Intellect or Emotion?

I just wanted to take a minute and throw a few thoughts out there on worship, and more specifically, corporate worship. When coming together as a church body, it is so important for us to not only interact with God in our emotions; not only come to sing the songs that really move our hearts, but to worship God with our intellect. Our minds are imperative in true worship, because without true understanding, what is taking place may not be any more than the same emotional feelings we have, as we read a touching story, or see a movie that pulls on our hearts. Often times pastors rush out to purchase books that have heart moving short stories in them, in an effort to drive congregational response. They are trying to garner up an emotional reaction hoping that it may drive someone to "choose Christ". The problem with this is twofold, first off, churches all over America are training their congregations to rely heavily on their own emotions (which are usually deceiving and misleading) instead of their God given consciences, and the drawing of the Holy Spirit. Secondly, and equally appalling, the Gospel becomes a commodity that preachers are peddling from their pulpits, instead of relying on the faithful proclamation of the Word, and the work of the Spirit. It was Paul himself who said in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7:

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth."

The fact is, trusting in feelings, and being moved by emotions alone can never get you to Christ, special heart warming stories and dimming the sanctuary lights can never lead anyone to Christ. Salvation only comes by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit and the faith given by God, to repent from sin, and place all of our hope in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
I wanted to start with this introduction, because of the importance of teaching our congregations about truly worshiping God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. I also wanted to suggest one way to get your congregation more involved in using their intellect in worship at church.
It is important that each new generation never forget the work that the previous generations have done, including the studies and sermons they have provided, and the songs and hymns they have written. Try breaking out the old hymnals and start teaching this new generation some of the great truths that they teach.
Another resource I have found is www.reformedpraise.org. This website is a great resource for someone who is trying to introduce their congregation to hymns. David Ward has worked very hard to take wonderful, yet sometimes forgotten hymns and updating them, both musically, and linguistically. They have been useful to me in getting both our church, and myself more accustomed to using hymns more in our worship.
I also encourage you to come and check out our site, as we will soon be adding the Hymn of the Month section, where I will provide the background for different hymns, as well as an audio recording of each song. Make sure you check back often, and utilize the wonderful resources we are providing.

Remember, when directing the musical portion of a worship service, our job is just as much teaching the congregation more about God as it is bringing the congregation before Him to worship. We don't have to play the top ten list or win out a popularity contest. We do however, have a responsibility to worship God in Spirit and truth, and the truth is something that often times is portrayed more accurately and more vividly in the wonderful words of the old hymns. Let's work on reforming worship in our churches to focus on God, and not those in attendance, and with those in attendance, let us focus more on the believers, and let the Holy Spirit work on the hearts of the unbeliever.

May God bless you, and thank you for spending a few minutes with me,

In His Service,
-Brian