Worship
ministry is often associated with music. Although worship is not synonymous
with music, there should be no denying that music is assuredly a strong part of
worship, particularly in a corporate sense. Further, the connection between
music (or the arts in the broadest sense) and human emotion holds a formidable
tie. In fact, I would contend that the emotional aspect of Christian worship is
frequently overutilized and overemphasized, albeit perhaps without proper
realization; yet, to separate from the misguidance of emotion-based worship,
many churches unfortunately whitewash their practices of anything that resembles
the God-ordained unique and emotional impacts artistic expression yields. Thus,
there subsists a delicate balance between overemphasis of emotion in Christian
worship and a dishonoring deception by the removal of emotion in Christian
worship practice.
Several
questions arise in the discussion of emotions in worship. Therefore, to
facilitate the discussion of this topic, my aim is to answer four crucial
questions.
1. Should
emotions play a role in Christian worship?
2. What
(or who) should be the source of emotions in worship?
3. What
other human elements should be present in Christian worship?
4. How
should churches balance emotions and other necessary elements in worship?
Answering such questions will offer
guidance and balance in approaching the appropriate use of human emotion in
Christian worship.
