Worship-ometer’. I’m to the point now, after all these years (I’m 52) that I think our definition of worship, and the weight we give it, ought to be thorougly re-examined.

Thanks for reading!

Ed